Review: Tangled Medical Mystery
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 10, 2013
Veronica Lane, a physician, is saddened and disappointed when a young woman in her care dies unexpectedly. Later, Lane is stunned when autopsy reveals that the cause of death was arsenic poisoning rather than the condition Lane was treating the patient for. Lane comes under suspicion of murder when authorities discover she had a supply of arsenic and her ex-husband was having an affair with the victim. The picture is complicated by suspicious detectives, unscrupulous medical insurers, a hard-nosed old-school hospital administrator, and other factors. To her benefit, she has a clean record, a close friend in the DA's office, and is supported by several medical colleagues. As the outlook clouds, she is arrested, charged with murder, and incarcerated. There she meets a plucky young hooker who raises her spirits. She hires a lawyer and fights to prove her innocence. The author presents the action that follows from the alternating viewpoints of Lane and three other characters, providing a sense of urgency as well as forcing the reader to build a picture from the separate narratives while unraveling the murder mystery itself. Complexity compounds with a second murder. The tangled tale concludes with a surprising twist.The novel is well written and edited, the dialogue spare and realistic. At points it deals with technical subjects (medical diagnoses, autopsy results, pathology), but always clearly enough for a layperson to understand. What I liked most was the characterization of Lane, who, though sensitive and vulnerable, rose to the challenge of her situation. At points, the emotion came through strongly; for example, when Lane lost her patient.Recommended for mystery/suspense fans.