“Cluster: A potentially fatal disease, a tantalizing romance and international terrorism converge with explosive consequences in this medical thriller” by Robert J. McCunney is now available for purchase

“Cluster: A potentially fatal disease, a tantalizing romance and international terrorism converge with explosive consequences in this medical thriller” by Robert J. McCunney masterfully combines the worlds of medicine, romance, and international terrorism into an action-packed and thought-provoking narrative. Proudly published by Citi of Books, this book is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other major retail platforms.

Dr. Robert McCunney is a specialist in internal medicine and occupational and environmental medicine. He is a practicing physician in the Pulmonary Division of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, a member of the Harvard Medical School faculty, and a visiting research professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is a former director of environmental medicine at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Over his career, he has lectured in countries around the world in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North America, including Canada, and Mexico.  

Dr. McCunney received a BS in chemical engineering from Drexel University, an MS in environmental health from the University of Minnesota, an MD from the Thomas Jefferson University Medical School, and an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. He completed training in internal medicine at Northwestern University Medical Center in Chicago.  

He has served as editor in chief of five textbooks and authored or coauthored more than one hundred twenty-five peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He has also coauthored a book on getting recruited to play college baseball, based on his experience with his son who was recruited to play college baseball at Fordham University. This is his first novel.

“Cluster: A potentially fatal disease, a tantalizing romance and international terrorism converge with explosive consequences in this medical thriller” delivers a fast-paced medical thriller that weaves together a rare disease investigation, a budding romance, and an international terrorism plot. Dr. Dan Murphy, a Boston physician, is disturbed when his otherwise healthy brother is diagnosed with a mysterious blood disease. As part of his work in environmental medicine, Dan teams up with Anna Carlson, a graduate student in public health, to investigate the disease, which has begun affecting other workers at a nearby chemical plant. Their shared research sparks a deepening relationship, adding a personal layer to the scientific mystery.

As Dan and Anna dig deeper, they uncover troubling links between the disease and toxic chemical exposure at the factory. Their investigation takes a dangerous turn when they learn the disease is connected to an international conspiracy involving Parker Barrows, a former British intelligence officer. Barrows, who lost his wife and leg in an IRA bombing, seeks revenge by sabotaging Brexit talks. His sinister plan threatens to disrupt both the political landscape and the lives of those investigating the disease.

McCunney’s expert knowledge of toxicology and epidemiology enriches the plot, making the medical investigation both informative and thrilling. The novel also explores the psychological dimensions of Barrows’ character, a man consumed by vengeance. The tension between Dan and Anna’s growing romance and the impending danger adds emotional depth to the narrative, while their collaborative effort to solve the medical mystery keeps the reader engaged.