"Scarecrow"

by Robin Hathaway

What it's about:

A Manhattan doctor, Jo Banks, loses a young patient and at the same time loses her faith in her own abilities. She leaves her home and boyfriend and starts driving away without any idea where she wants to go.

She ends up spending the night at a small motel in rural New Jersey, and is called upon to help another guest whom has fallen ill. She fights back her fear and successfully treats the woman, only to find that she and her husband have bolted the following morning without paying their motel bill.

The owners of the motel persuade Jo to stay on. Because she has no plans and she doesn't want to return to Manhattan, she decides to hang around for a while. The motel owners offer her a position as a live-in physician who can respond to calls from several local motels. Jo agrees to give it a try. She meets up with a young immigrant girl and her family and has to find out what has happened to some missing itinerant farm workers in the area. The mysterious disappearing couple from the motel turns up again, adding to the mystery.

Why I like it:

Robin Hathaway has created a likable character in Jo Banks. She's insecure about her career as a doctor when she loses a child patient. She follows her instincts to run and finds herself in a new community with another whole set of people and problems to cope with. Jo is believable and we can understand her frustration with starting a new life among strangers. She is level-headed and we are rooting for her to find out the cause of the trouble in the small town. This is a subtle and quiet sort of story. There is suspense and drama without a lot of gunplay, and there are lots of interesting events going on to hold our interest. This is a quick read, and a good one.

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