...and then the guy performed a heart massage...

I started a book called Godplayer by Robin Cook. Yes, it is one of those cheesy medical thrillers with very little literary aspects, but it does have a fast-moving plot…which is what I look for in a book…generally. I’ve read other books by Robin Cook, and what has intrigued me about his writing is that he incorporates real (or plausible) medical scenes, proof, and situations. His criminal characters are also interesting, because they always come up with a new way to kill people. >: )
I just started this book, so I have no idea what the conflict truly is. So far, we’ve seen a man (Bruce Wilkinson) killed by somebody (who’s identity remains anonymous…at this point). This somebody let Bruce’s IV run rapidly when it was only supposed to be barely dripping. This then caused Bruce’s muscles to fail, suffocating him after completely paralyzing him. And all of this happened before he could reach the nurse’s call button… *GASP*
But of course, being in a hospital, the nurses just happened to notice him…in his blue-faced death. We then are introduced to new characters, Jerry Donovan (a doctor) and Dr. Thomas Kingsley (the best heart surgeon ever). After the nurse found Bruce, Jerry tried everything he could to save him. But despite his desperate attempts to resuscitate what was then a cadaver, the guy was dead. But: it was Dr. Kingsley who then reeled in the applause. Amazingly, Dr. Kingsley strolled into the room, asked a few questions, then cut Bruce open and commenced a heart massage. Right there, in a common hospital room. Everybody was amazed. Even though Kingsley’s actions didn’t help anything, everybody still knew that he was the best cardiac surgeon in the hospital…but really? He was just showing off…
Overall, this scene is:1. Just setting the stage and 2. Showing how egocentric this Kingsley guy is. Because he knew he was the best, and he knew this Bruce guy was a goner, Kingsley had to do something that people would remember instead of just another doctor’s failed attempt. He had to do something nobody else had the courage to do…Intense thought, right? But there you have a basic beginning to a medical thriller.