From Publishers Weekly
In Hathaway's fast-moving romp, the fourth entry in this lighthearted series (after 2001's The Doctor and the Dead Man's Chest), Dr. Andrew Fenimore ventures from Philadelphia to the Czech Republic, the country of his mother's birth, after trying to phone his cousin Anna Borovy every day for two weeks without success. Fenimore soon discovers that Anna and her husband Vlasta have been kidnapped for reasons unknown. Hiding in their empty Prague apartment is the couple's young daughter Marie, who's been munching on crackers and little else since her parents disappeared. Fearful of contacting the Czech police, Fenimore decides he must first get Marie to safety in America and then investigate on his own. A colleague of his cousin, the mysterious Ilsa Tanacek, offers to help him search for the Borovys. When the doctor's girlfriend, Jennifer, arrives unexpectedly, they become ensnared in a murderous plot with political overtones. As usual, the author provides plenty of fascinating local color, making effective use here of often grim Czech history. Fenimore is a mild-mannered hero neither handsome nor particularly dashing, yet his kindness and generosity will endear him to many readers.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
In a series that has so far stressed atmosphere over adventure, the fourth Dr. Fenimore story stands out as suspenseful as well as charming. The kindly, middle-aged physician--who still makes house calls to his elderly, Philadelphia-area clientele--is worried about his relatives in Prague. His cousin Anna's husband has a heart condition, and Fenimore is arranging treatment for him in the U.S. After two weeks of Anna not answering his calls, Fenimore decides to journey to Prague. He also hopes to enjoy some old-fashioned Czech meals, like the ones his mother used to make. Arriving at his cousins' apartment, Fenimore discovers their terrified young daughter, Marie, hiding in the oven. After Marie explains that her parents have been abducted, Fenimore sets out to find them. Hathaway skillfully imparts interesting tidbits about Czech history and Prague geography into the story. Fans won't care much that the kidnapping plot is a bit farfetched; they will simply appreciate that, like the doctor himself, this series is aging quite nicely. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Dr. Andrew Fenimore is a Philadelphia general physician who still makes house calls - even when they're in New Jersey - and whose resume, were he to be so immodest as to prepare one, would include triumphs over wicked Homo sapiens as well as dangerous bacillae. In other words, he's a crack amateur detective." "It has been his habit to call his Czech cousin every week, and he is especially eager to be in touch with her and her family now, as Anna is to bring her husband, Vlasta, to Philadelphia for heart surgery soon. When he is unable to reach them, he immediately flies back to Prague. If his concern is misplaced, well, he'd always meant to visit the "most beautiful city in Europe," where his mother grew up." "One small mystery is solved almost immediately when the doctor finds the apartment inhabited. For two weeks, Anna's nine-year-old daughter, Marie, has been hiding there, sleeping in the giant oven of the traditional stove, living on crackers and whatever else she could find in the pantry since two men with guns had taken her parents away." Fenimore smuggles young Marie off to Philadelphia, where his secretary, Mrs. Doyle, will care for her, and remains in Prague to find Anna and Vlasta. He looks up one of their colleagues at the university - a large, loud, and somewhat frighteningly flirtatious woman who insists on taking him sightseeing. He can only hope that the tour she takes him on will lead to information about his relatives. Instead, it leads him, first, to a puppet show (a popular feature of Czech culture) on the life of the Emperor Charles IV, and from there into a disturbing maelstrom of crazed ambition and a terrorist plan that would devastate the city. With luck Fenimore is able to block the plan and find his family, but only after the murder of a Czech citizen and a threat to Fenimore's own freedom - and possibly his life.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In Hathaway's fast-moving romp, the fourth entry in this lighthearted series (after 2001's The Doctor and the Dead Man's Chest), Dr. Andrew Fenimore ventures from Philadelphia to the Czech Republic, the country of his mother's birth, after trying to phone his cousin Anna Borovy every day for two weeks without success. Fenimore soon discovers that Anna and her husband Vlasta have been kidnapped for reasons unknown. Hiding in their empty Prague apartment is the couple's young daughter Marie, who's been munching on crackers and little else since her parents disappeared. Fearful of contacting the Czech police, Fenimore decides he must first get Marie to safety in America and then investigate on his own. A colleague of his cousin, the mysterious Ilsa Tanacek, offers to help him search for the Borovys. When the doctor's girlfriend, Jennifer, arrives unexpectedly, they become ensnared in a murderous plot with political overtones. As usual, the author provides plenty of fascinating local color, making effective use here of often grim Czech history. Fenimore is a mild-mannered hero neither handsome nor particularly dashing, yet his kindness and generosity will endear him to many readers. Agent, Laura Langlie. (Nov. 10) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Cardiologist Fenimore (The Doctor and the Dead Man's Chest) flies to Prague on a flimsy excuse-his cousin won't answer the phone-but he finds upon arriving that she and her husband have been kidnapped. Once he gets their charming child (who hid in the stove) safely to America, he sleuths for a motive. Perhaps their manuscript on local architecture revealed some secret. A female friend of his cousins' proves helpful-until said manuscript disappears after her visit. Subsequently, she and a puppeteer friend seem involved in the theft of the Czechoslovak crown jewels! Detailed backgrounds, authentic historical elements, delightful character interplay, and bright prose make this a winner. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews