"Miracle Cure"

Harlan Coben's "Miracle Cure" is a fast paced murder mystery which revolves around Sara Lowell, a TV journalist, and her basketball star (and very handsome) husband, Michael Silverman.  Michael and Sara are from totally different backgrounds -- his included abuse at the hands of a stepfather but he lucked out when some doctors took an interest in him and got him out of the situation.

Sara is the daughter of a wealthy doctor (a former surgeon general) and, when her mother died of cancer, her father put his focus on cancer research.  She has contacts in the political, medical, and sports world due to her family background, her marriage to Michael, as well as her journalistic career.  Some of her close friends are closet gays.

Dr. Harvey Riker lost his brother to AIDS and he has dedicated his life to finding a cure along with his former brother-in-law, Dr. Bruce Grey.  They have a Manhattan clinic that appears very close to achieving that goal.  Dr. Riker is a good friend of both Sara and Michael and he turns to them for advice when Dr. Grey apparently commits suicide and 3 of the clinic's male patients are murdered.  It appears someone is targeting the clinic by using a hitman.  Why?

Sara's good friend (and closet gay) Lt. Max Bernstein is assigned to solve the murders and, since the third murder is that of the son of a high profile conservative Senator, the case itself is getting a lot of press.  Bernstein's methods are not always orthodox but he usually gets results and he's willing to go to the ends of the earth if necessary to solve a case.

When Michael is diagnosed with AIDS (from a blood transfusion after an injury while on vacation several years ago), the clinic with its promising research and his doctor friend is the logical choice for him but will he become a target of this unknown psychopath?

More lives are lost and more are endangered before Lt. Bernstein unravels the clues to solve the case - a very satisfying read!  pazt