Skeletons in the Closet

Skeletons in the Closet by Bill Pomidor 1997 Signet Book Medical Mystery *

This is a local author, and I’m adding him to my list of books to read. His wife is a doctor, and he did his medical residency before turning to writing, so the book is filled with medical information that is doled out in small doses and in easy-to-understand terms. It give the characters, who are both doctors, authenticity and who doesn’t want to know what is really going on in a doctor’s mind?

Plato Marley treats the elderly even though he has a difficult time accepting death. This is shown through his dog Foley, who is dying of old age, and the character of Agnes Leighton, who was the first woman detective in Cleveland, and is also ready to die. He’s also squeamish, an odd quality in a doctor.

His wife Cally or Cal Marley is the deputy coroner for Cuyahoga County and teaches classes at the Siegel Medical College. A skeleton is found at a construction site next to the hospital, and at first it is thought to be a victim of the torso killer back in the Elliot Ness era in Cleveland.

Anyone who enjoys local history and sites will enjoy all the references to the area including the Cleveland Museum of Natural History where a murder occurs beneath a dinosaur skeleton. Plato has patients at the Wyndhaven Colony nursing home, including Albert Windgartner, who owns half of the place and whose daughter Plata dated. She’s now dating her father’s business partner Steven Prescott.

Cal has befriended Erica and they sit together at the dinner in the museum where Cal is receiving an award. Cal also partners up with an old boyfriend, Neville Archer, and Plato sees green but is conveniently interrupted by pagers or other people before he can confront her about the affair. The characters are realistic with money problems, real problems, and demanding jobs.

Cal came across as more successful and mature than Plato, but that gives him opportunities to mature through the series of books.

Pomidor builds the mystery slowly with the initial skeleton, then he adds four more skeletons that were delivered to the museum without any paperwork. Some of the clues come from Agnes and others are exposed during the awards’ dinner as secret relationships are unveiled. He does it in layers, building more evidence toward the climax which puts Plato in harm’s way.

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