Blood Poison: A C.S.U. Investigation
by D.H. Dublin
Published by Berkley Books
Click on book
cover to order
at Amazon.com
Reviewed by Kathy Perschmann
Madison Cross returns in this second book in the series (following Body Trace) set in Philadelphia.
Madison has quit her medical work just before her residency; technically she is a doctor; and she has returned to work with her uncle Dave in Philadelphia’s Crime Scene Unit. Her father was also a policeman, until he succumbed to drink after his wife’s death, and Madison was raised by her aunt and uncle.
Madison has two cases she is working on. One seems to be a straightforward suicide, and in the other case she is trying to identify the remains of a woman left in a ditch near a parking lot. All she has to go on is a possible race, sex, age, a bus pass, a fingernail with a design on it, and a lens implant.
The suicide of Derek Grant seems a natural death at first, but then they discover drugs in his system. Madison is busy trying to assist Derek’s devastated elderly wheelchair-bound father, Horace. He had left his new assisted living facility in a huff after only a week to return home to Derek, only to discover Madison there and Derek dead. What really went on? Has Derek’s brother Jack returned?
The science is fascinating: DNA, forensic anthropology, drug analysis, fingerprints on stretches of tape, the age of the ink on a note. Madison is relentless in her pursuit of the killer and her life is threatened in a most unusual way.
Madison and her city, Philadelphia, are portrayed with a deft touch. While this second book does not quite explain why Madison did not pursue being a doctor, why she turned to police work, and why she is holding off a potential interesting relationship, a bit of her past is exposed.
NOTE: D. H. Dublin is actually author Jonathan McGoran.
Armchair Interviews says: Interesting story well told with fascinating things to learn about science.