Toxin

Book excerpt: A “cautionary tale” (Chicago Tribune) about bacterial poisoning and corporate malevolence from the #1 bestselling author of Coma, “the master of the literary thriller” (The New York Times) “Searing . . . shocking . . . packs plenty of punches.”—Associated Press Newly divorced Dr. Kim Reggis takes his daughter, Becky, to her favorite fast-food restaurant on a special night out. The quintessential American meal of burgers and fries leads to tragedy: Over the following week Becky becomes gravely ill from E. coli bacterial poisoning. Already beaten down by the indignities of a major hospital merger and the subsequent loss of his departmental chairmanship, Kim collides head-on with cost-cutting rules that restrict his daughter’s treatment. As Becky’s condition worsens, the surgeon is driven over the edge by his inability to alter the inexorable progression. When the administration revokes his hospital privileges, Kim is forced out into the cold. Half crazed by grief, Kim launches himself on an inquiry to learn how and why his daughter got sick. The trail of deadly evidence of shoddy meat-industry practices and complicity stretches from the slaughterhouse to the industry hierarchy to the USDA. Aided in his quest by his ex-wife, Tracy, and a young, idealistic USDA inspector, Kim ultimately learns the shocking truth—but the price may be his life and the lives of those he loves.