THE SILENT SLEEP OF THE DYING

A young woman dies, her body literally exploding with dozens of different types of cancer. A talented but weak-willed pathologist, hired to autopsy her body, is blackmailed into falsifying his report. It's a perfect case for the highly interesting team of British lawyer Helena Flemming and her partner, forensic pathologist Dr. John Eisenmenger, who proved in their first outing (2003's A Feast of Carrion ) that there's plenty of life left in the medical thriller—especially if the author, like McCarthy, is a working pathologist who can also write exciting, literate prose. The father of 23-year-old Millicent Sweet, who worked as a lab technician for a pharmaceutical company and who just days before her death appeared to be in excellent health, comes to Flemming for help in proving that his daughter's death wasn't from natural causes, despite the autopsy. Helena in turn recruits a reluctant Eisenmenger, bruised from their last adventure and some personal tragedy. Despite a predictable villain, McCarthy includes enough fascinating and grisly details from the cutting room to make his forensic forays worth putting on the latex gloves for. Once again, fans of Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs and CSI should be well pleased. (Sept. 9)