WHERE NO ONE SHOULD LIVE

In this thriller, a devious serial killer remains on the loose in an Arizona hospital—will the culprit be discovered and stopped before the next victim dies?

Dr. Maya Summer is the hero of Miller’s tale. She is the harried public health director for a Phoenix hospital who also mentors medical residents who will soon be out on their own. Then there’s her self-effacing colleague Alex Reddish and her love interest, the rich and handsome cardiac surgeon Whitaker Thicket. Resident Jim Barrow is OK some days and spacey on others. What is his problem? Another resident is the flirty and presumptuous Veronica Sampson. At first, no one suspects there’s a killer. But after some party punch is spiked and Alex’s bike is tampered with, it soon becomes apparent that someone is up to no good. Between chapters, there are short passages from the killer’s journal—typical aggrieved and egotistical stuff. The Maya-Whit romance finally sours—he was by turns bullying and needy—so will something good happen with Maya and Alex? Unfortunately, Alex’s life may be in serious danger. Miller is not only an experienced novelist, but also a retired doctor, so readers learn a lot about local diseases (valley fever, West Nile, etc.) and drugs both natural and human-made. In that sense, the book is not just entertaining, but educational as well. A subplot, well handled, concerns Maya’s harassment by bikers (she is trying to get the Arizona helmet law reinstated) and a tragic accident in her past. There are also the requisite minor characters, like the grumpy but wise retired physician who counsels Maya and the sweet neighbor kid who loves horses. Phoenix, with its punishing summer weather beautifully described (“The sky stood dazed, a feeble ruined blue”), is almost a character itself, which perhaps explains the gripping novel’s ominous title. A few readers may guess the killer’s identity before the finale. The murderer, like Iago, displays a “motiveless malignity,” which always complicates matters.

An enjoyable tale with plenty of suspense and the bonus of intriguing medical details.