Review 317: Where No One Should Live: A Novel

Where No One Should Live: A Novel by Sandra Cavallo Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While there is a bit of a medical mystery at the heart of the book, what has more focus in the romantic interest of the main character, the doctor Maya. We see the lives of several doctors, but the main two are Maya and Alex. Maya works in the Arizona Public Health Department while seeing patients at the clinic on Thursdays. Alex works at the clinic, which also has a number of resident interns, and it seems that something odd is going on at the clinic.

This is not a fast-paced book, it is more of a day-to-day reveal, with the doctors going about their routine. Maya lives on her family ranch, with an elderly horse, visiting her folks on Sundays a few hours away.

The heat of the place is almost a character of itself, mentioned frequently. Along with other safety concerns that doctors, particularly those in public health try to protect the citizens. Some of Maya’s keen interests in trying to get a helmet law passed.

The book grew on me, although the writing style was one I had to get used to. This is not a particularly long novel, but it almost asks you to sit with it for a while, to embrace the slower pace.

Thanks to University of Nevada Press and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.