The Taste of Wormwood: A John Eisenmenger Forensic Mystery

In McCarthy’s erratic ninth mystery featuring forensic pathologist John Eisenmenger (after 2010’s Soul Seeker), Det. Chief Insp. Beverley Wharton’s investigation into the slaughter of a Pakistani couple in their Gloucester, England, home intensifies after the discovery of an elderly widow killed in the same grisly manner on her farm. What is the link? Forensic pathologist John Eisenmenger, Wharton’s friend and confidant, thinks he may have found one when he attends the mystifying autopsy of Arthur Meadows, a lorry driver with Middle East connections. What was the cause of Meadows’s death, and more important, what was his cargo? Wharton’s thorny personality and her chronic cynicism make the case difficult, particularly since she has a hostile relationship with her racist and politically motivated sergeant. A torturous plot that jumps from location to location almost derails the story, but Eisenmenger, with his clinical detachment and brilliant logic, brings everything to a satisfying close. (Nov.)