Wendell Black, MD

Wendell Black, a middle-aged police surgeon for the NYPD, evolves into an action hero reminiscent of John McClane, Bruce Willis’s character in the Die Hard series, in plastic surgeon Imber’s well-written first novel. Wendell has a fairly routine work schedule, spending mornings supervising sick call, to assess which cops are actually ill and should be excused from their duties. Drama enters his life on a flight from England to New York. When a middle-aged woman loses consciousness on the plane, the purser asks Wendell to provide medical assistance, but he is unable to save her. A surprise during the subsequent autopsy proves to be just the first of a series of alarming events. The deceased ends up having a connection with a friend of Black’s love interest, fellow doctor Alice Sheppard, who soon disappears. As the stakes increase, the story becomes less plausible, and the book delivers less than it promises. (Feb.)