Tainted: A Dr. Zol Szabo Medical Mystery: 1 - Softcover

""Tainted "is fascinating and fast-paced, a medical thriller with the high-stakes tension of a frightening epidemic. Ross Pennie knows how to weave real science with crackling suspense." --Tess Gerritsen, "New York Times"-best-selling author, "The Keepsake"

"Pennie builds tension perfectly, grabbing readers from the first page and keeping them entranced, both with the story itself and with nagging worries about the safety of the food they eat. All the characters, including such secondary figures as Natasha's Indian mother, obsessed with finding her a husband, and Zol's young son, Max, are realistically portrayed, their actions and emotions well matched with both their personalities and the plot. Must reading for fans of Robin Cook and Peter Clement." --"Booklist"

"Canadian physician Pennie's mystery debut introduces a winning protagonist, an Ontario public health doctor and former chef. . . . The appealing supporting cast includes a gorgeous female P. I. Pennie, an infectious disease specialist, makes the medical jargon accessible." --"Publishers Weekly"

"What works are the two likeable and convincing doctors and the scary plot. Pennie's message--that no matter how safe our world seems, it's still very fragile--is timely and true." --"Globe and Mail"

When incidents of food supply contamination dominate the news media, two investigators?Zol Szabo, a public health doctor, and Hamish Wakefield, a young infectious diseases specialist?come under immense pressure to find the cause of the mysterious epidemic before more victims show up on the autopsy table. In a race against the clock, the two doctors must navigate the treacherous political minefields of the medical community and the media while the disease spreads. The situation soon spins wildly out of control, and more lives are threatened after a government-appointed investigator hijacks the investigation and allows his inflated ego to supersede common sense. Speaking to contemporary concerns about food safety, this fast-paced medical thriller illustrates the potential for disastrous consequences when total responsibility for food safety is placed in the hands of manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies.