Dennis doesn't remember signing an organ donor form. Trying to quell his anxiety and to prevent further molestation of his body, with fresh sutures along part of his torso, Dennis flees from the hospital.

Dennis is faced with several problems. Of immediate importance is repairing the damage he has done to himself by excessive movement before his sutures have had time to heal. He has lost a fair amount of blood and really needs to be admitted to a hospital, but he is not sure who he can trust.

Secondly, he needs to find out who has been using him as an organ bank. He realizes he can function well with only one kidney but he discovered he also lost part of his liver in a former operation which was labeled exploratory surgery. He fears that his heart will be a future target. Complicating matters is the thought that he doesn't know who is friend or foe, and he will be endangering others’ lives because his enemies will kill anyone to get at him. His organs mean a lot to someone.

The idea behind the plot of The Donor is interesting, an ample amount of medical knowledge is required to give the story authenticity which seemed lacking in this effort. Dennis does not come through as a believable character. In the opening scene he is in a hospital after having been involved in a minor car accident. The other person in the car, his friend Graham, is unhurt and does not visit Dennis at the hospital. Dennis has a large incision in his side, unexpected from the simple car wreck, which he later learns is the result of having a kidney removed. Yet he still trusts Graham implicitly.

It doesn't fit with his Ivy League quality brain.

In addition, there are many too many coincidences necessary for the plot to make sense. Dennis needs a place to live. No problem. An elderly gentleman can rent him a room and isn't curious about his background and doesn't require a credit check. He needs a job? His elderly landlord knows of a book shop where the owner needs help and he need know nothing about the book business. Too much serendipity wears thin after a while.

The story is set in three locations, San Francisco, Boston, and Alaska. With the possible exception of Alaska where cold and isolation are important, the settings play no significant role. They could be anywhere in the United States. Yet, with the proper tone, the place could have made a difference.

There is little background information given, which is unusual in a medical thriller especially one which is billed to rival that of Robin Cook. Since the basic premise of the book is illegal organ (and we're not talking musical instruments here) theft, some dialogue about organ transplants, cloning, and morality in medicine would be expected. It is not here except by inference. This lack undermines the credibility and importance of the work.

It does seem odd that Remington Rand is mentioned as a manufacturer of a forty-five semiautomatic. I thought that they made typewriters and electric shavers, and Remington Arms made guns. I could be wrong here though. The author's thought that there are no tall buildings in Anchorage because it is in an earthquake area is interesting. There are plenty of tall buildings in Tokyo which has its share of tremors so the technology is there.

In general, The Donor does not live up to its pre-publication billing. There is not enough medical background information to justify this book's favorable comparison to the work of Robin Cook or Michael Crichton. The controversy with regard to organ transplants, organ donors, cloning, and medical ethics is not mentioned at all though that is, of course, the central theme of the book. By inference, one can assume that non-consensual organ transplants are not a good thing, but the book hardly leaves the reader with any questions about the subject.

--Andy Plonka