The Queen of All Poisons
A Boston physician becomes an assassin for the U.S. government in this medical suspense thriller by an award-winning pathologist (Book 1 in the Dr. Lily Robinson trilogy.)
Dr. Lily Robinson is a brilliant physician with an
encyclopedic knowledge of all toxins and poisons, and a penchant for wearing
stilettos. In an unforeseeable twist in her life, the United States Government
appeals to her patriotism--and her knowledge of how to kill without bloodshed,
to rid the world of threats to our nation. Emotionally blunted and flawed, she
struggles to move between assassin and healer, yet still able to fulfill her
competing objectives. Now asked to assassinate a terrorist threatening New York
City, she quickly realizes the Russians have already released a deadly toxin in
a surprisingly innocuous medium.
Excerpt
About a month ago, the Agency asked me to assassinate a
terrorist infiltrator quickly and quietly in New York City. I waited for him at
a coffee shop he frequented. It always amazes me how we are such creatures of
habit. Routines—we eat the same breakfast, walk or drive the same way home, and
visit our same favorite little café, every day. Even the terrorists. My target
took two sugars with his French dark roast—the waitress brought him the two
packets when she served him. They don’t leave the sugar bowls at the tables
anymore in this neighborhood.
She poured the coffee while standing behind the counter, and
when she turned back to put the pot on the burner, I swapped out the packets.
Coffee, delivered with steam rising from the brim, waited patiently as he tore
open the sugars, dumped the contents into the abyss, and stirred the dark
mixture with a cheap spoon. After drinking only half a cup he began to gasp for
air and had difficulty breathing. He turned blue and slid off his chair,
seizing as he hit the ground. Several people jumped up in alarm, including me.
“Call 911!” While everyone surrounded the man on the floor, I picked up the
empty sugar packets from the table and used my napkin to replace them with ones
I had used.
I killed him with cyanide.
Not exotic, I know, but reliable on short notice. Most
people think they can smell the bitter almond scent, but only a small
percentage of the population can reliably detect any odor. Luckily, I’ve got
that gene. Potassium cyanide crystals can’t be distinguished from common sugar
crystals. White crystals look like, well, all other white crystals. I always
carry packets of sugar—and even packets of artificial sweetener—laced with
enough potassium cyanide to produce death within minutes. Once you ingest the
poison, the acid in your stomach converts it to hydrogen cyanide, and death
will soon follow. Within minutes it delivers a knockout punch to the
powerhouses of your body via the respiratory electron transport chain—the
mitochondrial workhorses of your cells that generate ATP, which gives you the
energy you need to live. Cyanide blocks all that, and without oxygen your cells
die of chemical asphyxiation.
I exited the café during the commotion, having already paid
for my cup of coffee. Another fatal blow, just between beats. With the collar
turned up on my coat, I inhaled the wind and felt the oxygen fill my lungs, as
my own mitochondria powered my disappearance into the crowded street.
The Power of Poison
In this thrilling sequel to The Queen of All Poisons, Dr. Lily Robinson, driven by guilt over her daughter's death, returns with a mission to save the U.S. from a devastating missile attack. (Book 2 in the Dr. Lily Robinson trilogy.)
More than 20 years ago, Dr. Lily Robinson--the brilliant pathologist and toxicologist--was a member of a scientific expedition in Colombia, South America, that ended in the death of her colleagues and, presumably, her little girl. Unaware of the true circumstances of her tragedy, her memory blocked in self-preservation, Dr. Robinson's despair made her fair game for recruitment by a secret government agency whose objective is to eliminate threats to a free and peaceful world. Her guiding mantra, "the good of the many outweighs the good of the one," allowed her to rationalize, and to lead, a double life--a physician in one world, and a covert assassin in another.
Now, Dr. Robinson is asked to assassinate a high-level Chinese missile scientist who is on course to sell his novel technology to the North Korean government. Unbeknownst to Lily, Grigory Markovic, a Russian terrorist Lily has encountered in the past, is also planning an arms deal with the North Koreans--warheads filled with deadly poison.
The Power of Poison is a tale of espionage, love,
relationships, and loyalty, all meeting at the "intersection of obligation
and conscience." And whether it's Boston, France, Seoul, or Hong Kong, as
always, Dr. Lily Robinson is "dressed to kill."
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Looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThese books sound exciting. Interesting concept.
ReplyDeleteLily is the kind of complicated character I love to read about! Congratulations on a great concept for a series.
ReplyDeleteInteresting scene
ReplyDelete