Mother's Milk

September 14, 2009
In Atkins's improbable sequel to his equally improbable debut, Ashes, Ashes
, Dr. Barrett Conyors proves once again she's more than just a forensic psychiatrist who cares too much; she's also an action hero. Having prevented the Manhattan water supply from being contaminated by the plague in Ashes, Ashes
, Conyors now stumbles upon a white slave ring that preys on foster children run by Chase Strand, a social worker for New York City's Department of Family and Youth Services. Despite being a new mother, Conyors repeatedly, and often heedlessly, hurls herself into harm's way, without ever suffering serious consequences. The book's big reveal—the identity of the higher-up behind Strand's evil—will surprise few, given the portrayal of that character beforehand. One can only hope that the author, who's a psychiatrist on the Yale clinical faculty, will use his impressive professional experience to create a more realistic thriller next time.

May 19, 2014
Atkins’s middling third cozy featuring Lil Campbell and Ada Strauss (after 2012’s Best Place to Die) finds the Grenville, Conn., couple rushing headlong into the unreal world of reality TV. Producer Barry Stromstein is facing an ultimatum from his demanding boss, talk show host and media mogul Lenore Parks, to produce new ideas. Then, he has a brainstorm: “Antiques Roadshow meets The Hunger Games on the set of Gilmore Girls.” During a conference call with Lil in connection with her antique column, “Cash or Trash,” he is also charmed by Ada, whom he thinks has star potential. Chaos ensues at Lenore’s company after she’s shot to death in her dressing room, with Barry seeing professional salvation in getting Final Reckoning, which will feature Ada hosting estate sales of the recently departed, on the air. Ada and Lil, however, are more interested in finding Lenore’s killer. Atkins scores some good points off reality TV and celebrity-fueled empires in this otherwise tepid whodunit. Agent: Al Zuckerman, Writers House.

October 15, 2009
Now that she's saved New York from bubonic plague (Ashes, Ashes, 2008), Dr. Barrett Conyors is ready for another challenge that's modest only by her outsized standards.

You'd think the daily pressure on the Director of the Forensic Evaluation Center would be intense enough, especially for a single mother raising an infant fathered by the rapist who killed her husband. As the curtain rises, however, Barrett and a shocked social worker are standing over the corpses of two teenagers who overdosed on heroin in a squalid Alphabet City apartment."It stinks like homicide," concludes Detective Ed Hobbs, the New York cop who loves Barrett, and the evidence points to the victims' friend Jerod Blank. But Barrett knows that beneath it all the homeless schizophrenic addict is basically a good guy—which separates him from Dr. Hugh Osborn, the subordinate who's grieving Barrett's candid evaluation of his performance; her manipulative boss Janice Fleet, Commissioner of Mental Health; and Adonis-like social worker Chase Strand, who dreams of becoming a plastic surgeon and doesn't plan to let anything stand in his way. As usual, Atkins makes so palpable the evil of his villains, plausible sociopaths whose activities range from drug pushing to white slavery, that it's hard to imagine they could ever be defeated—certainly not by the rickety plot he's contrived for Barrett and Ed.

If your idea of a good time is to watch practiced hands put the heroine's head in a vise and squeeze, you've come to the right place.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 1, 2009
Called to an abandoned building by one of her patients, a homeless man named Jerod Blank, forensic psychiatrist Barratt Conyers discovers the bodies of two teenagers, both dead of drug overdosesbut no sign of Jerod. She is sure Jerod didnt kill the kids, but his disappearance makes him the cops prime suspect. As the mystery about the dead teens and the missing Jerod deepens, Barratt finds herself under intense pressure from a boss who clearly dislikes her, and she is also trying to resolve her ambivalent feelings about Detective Ed Hobbs, whos fallen hard for her. Meanwhile, Barratt finds herself attracted to a rich, handsome, smooth-talking colleague, Chase Strand, but she senses something isnt quite right about him. Shocking twists, plenty of high-speed action, and a plucky, savvy, likable heroine make this an entertaining and gripping thriller.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)