The Silent Cradle

Dr. Rae Duprey, vice-chair of Berkeley Hills Hospital's OB/GYN department, has capably met the challenges of being a rare black woman in her profession. But her life is thrown into turmoil when she learns that her department may be eliminated--largely because the rival Birth Center, whose medical director is Rae's arrogant ex-boyfriend, is luring away patients with high-end frills. That's just the beginning of her troubles in this promising but ultimately flat debut about murderous behind-the-scenes scheming in the baby-delivering business. When a series of Birth Center patients with serious complications arrive at Berkeley Hills, Rae starts to wonder whether the Birth Center may be admitting high-risk patients it's not qualified to care for. When a nurse who's also Rae's best friend is savagely attacked, Rae begins to suspect something may be more seriously awry. Then she is blamed for the difficult deliveries and dismissed from the staff. Obstetrician Cuthbert shines when she's describing delivery-room drama, conveying the kind of reflexes and judgment a dedicated physician must cultivate. Unfortunately, the inherent suspense of such scenes is undercut by a byzantine, unconvincing plot. Worse, the characters are wooden types it's hard to care about outside the delivery room--even in the case of the protagonist, who's the model of an ideal doctor but fails to come alive as a human being. Author tour. (Apr.)