Sleight of Hand: A Jo Banks Mystery (Jo Banks Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Robin Hathaway (Author)

Book Description

Series: Jo Banks Mysteries | Publication Date: April 1, 2008

Dr. Jo Banks is well settled in her rather unusual life as one of the few doctors in the New Jersey fields, her office in a motor inn run by a pair of friendly, elderly Jersey-ites.  But New York City is where she grew up, and there are times when she thinks back to those days with her father.  One day, as she is driving home from her rounds at the hospital in the nearby town, she hears a familiar sound coming from a barn.  It is the hum of an out-of-date printing press, a brand her father used. On an impulse, Jo leaves her motorcycle in the road and walks down to the barn housing the machine.

But the printer is hardly welcoming. While she is trying to talk to him, he catches his hand in the press, and Jo bursts into action.  Although she removes the screws from the roller that is clamping the man’s fingers and offers to drive him to the hospital, he refuses to go and insists she treat him in his home.

The strange episode leads to Jo’s calling daily to attend to the man’s injury.  She learns that he’s living with his daughter—a grown woman who possesses the mind of a child—that they are from New York, and that his wife has mysteriously disappeared.  The printer is roughly grateful for Jo’s care, but he has much on his mind, and he will not leave his house. Jo begins to suspect he is connected to a recent local murder. 

Robin Hathaway rewards her readers with another rich story of the lives of people who live and work in the New Jersey farmland.  Sleight of Hand is a worthy addition to this finely crafted series.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Hathaway's disappointing third mystery to feature Dr. Jo Banks (after 2004's Satan's Pony), Jo is riding her motorcycle to work at Bridgeton Hospital in rural New Jersey when she comes upon a crime scene-an unknown man has been killed execution-style on the side of the road. Rumor has it at the hospital that the victim was a "gangsta" from Philly. Later, not far from the body site, Jo hears the sounds of a printing press coming from a barn, where she finds a man with his hand stuck in an old-fashioned roller press. The man, who identifies himself as Max, forces Jo at gunpoint to release him, then threatens to shoot his Down syndrome daughter, Lolly, if Jo doesn't come back and perform surgery on his injured hand. Intrigued by Lolly, Jo returns and decides to dig into the mystery of Max's determination to hide from the authorities. Jo's early interactions with Max simply don't ring true, and the side story of the gang hit serves no real purpose. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Dr. Jo Banks (Satan’s Pony, 2004) is on her way home when she hears the sound of a printing press coming from an old barn. Peeking inside, she meets a cranky printer named Max, who proceeds to smash his hand in the press. Feeling responsible for the accident, Jo offers to take him to the hospital, but he refuses to go. Instead, he pulls a gun and forces Jo to operate on him in his house. She does so with the assistance of Max’s disabled daughter, Lolly. Interested in knowing more about Max and Lolly, Jo learns that Max was once a famous magician, “Max the Amazing,” and that Max’s wife, his assistant in the act, has disappeared. Jo wants to help Max and Lolly but doing so puts her life in danger and her relationships with her lover and friends at risk. Along with the Banks series, Hathaway also writes the Doctor Andrew Fenimore novels. Both feature quirky, endearing amateur sleuths and will appeal to those who prefer their medical mysteries on the cozy side. --Barbara Bibel

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031237092X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312370923
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,537,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BIO: Robin Hathaway

Robin Hathaway began writing at fifty and collected rejection slips until she was sixty, when her novel THE DOCTOR DIGS A GRAVE won the St. Martin's Malice Domestic prize, and later an Agatha Award. She now has two series both featuring doctor sleuths. Dr. Andrew Fenimore is a Philadelphia cardiologist who practices solo and still makes house calls. Jo Banks is a young woman doctor who provides healthcare to motel residents and makes her motel calls on a motorcycle. SLEIGHT OF HAND, her most recent in this series, won the 2009 David Award. Robin is not a doctor, but her husband is a cardiologist and she uses him shamelessly as her #1 medical resource. Right now Robin is taking a break from her two series to work on a spy novel set at Cape May during WWII. www.RobinHathaway.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable amateur sleuth, April 19, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sleight of Hand: A Jo Banks Mystery (Jo Banks Mysteries) (Hardcover)

In New Jersey, Dr. Jo Banks rides her motorcycle to Bridgeton Hospital where she works. However, she does not have a smooth commute as she finds an executed corpse that reminds her of a gangster movie. At Bridgeton, everyone gossips about the deceased she saw with the prevalent belief being he was a Philadelphia "gangsta".

On her way home, Jo hears what sounds like a printing press near the crime scene. She stops to look and inside a barn she observes a man diligently working at the printing press when his hand becomes stuck in the roller. Using his free hand, Max pulls out a gun and threatens to shoot Jo if she fails to free him. After she does, he points the gun at his Down syndrome daughter Lolly claiming he will kill her if Jo fails to return with proper equipment to perform surgery on his crushed hand. More for Lolly's sake, Jo agrees wondering why Max rejects hospitalization.

The third Dr. Banks "S" thriller (see SATAN'S PONY and SCARECROW) is an enjoyable amateur sleuth tale although the initial encounter between Max and Jo seems implausible. Still fans will join with Jo wondering why Max rejects hospitalization and why he uses his daughter as a blackmailing pawn. Moving past the opening two dominoes (the road kill and the initial meeting) of the plot, readers will find SLEIGHT OF HAND turns into an exciting mystery.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A motel doctor and murder, August 17, 2008

By 

Dawn Dowdle "Mystery Lovers Corner reviewer" (Lynchburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sleight of Hand: A Jo Banks Mystery (Jo Banks Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Dr. Jo Banks is a local motel doctor in NJ. She often rides her motorcycle on her rounds or to Bridgeton Hospital. One day she comes upon the site of an execution style killing. Everyone believes the victim was affiliated with the Philadelphia mob.

Then on her way home, she hears what she believes to be a printing press in a barn. She stops to investigate. The man working the printing press inside the barn is startled by her presence and his hand becomes stuck in the roller mechanism. He pulls a gun on Jo with his free hand, requiring she free him. When Lolly, his daughter with Down syndrome, comes into the barn, he turns the gun on her. He tells Jo he will kill Lolly if she doesn't return quickly with supplies to operate on his mangled hand.

He rejects any hospitalization or other doctors. Jo hurries off for supplies wondering why he won't seek medical help and whether she can perform the needed surgery in his house.

In tending to him daily after the surgery, Jo begins to get a sense of why he won't leave his house. She also begins to wonder if he was associated with the murdered man. Can she make sense of everything?

I absolutely love this series. Jo is such a fun character. I wish I had a doctor like her! With every book she gets even better. I can't wait for the next one.

The author is so great at crafting a mystery with plenty of twists and turns to keep you turning the page. I know that when I start a book in this series, I'd better clear my schedule to get it finished.

I highly recommend this book and series.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best so far..., May 27, 2008

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sleight of Hand: A Jo Banks Mystery (Jo Banks Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Maybe it's just me, but I thought Sleight of Hand was the best so far in the Robin Hathaway books.

Sure, there are some implausible elements. There are coincidences at several key plot junctures. There's mention of gangsters. And you have to wonder why a physician would get herself into situations that would jeopardize her professional career (not to mention her life).

But Hathaway writes smoothly and the pace is faster than I recall from her other books. Jo makes excursions to New York and Philadelphia, evoking familiar scenes for me. I found myself turning pages and wanting to know what would be coming. I can't say the characters were drawn in depth. I couldn't figure out Jo's job: even a small-town ER physician would earn a decent if not good living. It's not that easy for doctors to cover for each other these days; I remember meeting an ER doctor who described rushing home to avoid insurance hassles.

It's an airplane book: you read for escape and don't ask for much else. On that standard, it's 5 stars.