Public Anatomy

Pearson's solid second medical thriller featuring surgeon Eli Branch (after Rupture) finds Branch, who suffered a hand injury in the previous book, relegated to the ER of a small community hospital in south Memphis. On a visit to Gates Memorial, the major hospital where Branch once worked, the two FBI agents he assisted in Rupture are waiting for him. They want Branch to look into two deaths following robotic surgery overseen by Dr. Liza French, who interned with him a decade earlier. One fatality occurred during what should have been a routine hysterectomy being broadcast live on the Internet. When health care workers start turning up murdered, with body parts removed and placed on display, Branch gets involved in that case as well. While the robotic surgery business intrigues less than it might, Branch is a strong enough lead to carry readers along, especially Robin Cook fans more interested in plot twists than exploring the ethics of modern medicine. (Mar.)