To Kill A King

Rating:
Summary: Hospital ER in crisis--and that's before the murders...
Review: Caroline Rhodes returns to Ascension Medical Center to help out an old friend, the ER's nurse manager. Under new corporate management, the hospital has changed dramatically since Caroline left, and not for the better. Chaos abounds on all levels and the political machinations within the hospital are enough to make you ill--not that you'd want to wind up at Ascension for treatment. The more we learn about some of the professionals at work, the more we fear them.

The cast of characters is extensive, and it is sometimes difficult to keep track of who's who and how they fit into the story. Also, past characters from earlier books make appearances that are a little unbalancing to the new reader. Because of that, I recommend reading the books in sequence. Had I started with the first book, I'm sure I would have had a better grasp of some of the situations and better understood the references.

Caroline is a sympathetic and believable heroine, and the nurse's perspective is refreshing and insightful. Recommended for those who enjoy a lighter, not-so-graphic, mystery/suspense story in a medical setting with characters who come across as old friends.

Rating:
Summary: The BEST just keeps getting BETTER!
Review: I didn't think it possible for Mary V Welk to improve on her first 2 books---WAS I IN FOR A GREAT EXPERIENCE! "To Kill A King" is the best one yet. It keeps you riveted from the first page to the last. I guarantee the clothes won't get laundered, meals won't get cooked and the kids will have to find rides to get to those outings. YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO PUT THE BOOK DOWN! Caroline and the hospital crew are in for a very long haul, but they get help from surprising sources. The story and characters are great and you get a real look at the modern hospital and what these dedicated people are up against on a day to day basis. Can't wait for the next book of this marvelous series. This is my NO. 1 FAVORITE AUTHOR AND SERIES. I don't say this lightly as I am a voracious reader of this genre and very particular.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Visit to Rhineburg
Review: I love Mary V Welk's books and this one is no exception. This time nurse Caroline Rhodes is back in her old home town of Chicago. When she again stumbles across a body, her friends from Rhineburg and her family help her to catch the murderer. If you are looking for really wonderful characters that you look forward to visiting again and again then this is the book for you. The mystery is good and the characters are so real you feel like you know them. Be sure to read the first 2 books A Deadly Little Christmas and Something Wicked in the Air.

Rating:
Summary: Hospital ER in crisis--and that's before the murders...
Review: In answer to a plea for help from her best friend, Molly O'Neal, Caroline Rhodes,RN, takes a leave of absence from her job at the ER at St Anne's in Rhineburg and returns to Ascension Medical Center in Niles, a suburb of Chicago. Molly is ER's nurse manager at Ascension and her position is being challenged and undermined by Angela Horowitz, Director of Nursing who is a close friend of Dr,Roger MacGuffy, Director of Emergency Medicine who wants total control of all aspects of the Center.The ER is being copletely renovated and space for emergency patients is mininal. Because of the conflicts with Horowitz and MacGuffy many of the experienced nurses and doctors are leaving. Because of this situation and because of budget cuts the ER is now understaffed by new inexperienced medical graduates. In addition to these problems there are charges of sexual harassment against Dr.MacGuffy.Two days after Caroline arrives at the hospital, Angela is found suffocated in her apartment. Evidence has been planted implicating MacGuffy, but because of the discord between Angela and Molly, Molly becoes a prime suspect. When MacGuffy is found hanged in one one of ER rooms Molly is arrested. Caroline is determined o clear her friend.Caroline is summoned to the home of Adam Horowitz, who is Angela's father. He learned of Caroline's previous experiences in Rhineburg, solving murders there and wants to enlist her aid to find Angela's murderer. Hs son thinks it is a Mafia hit and Adam wants to prove to him that it isn't.To find the murderer Caroline enlists the aid of her daughters with whom she is staying and her many friends fromRhineburg. Also determined to reveal the killer to the police is Walt Harris who has compiled a file on MagGuffy past and present which leads to the real killer. This is the third in a series featuringCaroline Rhodes RN. We meet again her many friends from Rhineburg and her family. Renewing our acquaintance with her zany friend,MAddy, and with Carl Atwater, elderly professor of history at Bruck University at Rhineburg is a refreshing experience.This is a "quick read". The story is fast paced, lightened with funny episodes and humor (bags of decaying fish, attempts to move a dead patient with hilarious and horrendous results), The atmosphere in the ER is very realistic, bringing home the real problems facing hospitals today with the pressures on doctors and nurses by the administrators focusing on the bottom line of profit.I think the book would be more meaningful if the reader had read the previous two books. There are many references to Rhineburg and its people and events which had occurred in the other two books.Recommended for a quick light read...

Rating:
Summary: Inside Peek at Behind the Scenes in an ER
Review: Mary Welk's third book in the Caroline Rhodes,RN mystery series is an interesting look at what really happens behind closed doors in an ER. The characters are nicely developed and the pacing allows this book to move right along. Welk just keeps getting better.

Rating:
Summary: Good addition to this fine series
Review: The last thing nurse Caroline Rhodes wants to do is return to Chicago, the location of much of her recent trauma. However, the Rhineburg resident agrees to come back after receiving an E-mail from her best friend Molly O'Neal pleading for Caroline's help. Apparently, recent practices have led to the depletion of the emergency room staff. Caroline, who works at a university hospital, obtains a leave of absence to assist Molly for the summer so that her pal can hurdle past the current crisis.

Caroline anticipated a hard series of shifts at Ascension Medical Center, but did not expect two murders to occur within a few days of her arrival. Even more shocking to Caroline, the police believe Molly is the culprit. In order to prove Molly is innocent, Caroline investigates a suspect list that could fill Madison Square Garden, but remains oblivious that the culprits has her in sight as another victim if she gets too close.

TO KILL A KING, the latest Caroline Rhodes hospital mystery is an entertaining amateur sleuth tale starring a strong but vulnerable heroine. The story line is exciting and unique, especially when office politics rules over good medical practice and sexual harassment complaints turn the ER into a gender war zone. Caroline is a colossal character who readers will cherish for her valor even when old memories sting her heart. The support cast augments the novel with many of them being viable suspects. Award winning Mary V. Welk has authored an awesome story that will send readers seeking more works by her (see A DEADLY LITTLE CHRISTMAS and SOMETHING WICKED IN THE AIR).

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: An Engaging Medical Mystery
Review: To Kill a King is an engaging mystery. The medical backdrop is as fascinating as it is convincing. It is obvious that Mary Welk knows what she's writing about. Caroline Rhodes is a keeper-an interesting and insightful sleuth. This book is for anyone who loves mysteries, but especially those who have an interest in medicine, hospitals, and ERs. This was my first Caroline Rhodes mystery, but it won't be my last!

Rating:
Summary: WORTH READING
Review: TO KILL A KING is The third installment of Caroline Rhodes, the first was "A DEADLY LITTLE CHRISTMAS " the second was, "SOMETHING WICKED IN THE AIR "

This was my first Caroline Rhodes mystery and at times I was lost when there was a mention of Rhineburg and things that happened there, That is why I feel that the books should be read in order.

Caroline gets a cry of help from her best friend Molly O'Neal, so Caroline returns to Ascension Medical Center to help her friend out. Caroline has no idea what she is getting herself into. Two days after Caroline arrives, Angela Horowitz is murdered in her apartment. A few days after that, there is another murder; this time Mac Guffy is found hanged in one of the emergency rooms. Molly is soon arrested, and Caroline will do what ever she can to clear her friends name.

TO KILL A KING is an expeditious, cheerful read that flows through in a timely manner. Best of all it is filled with credible, amiable characters. The author puts her nursing background to good use; she is able to get the hospital setting and politics that go along with the running of a hospital just right. Thanks Mary for an admirable read.

Pam Stone

Rating:
Summary: WORTH READING
Review: TO KILL A KING is The third installment of Caroline Rhodes, the first was "A DEADLY LITTLE CHRISTMAS " the second was, "SOMETHING WICKED IN THE AIR "

This was my first Caroline Rhodes mystery and at times I was lost when there was a mention of Rhineburg and things that happened there, That is why I feel that the books should be read in order.

Caroline gets a cry of help from her best friend Molly O'Neal, so Caroline returns to Ascension Medical Center to help her friend out. Caroline has no idea what she is getting herself into. Two days after Caroline arrives, Angela Horowitz is murdered in her apartment. A few days after that, there is another murder; this time Mac Guffy is found hanged in one of the emergency rooms. Molly is soon arrested, and Caroline will do what ever she can to clear her friends name.

TO KILL A KING is an expeditious, cheerful read that flows through in a timely manner. Best of all it is filled with credible, amiable characters. The author puts her nursing background to good use; she is able to get the hospital setting and politics that go along with the running of a hospital just right. Thanks Mary for an admirable read.

Pam Stone

Rating:
Summary: Rhodes is on the move!
Review: When Caroline Rhodes returns to her native Chicago to help out a friend for the summer she finds the job and the weather to be murder. In the midst of a heat wave, a murderer goes on a spree in the temporary ER at Ascension Medical Center. Mary Welk keeps her readers wanting more by including many of the gang from Bruck University of Rhineburg. Welk lives up to the reputation she is building as an excellent whodunnit writer in this third outing for Caroline Rhodes, RN, and her portly sidekick Professor Carl Atwater. Keep us laughing, crying, . . . and guessing the culprit Mrs. Welk!