Quite Ugly One Morning

Paranoia, politics, and greed make for “a lean, nasty, fun little page-turner” about the murder of a powerful Scottish scion (The New York Times). Investigative journalist Jack Parlabane has visited plenty of crime scenes but whoever carved up Dr. Jeremy Ponsoby wanted to send a particularly revolting message. As jet-lagged, hungover, and nauseated as he may be, Parlabane knows this was no break-in gone wrong. Dr. Sarah Slaughter, anesthesiologist and ex-wife of the victim, is beginning to believe it, too. Ponsoby had plenty of secrets, and in a profession that thrives on corruption, collusion, and an appalling disregard for public welfare, anything is possible. But the motivations for her husband’s murder cut even deeper than they can imagine. Are Parlabane and Slaughter a match for the skullduggery? It depends on how much more of the black morals and full-color bloodshed of the Edinburgh medical society they can stomach in this “thrillingly unpleasant” winner of the First Blood Award for Best First Crime Novel of the Year (Esquire).