Vital Signs by Robin Cook ****

Marissa Buchanan can not been able to conceive after three rounds of IVF and now, going into the fourth round, the stress, hormones, and emotional rise-and-falls have begun to strain her relation with her husband. While Vital Signs by Robin Cook promises an investigation of the emotional issues of IVF, the plot quickly spins out of control to include international conspiracies together with organized and disorganized criminals, and surprising number of cold-blooded murders.

On the plus side, Robin Cook often gets bogged down in technical medical jargon and endless descriptions of medical procedures; this book has very limited amount of this stuff. The plot is ever changing as Marissa tracks down the killers and conspirators in spite the her friends and associates being murdered. She follows the trail from Boston to the Australian outback and Hong Kong, and finally into the PRC itself.

On the other hand, the plot is so contrived and fantastic that no ending would be satisfactory, and the actual ending is probably only comforting to the author and maybe a few geeky medical professionals.

In summary, for the Robin Cook fans, this is one of the best, and for readers new to Robin Cook, this is ideal place to start with this prolific writer to medical thrillers.