Monday, September 17, 2007

The Baby Doctors-Janice Macdonald

The Baby Doctors
Janice Macdonald
Harlequin SuperRomance, Oct 2007, $5.50
ISBN: 9780373714506

Dr. Sarah Benedict spent fifteen years in Central America practicing medicine to the impoverished population. A widow, she has come home to Port Hamilton, Washington knowing that her time away was spent running from her unrequited love for Dr. Matt Cameron. Matt has always treated Sarah as his best friend so she expects to partner with him at the small town hospital.

Divorced Matt knows he failed his teen daughter though an emergency caused him to miss her birthday. He considers the practicality of selling and converting the small hospital into a big medical facility that would give him more personal time. However this places him at odds with Sarah who believes big medicine ignores the poor.

Although the lead couple is a delightful pairing, an ailing child denied medical care due to an economic decision will hook the audience more than the comparative analysis of big vs. little hospitals or the romance between the doctors. The angle with his teen daughter Lucy seems a bit unnecessary except to somewhat personalize Matt’s priorities. Still this is a fine medical romance that brings to life (and death) the failure of the American health system to provide coverage for the working poor.

Harriet Klausner

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