A Man to Die for

Dreyer, a veteran romance novelist ( Hotshotone word/pk , under the pseudonym Kathleen Korbel) and former nurse, levels a roguish sense of humor at the medical establishment in this entertaining romantic thriller. When handsome, charismatic gynecologist Dale Hunsacker breezes onto the St. Louis, Mo., medical scene, he enchants patients and hospital staff alike. But Casey McDonough, an emergency room nurse, doesn't buy ``his familiarity or his greasy smiles or his control games with his patients.'' A nurse disappears and another is killed, and Casey wonders if it is only a coincidence that both of them had quarreled seriously with Hunsacker. When a prostitute is murdered and it develops that the good doctor knew this woman as well, Casey takes her speculations to the police. Personable but overworked homicide sergeant Jack Scanlon receives her coolly; after all, Casey has no proof, only hunches directed at an inconvenient target: Hunsacker is respected, wealthy--and friends with the mayor. Meanwhile her fears are confirmed in a terrifying way: Hunsacker subtly hints that he knows exactly what she suspects and that he will be a dangerous adversary as she seeks evidence of his guilt. (July)