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Product Description
Quill & Quire
The latest suspense novel written by a real-life Canadian doctor demonstrates that our country’s contribution to the medical thriller subgenre is not so much evolving as stabilizing. Tainted immediately admits Brantford-based physician-cum-university professor Ross Pennie into the small but growing club whose ranks include Kathy Reichs and Dan Kalla. Content-wise, it leans more toward the latter, which is understandable, given that Pennie, like Kalla, is an infectious-disease specialist. Alas, he also shares his cohorts’ propensity for overwrought melodrama in the face of otherwise quite credible science-based suspense. The plot, which concerns a mutated form of mad cow disease, is, in fact, very well woven. Twists and turns are expected in a story of this type but, to his credit, Pennie consistently parcels out just enough information to keep even the most jaded reader guessing without being confused. Better yet, the eventual explanation for the outbreak, as deduced by three characters chasing separate leads, is quite clever. The dialogue, however, proves to be a stumbling block. In a style reminiscent of the Hardy Boys, Pennie shoehorns urgency into ridiculously expository dialogue. And some of that dialogue is simply ludicrous: “‘Isn’t it ironic,’ said Colleen, ‘how preoccupied they were with the appearance of the outside of their skulls, while a time bomb ticked away on the inside?’” If the dialogue is problematic, the characterization is downright farcical. Pennie works too hard at giving his protagonists “humanizing” problems. Hungarian hero Dr. Sol Szabo spends more time wrestling with guilt over his temper and curtness than he does analyzing the facts at hand; Dr. Watsonish diagnostician Hamish Wakefield makes bull-headed statements but is easily offended, possibly due to being a closeted homosexual; taciturn but reliable lab assistant Natasha Sharma could connect disparate dots easily, if only she could get her Punjabi mother to stop phoning to try to arrange a marriage. The whole thing reads less like a cultural mosaic than a collection of obvious stereotypes. Pennie also includes an entirely unnecessary, action-filled climax involving a back-country redneck sausage manufacturer, a suitcase of blood money, and a double murder (well, if you include the dog). The redneck’s involvement in the medical plot is legitimate, but the story was good enough without the sensationalistic endgame.
Review
"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 PI. Pennie, an infectious-disease specialist, makes the medical jargon accessible." —Publishers Weekly
"A taut and timely work of suspense . . . 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 . . . Must reading for fans of Robin Cook and Peter Clement." —Booklist
"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." —The Globe and Mail
"An honest, compelling tale of life, death, and the mystery of all that lies in between." —Ray Robertson, Moody Food
"Pennie is a bright new addition to the Canadian mystery writing scene . . . Tainted is a must read for 2009. Best yet, it's the first in a series." —Hamilton Spectator
"A timely, fascinating and scary simulation of the scientific detective work involved in an outbreak investigation . . . [Pennie] stoutly eschews the potboiler epidemic of gratuitous sex, wild derring-do and cinematic hyperbole for stark realism." —Winnipeg Free Press
"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, author, Keeper of the Bride
"Pennie encounters magic – and so will his readers." —Cathy Vasas-Brown, author, Every Wickedness
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
CSI:SW Ontario!,
This review is from: Tainted (Hardcover)
I thoroughly enjoyed the first of what is planned to be 3 in this Medical mystery series. It read like an episode of CSI set in southwestern Ontario. The author, Dr. Ross Pennie - a Canadian Infectious Disease specialist from Brantford, Ontario, has developed wonderful characters led by Dr. Zol Szabo. Looking forward to the next one!"
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews) 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
This one's a winner!,
By E. Hamer - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Tainted (Hardcover)
This book turned me from an asleep-by-ten reader to a gotta-finish-this-before-I-go-to-sleep bleary-eyed wreck. Pennie's Dr. Zol Szabo is an improbable hero, a public health bureaucrat. Ho-hum, I thought, another Yuppie doctor story. I'll just read fifty pages or so and toss it. But Zol turned out to be far more than I expected. He's quirky, multi-dimensional, courageous, adventurous, vulnerable and smart. And a single father with a decent kid. The story, a satisfyingly detailed, fast-moving hunt for the sources of a deadly mad-cow variant, takes the investigators from gourmet groceries to a sleazy mink farm to bureaucratic hideouts, all set in a Canadian landscape.Some things I liked: --the names. No Brads, Haleys, Justins, or Stephanies here--instead there are names with heft and texture: Zol and Max Szabo, Dr. Hamish Wakefield, Ermalinda the housekeeper, his assistant Natasha Sharma, and so on. --the places, including my all-time favorite place name,Moose Testicles, the place unsuccessful bureaucrats fear to go. And the grisley mink farm and meat-processing plant. And Canada in the late fall. I'm so tired of New York and L.A. Fast-paced story,interesting settings, complex and interesting cast, what'snot to like. I bought an extra copy for my book club. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fast, pertinent, great characters!,
By Dorothyanne Brown "Dabble" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Tainted (Hardcover)
Ross Pennie's first Dr. Sol Szabo book is a tightly written mystery thriller populated by unforgettable characters, believable threats, and a quick pace that never seems rushed. Dr. Szabo battles the believable bureaucracy of public health while dealing with some very real closer to home threats.Best thing about the story (without giving anything away, and other than the believable storyline) are the characters. Pennie makes us care about them all, even the secondary characters, and I'm eager to see how their relationships develop in his next book in the series.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tainted start, pure delight afterwards.,
By Bernie Bourdeau "author" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Tainted (Hardcover)
Hard to believe this is a debut novel. Pennie's mystery sizzles with suspense and incredibly believable plot. Having spent my career involved with government, I can attest to the insights about the political motivations of those sworn to 'protect' us. There are plenty of plausible misdirects and red herrings in this story to keep the mystery alive until the very end. The writing is very good. The plotting is great. I give it four stars instead of five because it takes several chapters for me to care about Dr. Zol. Pennie is a Doc and is clearly enthralled with the scientific aspect of his story. But lesson one in writing is that readers care about people first and story only second (my own writer weakness too). When the woman showed up in the story and I saw another dimension of Zol, the entire book came to life for me. That's an interesting observation because Pennie shows the human side of Zol from the outset with his display of the relationship with his son. But for me, the son was never a fully developed character until the very end. Perhaps if the threat to the son had come earlier...whereas his new love interest was very real and very imminent from her first appearance. Sure I wanted to know what was killing the residents of the Province. Almost as much as I wanted to know if Zol and his new love interest would connect. I'm definitely reading the next in the series. Because now it's about Zol, not science.
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