Kill Shot: A Shadow Industry, A Deadly Disease
An award-winning investigative journalist's horrifying true crime story of America's deadliest drug contamination outbreak and the greed and deception that fueled it.
READ AN EXCERPT (“The most terrifying article we’ve ever published, possibly.” - CrimeReads)
"If you like fast-paced forensic thrillers á la Kathy Reichs, you’ll love this tale of death and mayhem .... A harrowing, fast-paced tale of blind greed and sloppy science." - Kirkus, starred review
"A gripping journey … Informative and engrossing, this book is a page-turner about a deadly outbreak and a reckless compounding pharmacy. Recommended for fans of true-life medical thrillers." - Library Journal, starred review
“A spellbinding work of investigative journalism,” that is a “must read.” - Discover Magazine
“Kill Shot reconstructs this slow-moving tragedy in scenes of almost cinematic intensity. (The book) is coming out in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exposed the overall fragility of the U.S. health care system. By calling attention to just one facet of it, Dearen has performed a tremendous public service." - Ann Levin, AP Book Reviews
"This fast-moving and important story reads like a thriller but is all too true. As Jason Dearen makes clear, it could happen again—and probably will, unless we find a way to finally bring strict oversight to a dark corner of the drug industry." - Dan Fagin, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Toms River
“Jason Dearen's deeply researched book is more than just a good story—in the end, it's also a must-read indictment of our flawed pharmaceutical system and our embarrassingly inadequate regulatory response." - Deborah Blum, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of The Twentieth Century
“A shocking, fascinating, edge-of-your seat thrill ride, Kill Shot exposes the dark underbelly of American medicine. It's a must-read for anyone interested in the future of healthcare." - Matt McCarthy, MD, author of Superbugs: The Race to Stop an Epidemic
“Ace investigative reporting, meticulous science writing, and Agatha Christie suspense power Kill Shot, a potent exposé on the deadly consequences of greed and lax oversight in the drug industry. Dearen’s in-depth tale of how fungal meningitis spread from one compounding pharmacy to kill and maim Americans in multiple states is an indictment of self-regulation and a call to action to protect patients from even greater harm.” - Cynthia Barnett, author of Mirage, Blue Revolution, and Rain: A Natural and Cultural History