Lethal Intent

In this serviceable mystery from Putman (the Hidden Justice series), Virginia lawyer Caroline Bragg and Brandon Lancaster, her longtime friend and a former NFL player, are taking the first tentative steps toward falling in love. At the same time, she’s starting work as legal counsel for Praecursoria, a startup doing pioneering research into T-cell therapies that “could be the difference between life and death for young cancer patients.” Her first day on the job, Caroline discovers that Brandon owns stock in Praecursoria—and one of the children at the foster care facility that he finances is enrolled in one of Praecursoria’s trials. Within days, the scientist overseeing the tests is killed in a car accident. Then another member of the team dies under suspicious circumstances, and Caroline finds herself face to face with a homicidal adversary. The well-developed medical background compensates for a standard plot and some lackluster prose. Those who like their mysteries with no sex or bad language will best appreciate this one. [em]Agent: Karen Solem, Spencerhill Assoc. (Jan.) [/em]