The anatomist's apprentice A Dr. Thomas Silkstone mystery

McGill's efforts to protect Zella and his own large, fractious family take him all over the city, from an East River mansion with priceless art in the living room to a shabby house in Coney Island with a decomposing corpse in the laundry room. These purposeful wanderings put him in contact with a profusion of wonderfully shifty characters like Sweet Lemon Charles, a "lifetime thief" turned poet, and a retired assassin named Hush who currently owns a fleet of limousines. McGill, of course, is the most vivid character of them all, smart and tough and huge of heart, but decidedly touchy about his diminutive stature. Although skin color is also important to this middle-aged black man, height is what really matters - and there's a reason for that. "Big men throw around their weight from an early age," McGill reflects. "At some point they assume this is a God-given right. Every now and then it's good for a short guy like me to disrupt that surety." Spoken like a man. A very big man. More! More! More! Fans are always clamoring for additional information about the personal lives of their favorite detectives. But who knew that even authors sometimes wish they'd been more forthcoming about their sleuths' early careers? In her 17th Anna Pigeon mystery, THE ROPE (Minotaur, $25.99), Nevada Barr goes back to 1995 to explain the dramatic circumstances that determined why this National Park Service ranger decided to go into law enforcement. "I believe more women should carry guns," Anna says at the end of the book. "I believe armed women will make the world a better place. Women need to come to think of themselves not as victims but as dangerous." But what drove this reserved woman to make such an extraordinarily defiant statement? As a stage manager who fled New York after the loss of her husband, Anna has little wilderness experience and no commitment to her job at the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the Arizona-Utah border. But after witnessing a murder, she wakes up naked, injured and at the mercy of whoever threw her into a 30-foot-deep pit. It's a harrowing survival story, well imagined and forcefully told, about a brutal act that inspires a weak woman to become a strong one. Like every mother's child, every author's detective is exceptional. But Carol O'Connell takes it way over the top with the mythic scale of her mad-genius New York City cop, Kathy Mallory. In THE CHALK GIRL (Putnam, $25.95), the ineffably gorgeous and phenomenally gifted detective (Mallory the Machine to her browbeaten colleagues) takes over the protection of an 8-year-old girl called Coco who witnessed a grisly murder in Central Park. Coco has Williams syndrome, a genetic condition that accounts for her angelic features and extreme craving for physical affection - qualities that leave her vulnerable to predators like Uncle Red and whoever strung him up in a tree and let the rats have at him. Mallory's idiosyncrasies make her a natural for this bizarre case, but her professional skills and belligerent manner are broadcast in a comic-book idiom so lurid it would make even Lisbeth Salander blush. With its inviting typeface, touchy-feely paper stock and come-hither cover illustration of an English street scene shimmering under gaslight, THE ANATOMIST'S APPRENTICE (Kensington, paper, $15), Tessa Harris's first historical novel about a pioneering American anatomist in London, pretty much jumps into your hands. There's even a glossary (with entries for "French pox" and "miasma," even "grave wax") to let us know exactly what we're in for with this densely plotted yarn about a crafty 18th-century poisoner wreaking havoc on the Oxfordshire estate of a noble family. Once he's finally allowed access to the corpse of the young Earl Crick, Dr. Thomas Silkstone does a grimly admirable job of countering this wickedness by practicing his own blend of scientific arts. Unfortunately, the author seems not to know when she's onto a good thing, and proceeds to gum up the fascinating details of early forensics with a sticky romance and Grand Guignol contrivances. Nonetheless, we await - indeed, demand - the sequel. Walter Mosley comes from the Raymond Chandler pick-up-sticks school of plot construction.

Set in 1780, Harris's absorbing debut introduces anatomist Thomas Silkstone, an American living in London, whom the author credits with a number of firsts, including recording the stages of decomposition of corpses and observing insects on a cadaver to determine time of death. When the sudden demise in Oxfordshire of Lord Edward Crick, after violent convulsions, arouses the suspicions of his brother-in-law, Capt. Michael Farrell, Crick's sister and Farrell's wife, Lady Lydia, asks Silkstone to determine the truth. Silkstone's attraction to Lady Lydia motivates him to go beyond merely identifying the possible poison responsible for the nobleman's end and to explore the viability of various suspects. He proves a dogged investigator, even after several attempts to warn him off the case. Harris has more than a few tricks up her sleeve, and even veteran armchair puzzle solvers are likely to be surprised. Agent: Melissa Jeglinski. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

In 1780 London, American Dr. Thomas Silkstone is an up-and-coming star in anatomical dissection. When the beautiful Lady Lydia Farrell asks for assistance investigating the suspicious death of her 19-year-old brother, the Earl of Crick, Thomas readily adds amateur sleuth to his growing list of accomplishments. With plenty of potential suspects, including the earl's brother-in-law, but little physical evidence, can Thomas's forensic skills decipher whether it was premeditated murder or unfortunate accident? It's difficult for the reader to determine the true nature of these characters, as each revelation adds a layer of conflicting information, leaving no clear heroes or villains. The glossary of historical terminology will be helpful for readers who remember to check it. -VERDICT The author's attempt to include a bit of everything gives a less-focused feeling to the mystery, but smart misdirection and time-period-appropriate medical details make for a promising start to a new series. A strong choice for readers of Ariana Franklin and Caleb Carr or fans of Sherlock Holmes-style mysteries.-Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L., OH (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.