Trained as a pathologist and in forensic medicine, medical examiner Jonathan Hayes creates a character, Dr. Edward Jenner, who is still recovering from 9/11. Jenner, once a rising star in the medical examiners office in NYC has been doing private autopsies for wealthy families when a friend of a friend calls on him to be present at the autopsy of his daughter. Everyone is certain, not only from the gruesome way she died but his threats to the girls roommate, Ana, that a serial killer is on the loose. A traumatized Ana ends up staying with Jenner. As further homicides occur Jenner reconnects with his friends on the police force and they begin to put together the clues that will track down the killer. This is a dark book, the crimes are bloody and there are more than a few. The characters are well drawn, they've got their foibles and their strengths. The pacing and writing are good and the plot line believable. Since the late 1980's There have been plentiful novels centering on fictional forensic pathologists to choose from. The addition of Jonathan Hayes' , Edward Jenner, strengthens the field rather than dilutes it.

Dave Biemann