Critical. Robin Cook. 2007.

At the age of thirty-seven, Angela Dawson MD, appears to have it all: she owns a fabulous New York City apartment, a stunning seaside house on Nantucket, and enjoys the perks of her prosperous lifestyle. But her climb to the top was rough, marked by a troubled childhood, a failed marriage and the devastating blow of bankruptcy as a primary-cate internist.

Painfully aware of the role of economics in modern life, particularly in the health-care field, Angela returned to school to earn an MBA. Armed with a shiny new degree and blessed with determination, intelligence and impeccable timing, Angela founded a start-up company, Angels Healthcare then took it public. With her controlling interest in three busy specialty hospitals in New York City and plans for others in Miami and Los Angeles, Angela’s future looked very bright.

Then a surge of drug-resistant infections in all three hospitals devastates Angela’s carefully constructed world. Not only do these infections result in patient deaths, but the fatalities also cause stock prices to tumble, leaving market analysis wondering if Angela will be able to hold her empire together.

New York City medical examiners Laurie Montgomery and Jack Stapleton are naturally intrigued by this increase in staph-related post-procedure deaths. Aside from their own professional curiosity,, there’s a personal stake as well: Laurie and Jack are newly married, and Jack is facing surgery to repair a torn ligament at Angels Orthopedic Hospital. Despite his protests, Laurie can’t help investigating - opening a Pandora’s box of corporate intrigue that threatens not just her livelihood, but her life with her new husband as well.