Dangerous Consequences

In the fifth Hank Worth mystery, it’s Hank’s wife, Dr. Maggie McCleary, who instigates a new investigation for his Branson, Mo., sheriff’s department. She’s seen a rash of senior citizens, tourists over 65, in the hospital’s emergency room. They’re coming in suffering from dehydration and diabetes spikes, and they’ve all been on tour buses to the breakfast shows at local theaters. Hank’s investigation of possible elder abuse collides with another case; the victim of a hit-and-run wasn’t killed at the scene. While Hank handles both cases, Chief Deputy Sheila Turley deals with the fallout after firing insubordinate deputies. Her problems with the jail jeopardize her new deputies, and Sheila herself. The small group that reports to Sheriff Worth are forced to juggle an enormous amount of trouble in a short time span.