I found Poison Pill by Glenn Kaplan at my local bookstore and was intrigued by its synopsis, which hints at a pharmaceutical scandal. I don’t think I’ve ever tried a medical thriller before now, and I do a lot of ghostwriting for the healthcare industry. I’m sad to say Poison Pill wasn’t quite exactly what I expected.
Poison Pill came out in 2013. Its synopsis reads something like this: Emma Conway is a successful businesswoman who’s invested years of hard work into helping a major pharmaceutical company launch a prescription painkiller to enormous success. Now, Emma’s cutthroat Wall Street ex-husband Josh is working with a powerful Russian oligarch intent on taking over her company so he can launch a version of Viagra for women.
In an effort to make Emma’s company’s go under, the oligarch’s henchmen taint batches of painkillers with deadly chemicals to kill its users. Meanwhile, a secret romance springs up between Emma’s teenage son and the oligarch’s daughter that “puts them in the crosshairs of their parents’ mortal combat” (says the blurb on the book cover).
I usually read about 50 pages of a book to give it a chance before I discard it. I made it to page 63 before I just couldn’t take it anymore. What did me in? The romance, which was overly cheesy and unrealistic!
Poison Pill started losing me at the start of chapter 6 (page 40 or so), when a buxom blonde model-turned-journalist shows up at Emma’s ex-husband’s house to interview him for a magazine. Before she meets him in person, we learn how she already feels a strong connection to him on behalf of all the research she did into his background—such as his growing up in Boston and going from rags to riches. She also mentions having a serious crush on him, which apparently blossomed after she saw a magazine photo of him gazing at his son with an expression of genuine fatherly “love and pride.” Before going into Josh’s home for the interview, the bimbo journalist has an extensive inner monologue regarding her plans to “hook” him as her boyfriend. It’s pathetic and funny, but makes me instantly dislike her character.
The moment Josh and the bimbo journalist are introduced, the flirting dialogue goes way over the top. Both characters instantly fall for one another and experience the same strong chemistry, apparently. This entire chapter (chapter 8) was terrible—I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes. I can’t even recall an actual romance novel that made me cringe like this one did.
Then, in chapter 9 (page 58 or so), we’re subjected to a romantic exchange between the Russian oligarch and his younger bride-to-be, which is just as sappy and cheesy. By that point, I just couldn’t take it anymore—it was far too much drama and shallow romance, and not enough suspense, thriller, and espionage. I wanted the author to regale us with details about Big Pharma scandals (whether fictional or not), and wasn’t expecting romantic overkill.
Over novels by Glenn Kaplan include Angel of Ambition (2022), Evil, Inc. (2007), and All for Money (1993).
Did you read Poison Pill (or did you at least try)? What were your thoughts?
Last Updated on April 16, 2026 by Sarah Ann
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