The Plague Doctor: A Paisley Sterling Mystery #2

By E. Joan Sims

Mystery novelist Paisley Sterling is happier than she ever dreamed. As successful writer she is free to return to her mother's farm in Kentucky where she trades in her panty hose and high-heeled shoes for jeans and loafers. Her only problem is the pen name of "Leonard Paisley" that her agent encourages her to assume because "a detective novel will sell better if it's written by a man." Unfortunately Paisley finds out that every paradise has its snake when her beautiful daughter, Cassie falls, in love with a young epidemiologist from the Centers for Disease Control. Dr. Ethan McEnery has come to Rowan Springs to investigate a medical mystery. When he is unexpectedly arrested for rape and murder, Ethan turns to Paisley - and "Leonard" for help. What follows is a roller coaster ride of slapstick comedy and nail-biting suspense as Paisley, her daughter, and her mother, Anna, search for clues to the crime and the mysterious deaths that brought the CDC to Rowan Springs in the first place. During their investigations they discover a man who, in his insane desire to become the ultimate judge of who will live and who will die, has unleashed a dangerous and deadly pathogen that may prove impossible for even the most advanced medical science to contain...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wildside Press
• Release date: Feb 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9781434449306

Book preview

Reviews for The Plague Doctor

[newsieq · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When Cassie DeLeon’s love interest, an epidemiologist who’s investigating a medical mystery in their Kentucky hometown, is arrested for rape and murder, three generations of snoopy Southern ladies decide to investigate. Mystery writer Paisley Sterling DeLeon, her “steel magnolia” mother Anna and daughter Cassie make quite a trio. Always elegantly attired for their investigative activities (mostly illegal) trying to free the good doctor from prison, they romp through rural Kentucky, ultimately uncovering a diabolical plot and putting all their lives in peril. The Plague Doctor has a split personality. It is sometimes a good, old fashioned caper … all witty dialogue and lighthearted fun. Other times, the story is deadly serious (as is the book’s cover art), with a string of the most innocent victims and an incredibly evil villain. I thought the juxtaposition of the book’s two personalities was quite jarring at times – not all readers may feel that way. After reading the dust jacket, I was prepared to like The Plague Doctor, but found myself annoyed with some of the author’s verbal idiosyncrasies. If she would have used the words “beautiful” and “lovely” one more time, I would have screamed. And since Paisley, the first-person narrator, referred to her “beautiful daughter Cassie” on page one, there was no need tell us she is beautiful over and over again ad nauseum. And I don’t think most readers will care if Cassie has “pretty” knees. Review based on publisher- or author-provided review copy.