Deadly Diversion: A Monika Everhardt Mystery

"The loud speaker woke him. It was happening again, another one was trying to die. They'd left the curtain open because it was night time and they thought all the patients were asleep. But not him. With the first sound, his training had kicked in, propelling him awake, alert.

After a few minutes he knew something was wrong. The nurse was competent, that he could tell from the swift, sure movements. But it was all going down too quickly. Much, much too quickly. Each task required specific steps in exactly the correct order. Otherwise, the mission can go wrong and someone can get hurt or die. He'd learned that long ago.

He knew who the patient was because the family had been in and out for the past few days and he had recognized them. But he'd kept quiet, concealing his presence.

Now he lay quietly and watched. He was good at that. And listened. He was good at that, too." Read more.

Deadly Diversion takes us once again to the Intensive Care Unit of St. Teresa's (or St. T's to its dedicated staff) where head nurse Monika Everhardt investigates the death of cancer patient Huey Castle, a small-time crook who died of a respiratory arrest just before he was to talk to police about a long-ago crime. The St. Louis medical examiner rules the death "suspicious," triggering a police investigation and Huey's nurse is arrested.

To vindicate her staff and protect the hospital's reputation, Monika is determined to find out how Huey died and enlists the help of her life-long friend, BJ, a city police officer. What did he want to tell the police? Is the perpetrator a disgruntled worker? A local mob figure's family? Or could it even be her demanding supervisor? But Monika's search is thwarted by missing narcotics, confusing lab results, an uncooperative hospital administration, and an understaffed crew distracted by a unionization attempt.

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