"Lie Still" by David Farris, William Morrow, $24.95.

I'm not ordinarily a reader of medical thrillers, but this novel not only rivets you with its ER scenes, it has some great hooks. First, it's about the abuse of power and reverse sexual harassment--of the surgery resident Malcolm Ishmail-- by one of his professors, Dr. Mimi Lyle, a charismatic brain surgeon. Second, it's about the kind of blindspot someone like Lyle can have without realizing it and that everyone else refuses to recognize despite the rumors of her botched operations--a collusion that opens up the whole issue of how professions fail to police themselves and the risks the medical community wilfully lets its patients run rather than admit to mistakes. So it's also about Ishmail, his bad choices, and the cost he is willing to pay. I found myself having trouble with his wimpiness but maybe that's the point--no matter how crusading he is, he's going to be crushed. The window Farris opens on the lives of young medical residents in terms of their health and emotions is truly disturbing. And third, it's a great small-town Arizona setting, not a big city hospital. And did I mention the murder? The story gets into play when a disturbed, asthmatic teen lies in a coma after suffering an inexplicable cardiac arrest. As Henry Rojelio fights for his life, his treating physician, Ishmail, wonders if Henry's crisis has deliberately been caused and reflects back to his years with Lyle, his disgrace, and his descent into a series of contract ER jobs in the hinterlands...."