No Deadly Drug

In this provocative first novel, Graedon (author of the perennial bestseller The People's Pharmacy ) and physician Ferguson posit that a major pharmaceutical company is willing to resort to violence and murder in order to keep a deadly drug on the market. The open ing chapters are especially well done. California-based consumer activist Dr. Gabe Austin, who watches the daughter of a close friend die a terrible death, believes that a new prescription drug called Virazine is responsible. The charismatic chief executive of Kimberly Pharmaceuticals seems willing to do anything to prevent Austin from making his suspicions public. From this point, the story begins to fall apart. Kate Reiley, Gabe's old flame, is hired at Kimberley; she is a world-class marathoner recently targeted for an assassination attempt (during a major race) to keep her quiet. Gabe foils the killer in a physical battle before hundreds of witnesses as the book races to a violent conclusion--and then continues to yet another one. There are some nice twists and surprises at the end, including a hired gun whom few will suspect, but too many dangling threads and unlikely situations diminish the plot's overall impact. (Sept.)