cover image Recycled: A General Jack Hospital Mystery

Recycled: A General Jack Hospital Mystery

Jo Bailey. St. Martin's Press, $19.95 (264pp) ISBN 978-0-312-09901-5

Following Bagged , this second mystery centering around Jackson County Medical Center, which is located in an unnamed city, features a hired gun named Hammer. Adept with bombs and rocket launchers, Hammer is versatile--he takes out one victim here with a piece of crispy fried chicken. Series heroine Jan Gallagher works in the hospital's security department, referred to as General Jack, where the DEA brings a patient who has agreed to testify against a major drug cartel in exchange for a new liver. The patient, a woman, is Hammer's principal target. As he zeroes in on her, Jan, a twice-married single mother with four daughters, co-ordinates hospital security with the DEA, copes with problems at home and fends off the romantic interests of a local cop. Meanwhile Hammer, leaving his trademark NFL sticker near every victim, makes his looming presence known. Jan, the police and DEA agents cook up a scheme to trap him that makes for a tense hospital shoot-out at the end. Despite the finale's excitement, Jan's family worries and wariness of relationships make her dull company. (Dec.)