LIFE BLOOD

A good deal turns into a nightmare for a recovering alcoholic.

In the downtown L.A. parking garage that she owns and that’s located just downstairs from her apartment, Rachel Chavez discovers two children locked in a van and near death. She rushes them to nearby Jefferson Hospital, whose spokespeople deny all knowledge of them when she returns the next day. Up to now, Rachel’s life has been going well. She’s engaged but not yet ready to marry Hank, a water-quality engineer. Her father, a gambling addict, is on a winning streak and talking volubly about her formerly uncharted Mexican roots. And the hospital has contracted for a large number of parking spaces. But this good news is canceled by her obsession with finding out what happened to the children. Her questions bring her together with a doctor who does charity work in Mexico and transplants at Jefferson Hospital, as well as an attractive hospital pharmacist and a congenial drug rep. While she’s snooping in a hidden hospital ward, someone plants a bottle of OxyContin in her jacket, and she’s charged with theft. Then Hank is shot during a camping trip with her, and she realizes that someone is willing to kill her before she learns what’s going on at the hospital. Can she trust any of her new friends? Or are they all part of the shocking events that may lead to her death?

A quality follow-up to Rachel’s first adventure (Thicker Than Blood, 2005).