Skeleton Justice

April 6, 2009
The middling second forensic thriller from eminent pathologist Baden and his attorney wife (after Remains Silent
) finds their fictional alter egos, Jake Rosen, New York City’s deputy chief medical examiner, and his girlfriend, lawyer Philomena “Manny” Manfreda, both pursuing important cases. Jake is helping the police look into the attacks of “the Vampire,” who has rendered five victims, including an opera singer, unconscious before draining some blood from their arms. Later, the Vampire ups the ante to murder. Meanwhile, Manny is defending a young man charged with setting a bomb in a mailbox that almost killed a federal judge. Few will be surprised when these separate plot lines intersect. Weak characterizations, a predictable damsel-in-distress twist and a shot in the dark, rather than Jake’s scientific skill, that saves the day won’t satisfy fans of Kathy Reichs and other authors of first-rate forensic thrillers. Author tour.

May 1, 2009
A bizarre series of attacks that terrify New York may be linked to the brutal history of a foreign regime.

Dr. Jake Rosen spots details the police miss. When he's called in to examine the latest victim of the Vampire, a strange attacker who uses ether to subdue his apparently random victims and then withdraws a vial of their blood, he sees a clinician's touch in the odd crime. His girlfriend, chic and beautiful lawyer Philomena Manfreda (Manny), is intrigued too, but riled when Jake tries to warn her against defending one of the so-called"Preppy Terrorists," two private-school students mixed up in the bombing of a mailbox that injures a federal judge. Despite her fascination with fashion, Manny's a bulldog on a case, and she sees her client being railroaded while his buddy, the child of an ambassador, gets a free pass. When Manny hires Jake's brother to investigate for her, and a contact ends up dead, things grow complicated. Meanwhile, the Vampire has progressed to murder, and the only lead is a Spanish-language cookbook hidden in the apartment of one of his victims. Naturally, the two cases turn out to be linked, and before long Manny finds herself in the Vampire's clutches, privy to secrets from a very dark past. The married authors use their backgrounds—he's a forensic pathologist, she's a trial attorney—to great advantage in their second collaboration (Remains Silent, 2005). Scenes with both the living and the dead are always believable, and the protagonists' love for their professions shines through. But it's the chemistry between appealing Jake and Manny that really drives the book, as well as Manny's amusing, and useful, affection for her toy poodle, Mycroft.

A well-plotted thriller supported by real-world experience and the main characters' likability.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 1, 2009
Its hard to imagine a lesscompatible twosome: Philomena Manfreda (Manny for short) is a tough, energetic defense attorney who goes with her gut and has aclassy designer wardrobe that threatens to take over her tiny apartment; Jake Rosen, deputy chief medical examiner for New York City, depends on facts and dresses in clothes that look like they were bought during the Reagan administration.But opposites clearly attract, asthe duos second outing proves. This time around, thepair, aided by Jakes brother, who does the investigative legwork, pursuesa killer with a penchant for stealing victims blood. The authors (Linda, an experienced trial attorney, and Michael, a renowned forensic expert)know the background, but they mine it with a light touch; thescientific particulars are lessintegral to the goings on (and less vivid) than fans ofTempe Brennan or Kay Scarpetta might expect. Whats most memorable herearethe brisk pace and the characters sparkling repartee, which make for apleasantlyentertaining change of pace.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)