SEVEN NORTH

by Neil Ravin ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 23, 1985

Ravin, author of a harrowing, bitterly funny all-medicine novel, M.D. (1981), and an almost-as-good follow-up, Informed Consent (1983), now adds a convoluted murder-mystery plot to the protocol--with mixed, intermittently involving results. The doctor-hero this time is narrator Ben Abrams, a Vietnam vet and Washington G.P. with a so-so private practice--and a sideline specialty in blood-sugar disturbances. So, when former South Vietnamese general Nguyen Duc Dhieu (hospitalized for pneumonia) dies of a sudden, unexplained drop in blood sugar, St. George's Hospital turns the investigation over to Ben--who'd rather not get involved. . . but can't afford to jeopardize his hospital affiliation. Did the general's nurse accidentally give him an insulin overdose? Or was the insulin supply defective? Or was there foul play? Those are the key questions for Ben--but his low-key sleuthing (interviews, lab tests) is soon overshadowed by the new women in his 39-year-old life, who just happen to have some elusive connections to the Dhieu case. There's gorgeous patient Maureen Banting, a possible victim of hypoglycemia, who was a Vietnam nurse--as was her obese, clinging roommate Helen (now a nurse in St. George's research wing). There's older, sexy Le Van Que--who becomes Ben's impromptu patient (ruptured spleen) when their paths cross in a Washington car-accident. Furthermore, while Ben finds himself having affairs (of very different sorts) with both Maureen and Mrs. Que, he's also aware of being followed. . . by Vietnamese men. So, before the crisscross of crimes is sorted out, there'll be near-fatal hypoglycemic attacks for Maureen (drug-induced?), a medical rarity or two, and layered inquiries into the Maureen/Helen relationship--especially its Vietnam background. Dr. Ravin is only fair as a mystery/suspense writer: some of the secrets are obvious from the start; others (including one Agatha Christie-ish twist) are implausible; the pacing is ragged. And more than a few of Dr. Ben's narrative digressions--nostalgia for the Sixties, Vietnam rue--are a little soggy. But whenever the subject turns directly to medicine, whether it's hypochondria or Addison's disease or a brand-new experimental drug, Ravin is brisk, gritty, and knowledgeably ironic--with a down-to-earth realism that keeps this fanciful thriller reasonably under control.

Pub Date: April 23, 1985

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1985

Categories: FICTION