M and M
A Thriller
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
Vicki Shea, the hero of Mortal Judgments, returns in this new thriller from the mind of John A. Peak. Since defending her client from malpractice charges in Mortal Judgments, Vicki has returned to medicine, and now practices full time as a pediatrician.
When a severely injured infant is brought into the hospital, the nurse bypasses the on-call doctor and immediately calls Vicki. Vicki's years spent practicing law make her the best choice for dealing with such questionable cases. The mother claims the injuries are the result of a fall she took while holding the child, but the injuries tell another story. Vicki notifies the police then plunges, single-mindedly, into what she knows will be a long, frustrating, and exhausting battle with nature. Vicki will not allow this patient to fall into the hospital's statistics officially known as "morbidity and mortality," the M and M.
The police arrest and charge the mother for child abuse. Then she apparently commits suicide while out on bail. Vicki is not satisfied, and, with the help of her friend Detective Tim Murphy, she stubbornly traces the murder of the child's mother to a sinister, criminal network that becomes a personal threat to her.
"An accomplished actioner with unfulfilled hints of something deeper." - Kirkus Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
M and M stands for hospital morbidity and mortality tables in Peak's taut, well-told page-turner featuring doctor-lawyer Shea, last seen in 1999's Mortal Judgments. Pediatrician Vicki Shea is called in when a severely injured infant is rushed to San Francisco's Gunnison Memorial Hospital. The memory of Shea's own brain-damaged baby is still fresh in her mind despite the passage of 20-odd years. The mother says the baby's injuries are the result of a fall, but since the blue marks on both upper arms suggest child abuse, the mother is arrested. Out on bail a few days later, she apparently commits suicide, leaving a note reading "I am so sorry." End of case? No, just the beginning. Vicki joins with San Francisco police detective Tim Murphy to investigate what they soon come to realize is a homicide. Shea comes across as an appealing, brainy protagonist, while the author's sure sense of pace and clinical understatement are other strengths. ("If the muzzle is held against the flesh, when it's fired it leaves a distinct ring of powder residue concentrated around the edge of the hole like a stencil," Murphy explains for Shea's benefit. "This one had powder residue sprayed all around her mouth. The gun was at least several inches, maybe a foot away from her face when it fired.") And, unlike many contemporary thriller writers, Peak doesn't depend on overdone violence to tighten the screws.
