Fatal Analysis

After the vice president commits suicide, a congressman dies under odd circumstances and is also labeled a suicide. Another congressman's house is bombed soon after a phone call claims the bomber is the congressman himself. Only he couldn't have made the call: he's in a suburban inn awaiting a psychiatric examination at D.C.'s high-profile Marsden Clinic. Staff psychiatrist Jason Andrews tries to figure out why his exam subjects are either committing suicide--or being framed as suicides, uncovering plot to use Psychoden, a new truth-telling drug, to blackmail top government officials. Crisp writing blends with a solid grip on psychiatry to render a competent but not compelling thriller. (May)