THE VISITING PHYSICIAN

Something's happening to the children of tiny Meridian, Ohio, in Shreve's tenth novel (The Train Home, 1993, etc.), an implausible but darkly gripping modern gothic. In response to an ad, Dr. Helen Fielding, a young pediatrician, arrives in Meridian to care for the town's children, many of whom have fallen victim to a mysterious illness. One child has died and, upon Helen's arrival, a second succumbs. Not only that but a four-year-old girl, Maggie Sailor, has vanished, presumed kidnapped. People say that the town's woes began a couple months earlier when a CBS camera crew moved in to make a documentary about Meridian, a place meant to represent ``the pure product of America.'' But Helen knows that the dark side of Meridian has existed longer than that—years ago, when she summered here with relatives, her own two-year-old sister, Emma disappeared, lost forever. In fairly short order, Helen has diagnosed the children's malady and has it under control, but other mysteries remain: Why are the townspeople so threatened by Helen's presence among them? What lies behind the strange and secretive behavior of Prudential, the clinic nurse? And, most of all, what is the link between Meridian's present troubles and the earlier tragedy in Helen's life? Shreve builds the suspense well, creating a deliciously creepy feeling behind the cheerfully painted facades of Meridian's houses, and her depiction of townsfolk watching themselves obsessively on videotapes that constitute their own documentary is wonderful—instant mythologizing. Meanwhile, her prose, as always, slides down easily. By the end, of course, Helen has answered all the big questions, including her own, and if everything's resolved just a shade too patly, well, as anybody in Meridian could tell you, that's television. Thrills and—mostly—chills of small-town life: a good page- turner.