In Hathaway's worthy follow-up to Scarecrow
(2003), motorcycle aficionado Dr. Jo Banks finds herself trying to exonerate a childhood friend accused of murder. Self-exiled from New York City because of a misdiagnosis that ended tragically, Jo runs a peaceful health clinic from a motel in rural New Jersey. A confrontation-hungry gang of bikers, "Satan's Apostles," rolls in one evening sneering at Jo's non-Harley "rice-burner." When Jo recognizes the leader, Pi, as a neighborhood geek who was once smitten with her, she realizes he's not the usual biker type—after all, he's a mathematician and MIT dropout. An impromptu bash in the motel's parking lot leads to a scuffle leaving one "apostle" dead, apparently at Pi's hands. While Pi goes on the lam on his Harley, Jo searches for the real killer. To complicate matters, Jo's boyfriend is witness to several easily misunderstood clinches that put their comfortable relationship at risk. Hathaway is best at creating likable characters and evoking place; the plot suffers from inconsistent pacing and a less-than-fleshed-out mystery. Despite the biker milieu, this is one for cozy fans, not readers of Barbara Seranella's gritty Munch Mancini novels. Agent, Laura Langlie. (Oct. 29)
FYI:
Hathaway is also the author of
The Doctor Digs a Grave, which won an Agatha Award for Best First Novel, and three other titles in her Doctor Fenimore mystery series.
