Third Degree

When a severed leg is found on the banks of the Thames, Dr George Barnabas, female forensic pathologist and determined investigator, is summoned to the macabre scene. But with no sign of the rest of the body, she cannot say how the man died. Her next case is equally bizarre: a terribly burned woman in a first-floor flat -- and the fireman thinks the fire started in the body itself. George, despite budget battles with the hospital boards and squabbles among her lab staff, desperately wants to pursue these with the local Detective Chief Inspector -- her lover, Gus Hathaway -- but he has been so tied up on another big case that she has barely seen him for a month. George has to surpress a guilty flash of relief that he must surely return to his own patch now and run the investigation. But he does not, and his deputy wont let her near the case. George, frustrated but feisty as ever, can only puzzle: is the arson victim linked to the missing body? Only when Gus himself gets into trouble can she at last begin to delve on his behalf. Soon she is on the trail of a crime more tortuous and criminals more dangerous than either she or Gus bargained for. This is the third of Claire Rayner's much praised mysteries featuring George Barnabas, now established as an exciting and engaging series from a master storyteller. The drama of life in hospital is interwoven with life on the streets and life on the beat in a tale that is compulsively clever and entirely readable.

About the Author :
Claire Rayner, nurse, agony aunt and prolific author was born in London in 1931. Married in 1957, she began writing when she left nursing with the birth of her first child. Claire had a long and varied career. Her concern and insight into medical issues led her to launch a number of high-profile campaigns including raising awareness of incontinence, tackling the problems of migraine and the Medical Passport scheme. Her gift for communication resulted in probably her best-known role as agony aunt for problem pages in The Sun, the Sunday Mirror and Today newspapers. She was also a frequent contributor to radio and television broadcasts on matters of health, relationships and contemporary morality. She regularly spoke on matters relating to care of the elderly in her capacity as Commissioner to the Royal Commission on Long Term Care of the Elderly. Claire is the author of over eighty books, which range from fiction to a broad range of medical subjects, from sex education to home nursing and family health. As a journalist she contributed to many popular magazines including Woman and Woman's Own. She also had work published in professional journals including The Lancet and Nursing Times. Among her fiction work is the ambitious twelve-volume series 'The Performers' and the six-volume 'The Poppy Chronicles'. Her fiction is characterised by meticulous research and the credible, well-rounded characters.