From Publishers Weekly
In an intriguing departure from her Doctor Fenimore novels (The Doctor Digs a Grave, etc.), Hathaway launches a new series with an unusual heroine. Reeling from the death of a young patient, Dr. Jo Banks abandons her job in Manhattan and hits the road. She ends up at a New Jersey motel, where she treats a woman who becomes suddenly ill. Impressed, the motel owner offers Jo a deal. None of the motel operators in the area can afford to keep a doctor on staff full-time; she can live and keep an office at his motel in return for serving their needs. At first reluctant, Jo soon warms to the area and finds a number of puzzles to pique her interest. Who was the dead man found disguised as a scarecrow in a local farmer's field? And what is the story behind an odd girl who wants to run away to the big city? Tooling about on a motorcycle, Jo encounters more strange events and even murder, and her penchant for nosiness leads her into danger that could prove life-threatening. As the young physician integrates herself into the community, Hathaway convincingly portrays small-town and rural New Jersey life in an appealing, sometimes poignant story with low-key suspense and winning characters. FYI: The Doctor Digs a Grave won an Agatha Award for Best First Novel.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
In a break from her popular Dr. Fenimore series, Hathaway introduces a compelling new physician-sleuth, twentysomething Jo Banks, who is wracked with guilt when a young patient dies. Impulsively fleeing Manhattan, she meanders into the small southern Jersey town of Bayside. Her first night at the decidedly unglamorous Oakview Motor Lodge initiates a series of implausible but highly entertaining adventures. First, Jo is called on to treat a violently ill woman in the next room. The woman and her husband skip out on their hotel bill, only to turn up later as houseguests of Jo's new friend, Becca, and her aunt. Meanwhile, a farmer finds that a scarecrow is actually a dead body in disguise. Deciding to stay in Bayside as "house" doctor for several small area hotels, Jo soon finds links between the shady couple and the scarecrow murder. As she befriends the locals, especially good-looking Tom Canby, Jo finds herself falling for the town and its inhabitants. An affectionate portrayal of small-town life. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
Briefly departing from her Doctor Fenimore stories, Robin Hathaway brings readers Dr. Jo Banks, a young female doctor practicing in Manhattan. When a little patient dies, Banks blames herself. Unable to face her life, she runs—leaving her lover, driving away from New York and through New Jersey without a destination on the highway or in her life. She stops at a motel, and that evening is called upon to treat a woman taken suddenly ill.

The episode leads the motel owner to present Jo with a deal. Neither he nor the other motel owners can afford to keep a doctor on hand, but it is sometimes difficult to get one to come out from the nearest city. What they need is a cooperative house doctor—someone who can quickly get to any of the nearby motels. How about it? Jo takes the deal—without knowing that it will involve her in a series of gruesome murders of itinerant farm workers.

Full of the wit, charm, and lively settings that have made Hathaway’s Doctor Fenimore series so popular, Scarecrow is sure to please.



About the Author
Robin Hathaway lives in New York City. Her first novel, The Doctor Digs a Grave won the SMP/Malice Domestic Award for Best First Traditional Mystery in 1997 and the 1998 Agatha Award for Best First Novel.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Briefly departing from her Doctor Fenimore stories, Robin Hathaway brings readers Dr. Jo Banks, a young female doctor practicing in Manhattan. When a young patient dies, Banks blames herself. Unable to cope with the loss, she runs, leaving her lover and driving away from New York without a destination on the highway or in her life. She stops at a motel and that evening is called upon to treat a woman who has suddenly taken ill." This episode prompts the motel owner to make Jo an offer. Neither he nor the other motel owners can afford to keep a doctor on hand; however, it is often difficult to have one drive over from the nearest city. What they need is a cooperative house doctor - someone who can quickly reach any of the nearby motels. Jo accepts, not knowing that it will involve her in a series of gruesome murders of itinerant farm workers.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In an intriguing departure from her Doctor Fenimore novels (The Doctor Digs a Grave, etc.), Hathaway launches a new series with an unusual heroine. Reeling from the death of a young patient, Dr. Jo Banks abandons her job in Manhattan and hits the road. She ends up at a New Jersey motel, where she treats a woman who becomes suddenly ill. Impressed, the motel owner offers Jo a deal. None of the motel operators in the area can afford to keep a doctor on staff full-time; she can live and keep an office at his motel in return for serving their needs. At first reluctant, Jo soon warms to the area and finds a number of puzzles to pique her interest. Who was the dead man found disguised as a scarecrow in a local farmer's field? And what is the story behind an odd girl who wants to run away to the big city? Tooling about on a motorcycle, Jo encounters more strange events and even murder, and her penchant for nosiness leads her into danger that could prove life-threatening. As the young physician integrates herself into the community, Hathaway convincingly portrays small-town and rural New Jersey life in an appealing, sometimes poignant story with low-key suspense and winning characters. Agent, Laura Langlie. (Apr. 7) FYI: The Doctor Digs a Grave won an Agatha Award for Best First Novel. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Charmed by the south Jersey countryside but somewhat put off by its redneck inhabitants, Dr. Jo Banks nevertheless sets up practice in an old motor court cabin. Immediately encountering local characters, including the motel's owner, an attractive archer, and several cultured Czech immigrants, she also learns about a long-missing, drug-addicted son and a man found murdered inside a scarecrow's guise. When the "scarecrow's" victims begin to multiply, Jo begins sleuthing. A most appealing heroine, an unusual modus operandi for murder, and the microcosmic world of bumptious characters will undoubtedly attract readers to this new series by the author of the award-winning The Doctor Digs a Grave. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews