The plot and structure of Strong Medicine are more linear than in Hailey's prior novels which all feature a medley of stories involving different characters related in various ways to the institution under examination. This novel, in fact, has a definite central character and plot and its few subplots are eventually resolved in decisions Celia makes about the policies and concerns of Felding-Roth. As in other novels by Hailey, the action unfolds in brief episodes filled with melodrama and suspense. When appropriate, the characters discuss the background and procedures of the drug industry, thereby introducing medical and pharmaceutical matters in a believable manner.

The author sometimes seems to ask the reader to assume a skeptical stance toward the drug industry. His overall view, however, is conventionally optimistic, supporting reassuring assumptions about the methods adopted by the industry and showing how its contributions outweigh its abuses. At the end...