A Suitable Vengeance

Acknowledgements

A certain amount of research goes into the creation of any novel, but I am particularly indebted to several people who assisted me with background information for this book.

Dr Daniel Vallera, Professor and Director of the Section of Experimental Cancer Immunology, Department of Therapeutic Radiology, at the University of Minnesota, fielded countless lengthy telephone calls on countless aspects of medical research. I deeply appreciate his good-humoured ability to explain the inexplicable in a hundred different and creative ways.

Dr L.L. Houston of CETUS Corporation in San Francisco, California, spent a patient and thorough conversation walking me through all the steps of the development of a drug, from its initial 'discovery' to its final marketing.

Inspector Michael Stephany generously provided me with information from the Orange County Narcotics Squad.

And Virginia Bergman first made me aware of the potential uses of a drug called ergotamine.

Beyond those people, I thank Julie Mayer, my finest and most devoted critic; Vivienne Schuster, Tony Mott, and Georgina Morley, who make valiant attempts to keep me true to my subject; Deborah Schneider, the most supportive literary agent I could possibly hope for; and Kate Miciak, my editor and advocate at Bantam.