Nurse Dawes is Dead

In this solid British cozy, Detective Inspector Richard Montgomery of Nottingham is plunged into the medical world when surgeon Robin Winterly's going away party ends with the discovery of a dead nurse. Loretta Dawes had alluded to a secret, married lover shortly before her death; her autopsy reveals that she was pregnant and her death the result of barbiturate poisoning. Montgomery and his faithful Sergeant Bird find an empty prescription bottle with an illegible label in Dr. and Mrs. Winterly's medicine cabinet, but it's a weak clue since everyone at the party had access to the bottle. Gradually Montgomery and Bird peel back the layers of Dawes's love life in order to identify who made her pregnant and determine whether her death was suicide or murder. Modern forensic techniques add authenticity to this suspenseful puzzler as Shepherd (Thinner Than Blood), a retired radiologist, leads readers to her deftly staged conclusion. (Jan.)