Grave Concerns
Grade : B-

Gwen Hunter's Rhea Lynch series has given me much enjoyment in the past. The first book in the series, Delayed Diagnosis, is a great, suspenseful read and the two books following it (Prescribed Danger and Deadly Remedy) are also quite good. Because the author has worked in the medical field, her use of medical terminology and settings gives a wonderful sense of place to her books. Grave Concerns has some very promising elements and succeeds with many of them, but ultimately there is too much going on in this book for it to ever fully pull itself together.

As fans of the series already know, Dr. Rhea Lynch is a thirty-something doctor from Charleston. Raised by a destructively alcoholic mother, she has returned to rural Dawkins County, South Carolina to work as an ER doctor. Rhea spent some childhood summers in Dawkins with her best friend Marisa and working there allows her to return to the one place she ever wanted to call home.

In this installment of the series, Rhea is tapped to act as coroner while the regular coroner recovers from gunshot wounds. During her time on the job, she is pulled into what starts as a case involving a teenager murdering the man he alleges abused both him and his vanished sister. As events unfold, it becomes apparent that their is a serial kiler or killers operating in and around Dawkins. Rhea's new role forces her to work closely with her on-again/off-again boyfriend, Deputy Mark Stafford, forcing in turn both Rhea and Mark to face some of the personal issues arising between them.

The hunt for the wrong-doers in this book is, for the most part, very action-packed and tightly written. I was, however, bothered by the fact that one must suspend a great deal of disbelief in order to accept that murders of this magnitude are going on in a place as small as Dawkins without anyone noticing that something unusual is happening. Hunter's writing is entertaining and she does a good job of creating tension, so I wanted to let myself get swept away. Unfortunately, my logical mind just wouldn't let me do it.

The hunt for the serial killer(s) brings in numerous characters; sometimes it's difficult to keep their names and roles straight. Other new characters are introduced as well. Rhea's beloved friend Marisa meets someone new, and Rhea herself meets a man who may prove to be a rival to Mark. While most of the new characters themselves were interesting, some secondary characters established in earlier books got a little lost in the vast array of subplots. Seeing new layers to the people already present in Rhea's life would have added a lot of depth to this book, and perhaps could have given it a more grounded feel. Instead, many of Rhea's close friends and colleagues seemed to make mere token appearances and didn't enhance the story as they normally do.

This book doesn't truly stand alone; the main characters develop and their relationships develop across books in a manner similar to the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich or J.D. Robb's In Death series. In this installment, Rhea manages to spend time doing some soul-searching with regard to issues arising during the time that she and Mark were not together. She also has to make some decisions regarding pursuing romantic relationships. I appreciated this new depth to her character. Rhea has a hard time with things such as trust and commitment. Watching Rhea think (and sometimes agonize) through her relationship with Mark made me feel as though I was sitting alongside a friend going through a rough time. It made her character seem very real.

Hunter also does a good job of showing how Rhea must think through her life in general. In the earlier books of the series, Rhea lives her life from shift to shift at the hospital and refrains from making many long-term decisions. In this novel, she has come to a point where she must think about the future and her life beyond her job. Rhea is an intelligent, independent, and likeable character, so I enjoyed seeing these new levels of her personality develop. She has a lot of interesting thoughts on life and her inner journey is often as enjoyable as the action surrounding her. Since she has such an individual voice, the fact that her story is always told in the first person is effective.

However, with so much going on both emotionally and plot-wise in Grave Concerns, it leaves one with the feeling that way too much was packed into a single book. The number of subplots and over-the-top action even managed to dilute Rhea's trademark voice a bit at times. Still, Rhea, Mark, and their circle of friends are engaging characters and the series as a whole is a joy to read. While not the strongest showing, this novel will not deter me from seeking out future books by any means. For those not familiar with these books, I would advise you to pick up Delayed Diagnosis and go from there.

Reviewed by Lynn Spencer
Grade : B-
Book Type: Suspense

Sensuality: Kisses

Review Date : January 31, 2004

Publication Date: 2004

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Lynn Spencer

I enjoy spending as much time as I can between the covers of a book, traveling through time and around the world. When I'm not having adventures with fictional characters, I'm an attorney in Virginia and I love just hanging out with my husband, little man, and the cat who rules our house.
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