This is the fifth in the Dr. Fenimore series, but was the first for me. The author did a great job of giving background on the characters without overdoing it for those who had read the previous books.

In this book, Dr. Andrew Fenimore decides to rejoin his rowing club from college. One of his college friends, Charlie Ashburn, sponsors him. Charlie was an excellent rower who had to quit rowing competitively during college when it was discovered that he had a serious heart condition.

Now, Charlie's son, Chuck, is carrying on the family name and is in competition for a slot in the Henley Regatta in England, where he hopes to win the Diamond Skulls. However, Chuck's mother approaches Dr. Fenimore, expressing her concern that Chuck might have the same heart condition as his father.

Fenimore's adventures begin, as he tries to delicately discover whether or not Chuck should be rowing competitively. Charlie insists that his son was checked out thoroughly by Dr. Burton and found to be in good health. Fenimore makes an appointment to see Dr. Burton, and is able to sneak a look at Chuck's records. He sees that Chuck was diagnosed with SCD and also had a defibrillator implanted.

Fenimore attempts to dissuade Chuck from rowing, but Chuck runs away and does win the qualifying race. Shortly after, however, Chuck is rushed to the emergency room. Andrew learns that there was no evidence that Chuck suffered from SCD, but his potassium levels cause Chuck's death.

Fenimore is almost killed when he starts to investigate the situation. In the meantime, his faithful nurse, Mrs. Doyle, and "Rat" (Horatio), his high school office assistant, attempt to help while also aiding a young runaway that Rat has found. Fenimore's girlfriend, Jennifer, seems distant, which leads Andrew to think he might be taking her for granted.

The existence of the various subplots adds a level of reality to the book, because nothing takes place in a vacuum. A group wanted to dismantle the boathouses and build a tourist mall, while a local group tried to have the boathouses declared a Historic Landmark. Jennifer is spending a lot of time with a Native American, trying to get his story down in order to write a book.

Fenimore suspects Chuck's mother, his father, and others before finally realizing what was actually going on. I enjoyed the book, the descriptions of settings, the information about rowing, and the relationships of the characters. I hope to find the previous books in the series.

**********Spoilers*********

I began to suspect Dr. Burton only when Fenimore and Jennifer went to his secluded cabin and saw all of his expensive wooden carvings. As it turned out, Dr. Burton was Chuck's killer. He had been at the hospital to attend a lecture when Chuck was in intensive care. Slipping out of his seat at the back of the lecture hall, he had donned medical clothing, gone into the room, and injected potassium into Chuck's IV. After trying to kill Fenimore and Jennifer in a fire (Charlie ended up showing up and rescued them), Burton went out to dinner with Fenimore, Jennifer, and Charlie. That was when Fenimore told Charlie that Burton had murdered his son. After dinner, Charlie and Burton went off together, tipsy and singing college songs. The fact that Burton ended up drowning during a rowing lesson from Charlie that night did not fool Fenimore, but it was declared an accidental drowning.

This is part of the series featuring Doctor Fenimore. Fenimore is a cardiologist in Philadelphia, and one day passing the Schuylkill River, he sees a rower out and remembers how he found rowing to be a great destressor when he was an intern. He decides to take it up again. When he goes to Windsor Club boathouse to rejoin, he finds his old classmate Charlie Ashburn there. Charlie has to quit rowing years ago because of a heart defect, but now is son is vying to compete at Henley and Charlie is his biggest supporter. Fenimore can't help but wonder if Charlie's son Chuck was checked to see if he inherited the defect or not after he sees how drained Chuck is after rowing.
Easing into his return to rowing, Fenimore finds it difficult to find the time to row during hours when he knows others will be around. Talking to others, he finds the Victorian boathouses are under threat from developers who want to build a marina in their place. The Historic Commission has a proposal in the works to register Boathouse Row as an historic landmark, but it may not get through the process before the decision to develop takes place.
Fenimore's young office assistant has taken a fall on his skateboard and broken his leg, but also seems to be hiding something. Has he started hanging out with a bad crowd again?
All these things worry Fenimore and he gets involved in both professional and personal ways.
The setting was interesting with the information provided on rowing and the lovely natural setting and historic buildings. The different storylines offered many different possible plots behind attacks on Fenimore and others, I liked the characters and found the mystery a good one.