Time of Death: A Stillwater General Mystery

In Kerr’s intriguing debut, Frankie Stapleton, an emergency room nurse at Chicago Memorial Hospital, returns home to quiet Stillwater, Ill., to help her sister, Charlie, with a difficult pregnancy. Frankie’s first visit to Stillwater General Hospital happens to coincide with the hospital dealing with multiple casualties from a bus crash. When she spots elderly Clem Jensen, who has suffered a heart attack, waiting on a bench outside the ER, Frankie treats him herself. Since Jensen later appears to be recovering, Frankie is shocked by his sudden death—and by hearing from the hospital’s vice president that Jensen’s son-in-law, Jimmy Madigan, is threatening a lawsuit because of her unauthorized actions. Frankie’s attempts to investigate what she’s sure isn’t a natural death alienate her former fiancé, Noah MacLean, now a sheriff’s deputy. Frankie identifies several suspects, including Madigan, and stirs things up enough that the killer tries to frame her for murder. An appealing heroine and well-researched medical detail make this a promising series start. Agent: Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary. (Dec.)