Lethal Control

Doctor Nora Kelly returns to investigate mysterious community deaths that reveal a deadly pattern of environmental injustice.

Book 2 in the acclaimed Dr. Nora Kelly Mystery Series from the physician-author of Death of the Good Doctor—Lessons from the Heart of the AIDS Epidemic.

When multiple patients from the same community start arriving at Oakland City Hospital with baffling symptoms, emergency room physician Dr. Nora Kelly realizes she's witnessing more than coincidence.

This medical mystery with social conscience combines authentic emergency medicine with environmental justice themes. Drawn from real medical experience detailed in the author's powerful memoir, Dr. Kelly investigates environmental crimes that authorities want to ignore.

An authentic medical mystery that tackles real issues:
Environmental justice angle from a physician's perspective
Real medical knowledge applied to community health
Second book in the series praised for medical authenticity
Urban medical mystery with social conscience

Perfect for readers who enjoyed Immortal Wounds and appreciate medical mysteries written by actual physicians. From the emergency room to the streets, follow Dr. Kelly as she fights for both patients and justice.

Complete Dr. Nora Kelly Mystery Series: Immortal Wounds (Book 1), Lethal Control (Book 2), Double Fault (Book 3). 

Also by the author: Death of the Good Doctor (medical memoir), and Flood Stage (literary novel).

Editorial Reviews

"... a mystery threaded with social activism and environmental justice. In present-day Oakland, California, Nora Kelly is a doctor in a community hospital. When a number of desperately ill homeless people are brought into her care, Kelly is pulled into a web of intrigue surrounding the redevelopment of a local stadium site where her patients camp... With the aid of her colleagues, Kelly investigates the site's potential contamination. As the novel races toward its conclusion, she uncovers a decades-old conspiracy that interweaves many of Oakland's most pressing social problems, including homelessness, environmental racism and gentrification... Scannell excels at characterization, bringing a vibrancy to individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, from debutantes to homeless individuals. For example, Red, who plays a critical role in the plot as a guard at the stadium site, displays a poignant tenderness beneath a rough demeanor shaped by his own years on the streets...The plot is taut and engaging... Scannell's authorial gaze is remarkably compassionate, especially to those who have been discarded by society at large. In addition to being an intriguing mystery, the novel is a cry for social activism..."
--BlueInk Review

Lethal Control is a physician-led mystery with a strong social message...This series title includes characters from a previous volume; their introductions here are light, but their personalities are still made apparent... And the book's mystery elements are punctuated with scenes of medical drama...These varying stories connect in the high-energy resolution, in which Nora's fears-and her willingness to push through them-are validated...
--Foreword Clarion Reviews