Death Benefit

Book excerpt: An “exciting” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) novel of unchecked greed, medical malfeasance, and startling science, from the #1 bestselling “master of the medical thriller” (The New York Times) “An intense read that raises thought-provoking questions.”—Associated Press Pia Grazdani is an exceptional yet aloof medical student working closely with Columbia University Medical Center’s premier scientist on cutting-edge research that could revolutionize health care by creating replacement organs for critically ill patients. But when tragedy strikes in the lab, Pia, with the help of classmate George Wilson, launches an investigation into the unforeseen calamity in the hospital’s supposedly secure biosafety lab. Meanwhile, two ex-Wall Street whiz-kids think they’ve found another loadstone in the nation’s multitrillion-dollar life insurance industry, and race to find ways to control actuarial data and securitize the policies of the aged and infirm to make another killing. As Pia and George dig deeper into the events at the lab, one question remains unanswered: Is someone attempting to manipulate private insurance information to allow investors to benefit from the deaths of others?