Over the course of twenty acclaimed novels of suspense, most recently The Murder Book and A Cold Heart , New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman has pitted psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware against adversaries as disturbed and dangerous as Delaware is clever and compassionate. Now in Kellerman’s gripping new novel, a different hero will hold the reader spellbound: a dedicated young psychologist, unschooled in the ways of violent crime and incalculable evil–until his life is irreversibly touched by both . . . and he is thrust into a chilling hunt for a twenty-first-century Jack the Ripper.
When his brief, passionate romance with nurse Jocelyn Banks is cut short by her kidnapping and brutal murder, Dr. Jeremy Carrier is left emotionally devastated, haunted by his lover’s grisly demise and warily eyed by police still seeking a prime suspect in the unsolved slaying. To escape the pain, he buries himself in his work as staff psychologist at City Central Hospital–only to be drawn deeper into a waking nightmare when more women turn up murdered in the same gruesome fashion as Jocelyn Banks . . . and the suspicion surrounding Jeremy intensifies. Now, the only way to prove his innocence and put his torment to rest is to follow the trail of a cunning psychopath.
Spurring on Jeremy’s investigation is Dr. Arthur Chess, an enigmatic pathologist who specializes in examining the dead, but harbors a keen fascination with the darker deeds committed by the living. Arthurdraws Jeremy into an unexpected friendship, and into the confidence of a cryptic society devoted to matters unknown and unspoken. When he suddenly slips away, Jeremy is left to contend with an onslaught of anonymous clues–and the growing realization that a harrowing game of cat and mouse has been set in motion.
But who besides Jeremy is playing–and who is making the rules? Before the killer strikes again, Jeremy races to connect the disturbing puzzle pieces being fed to him. Yet his search for answers only seems to yield more questions. And deepening the mystery is the undeniable presence of someone watching it all–and guiding Jeremy’s investigation from behind the scenes. As the game intensifies, Jeremy must decide if a secret ally is setting him on the right path . . . or a sadistic enemy is setting him up for a fate far beyond even the most twisted imagination.
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From the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Kellerman re-invigorates a number of tried-and-true mystery conventions in this gripping, intricately plotted, non-Alex Delaware stand-alone novel of psychological suspense. A psychologist at City Central Hospital, Jeremy Carrier, is attempting to put his life back together after the brutal murder of his girlfriend, Jocelyn, when he is approached by elderly Dr. Arthur Chess with an offer of friendship. Jeremy, still too traumatized by Jocelyn's death to attempt even the most casual of relationships, initially rejects Chess's solicitation. After further conversation, he accepts an invitation to an elegant dinner at a very private club with Chess and five other older men and women of high intellectual and social rank, all of whom have an extreme interest in crime and the nature of evil. Just as a halting, tentative rapport with fellow doctor Angela Rios begins to develop, Jeremy receives the first in a series of mysterious, anonymous messages. By piecing these messages together with other clues from Dr. Chess, he comes to understand that someone is trying to point him toward the killer of his beloved Jocelyn and a number of other local women. Kellerman is a master at building character and slowly unfolding events, divulging just the right amount of information. Jeremy uncovers more murders, both past and present, and eventually realizes he's had everything wrong from the very beginning. Savvy mystery readers will not be surprised that the likable Jeremy finally comes to the correct conclusions and identifies the killer, earns the respect of his elderly friends and the love of his new lady.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Readers devoted to Alex Delaware may miss the L.A. psychologist, who has entertained them with more than a dozen mysteries. But not for long; Kellerman's Jeremy Carrier has a lot of similarities to his literary precursor, including his profession. Unlike Delaware, thirtysomething Carrier isn't in private practice, but his occupation still gets him inside people's heads. Unfortunately, it's his own emotional state that needs leveling out. Still reeling from the brutal murder of his girlfriend, for which he's long been under suspicion, Carrier is barely able to attend to his patients let alone handle his own grief and anger. Then four things happen: he meets attractive Dr. Angela Rios; he's invited to dine with an odd group, each of whom, he eventually learns, has suffered an unresolved loss; he begins receiving strange articles in his office mail; and murders bearing a definite similarity to his lover's horrific death begin happening again. It's a bit of a chore to get past Jeremy's angst at the outset, but once Carrier catches on to the clues, things move along much faster. The best part, though, is the end: just when you think Carrier has it figured out, there's one last odd twist. Suspend disbelief and follow along. Stephanie Zvirin
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