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A Particularly Nasty Case by Adam Kay; Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman; The Final Vow by MW Craven; The Man Who Died Seven Times by Yasuhiko Nishizawa; The Dead Husband Cookbook by Danielle ValentineA Particularly Nasty Case by Adam Kay (Orion, £20)The first novel for adults from the author of bestselling medical memoir This Is Going to Hurt is, unsurprisingly, set in an NHS hospital. Dr Eitan Rose is a hot mess of guilt and self-hatred who buys cocaine from the hospital pharmacist to put in his nasal spray and has a talent for getting himself caught in comically compromising positions. Admittedly, the unexpected death by heart attack of his old enemy, consultant Dr Douglas Moran, does get him out of a tight corner. However, given that the man had just recorded a normal electrocardiogram, Eitan is suspicious – although the police see nothing amiss until his attempts to investigate cause him to become the number one suspect. The mixture of hospital soap, humour – some of it, such as the porter named Cole, rather laboured – and serious point-making won’t work for every reader, but Eitan’s manic energy carries us through what is, on the whole, a zippy and enjoyable read. Continue reading...