The Doctor Digs a Grave

Winner of the Agatha Award and the SMP/Malice Domestic Competition for Best First Traditional Mystery Novel

Available for house calls-- and homicide...

When cardiologist Dr. Andrew Fenimore isn't mending weak hearts, he's solving crimes in Philadelphia's wealthy Society Hill. But murder is the last thing the good doctor expects when he befriends a teenage boy trying to bury his dead cat. As the two dig a grave for the cat's final resting place in a vacant lot-- which happens to be an ancient burial ground-- they discover a fresh corpse, buried feet flexed, facing east, according to Lenape Indian tradition.

Fenimore's P.I. pastime starts to become a distinct health hazard as he and his young sidekick follow the trail of the deceased young woman straight to the son of a colleague, one of Philadelphia's most prominent surgeons. Surely the scion of a fine old Philadelphia family and his Indian fiancee ignited some powerful passions. But are they enough to risk trying for the perfect murder in a place where civility rules with an iron fist in a velvet glove?