title: Murder and Mayhem: A Doctor Answers Medical and Forensic Questions for Mystery Writers
author:  D. P. Lyle 
description: This is an enormously entertaining collection of the best of Lyle's columns for the Mystery Writers of America newsletter, in which the doctor provides detailed and informative answers to questions regarding various aspects of medicine and forensics. Aspiring and experienced mystery writers will achieve verisimilitude, as well as the suspended disbelief of their audiences, by applying Lyle's insights, which he divides into three helpful sections: "Doctors, Hospitals, Illnesses, and Injuries"; "Methods of Murder and Mayhem"; and "Tracking the Perp." Lyle's direct style ("This is unlikely to work"; "Think James Bond") enlivens even the most obscure issue ("What is Calor Mortis?"), while the depth of knowledge he brings to some seemingly basic questions ("How Is the Time of Death Determined?") make his answers definitive. Readers will never again see the oft-repeated crime-scene words "sucking chest wound" in the same way after reading Lyle on its symptoms and treatment.<br />Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
zlib_text: Critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author J. T. Ellison
  delivers another riveting novel featuring the incomparable Dr.
  Samantha Owens
  Waking to sirens in the night is hardly unusual for Samantha Owens. No longer a medical examiner,
  she doesn’t lose sleep over them, but a routine police investigation in her neighborhood has her
  curious. When her homicide detective friend, Darren Fletcher, invites her to look over the evidence,
  she jumps at the chance and immediately realizes the crime scene has been staged. What seems to be a
  clear case of murder/suicide—a crime of passion—is anything but. The discovery of toxic substances
  in hidden vials indicates that something much more sinister is at play…
  As Fletch and Sam try to understand what and who they are dealing with, they are summoned to a
  meeting at the State Department. High-level officials are interested in what they know and seem to be
  keeping secrets of their own. It’s up to Sam and Fletch to uncover what lies behind the 