Desperate Remedy: An Edwina Crusoe Mystery

Nurse Edwina Crusoe's pregnancy has given her an appetite for oysters and limburger cheese--an unfortunate combination. But at least not lethal, as is the bullet that kills the wife of Dr. Victor Clarke. The doctor himself survives a separate attack and remains unconscious in New Haven's Chelsea Memorial Hospital as two of his attending nurses are killed. Clearly, someone wants Dr. Clarke dead. Edwina, on maternity leave, is restless and decides to investigate. Her probe into the general practitioner's life yields several mysteries: an empty house, a personal history that reaches back only a few years, a fanatical devotion to charity and an adopted son with a weak alibi and a strong motive for murder. Edwina is helped, as usual, by her husband, a former cop now in law school; she is hindered, as always, by her wealthy meddling mother; and she is guided, naturally, by her own charm and cunning, which allow her to find a killer amongst a veritable herd of chemically dependent hospital workers. She also has time to come to the aid of an elderly artist friend who may be sliding into senility as he makes the difficult transition into old age. Kittredge ( Walking Dead Man ) covers a lot of narrative ground in spirited, energetic prose. (Nov.)