The Coroner

This is the debut entry in Jennifer Graeser Dornbush's "The Coroner's Daughter" mystery series. It is a decent although fairly predictable plot. Dr. Emily Hartford, a surgical resident in Chicago is called home when she learns that her estranged father has had a heart attack. Here's the plot summary and lukewarm recommendation from Kirkus : When Dr. Emily Hartford learns of her father's heart attack, she leaves her promising Chicago surgical career and new fiance, Brandon, to return home only to be pulled into a murder investigation led by her old high school sweetheart.Emily had abruptly left Freeport, Michigan, as a teenager after her mother's death. She felt that her father, Freeport's medical examiner, either couldn't or wouldn't tell her the truth behind the death. And although she had left a note for her boyfriend, Nick, who is now the sheriff in Freeport, he never found it. Now, shortly after arriving to take care of her father, Emily gets pulled into the case of Julie Dobson, a state senator's daughter. Julie was a brilliant horsewoman with a promising career until she was found thrown from her horse, dead from a head wound. Standing in for her father, Emily does Julie's autopsy, and when signs point to murder, both Nick and Emily struggle to find the truth. Meanwhile, Emily weighs her feelings for the almost too-perfect Brandon against her rekindled feelings for Nick, a quandary whose outcome the reader will never doubt. Although we are repeatedly told of Emily's many struggles, the reader is held at an emotional distance by prose that is adequate but not polished. Too, the use of "gonna," "wanna," and "gotta" may be phonetic depictions of how people speak, but its constant use in print is annoying. If Dornbush will trust her own ability to convey insights via actions instead of explanations, readers might want to find out what happens next in the obviously planned sequel."

If you like Patricia Cornwell but want something less grisly, this should fill the bill. I did find the lack of good editing very annoying, however.