When you hear about a psychiatrist making an important decision about someone's life, you always assume that they know exactly what they are talking about and have confidently ticked all the right boxes. Should this person be locked up in prison for evermore or released back into society? Should they get a second chance at life or are they too dangerous and unpredictable? Or ... what if things just don't add up? What if the wrong man has maybe just spent over half of his life in prison for something he didn't do?
Erin Cartwright, fresh in her new job as a psychiatrist in a New York clinic, has to make such decisions about her latest case, Timothy Stern. At the tender age of seventeen, he apparently murdered his mother and two sisters and he is now up for release. Having been found not guilty by reason of insanity, he has just spent twenty-seven years in a maximum-security psychiatric facility.
Erin is reluctant to take on the case. The murders took place in the same village she lived in as a child and it just doesn't feel right. She appears to have her own secrets and hidden agenda. What has gone on in her past? Why is her own personal history so full of holes?
She ultimately starts to look into this case to find out if Stern really is a brutal murderer, visiting the crime scene, building up a picture of this fragile, damaged man's past, looking at those who surrounded him in a small town where everyone seems linked. But a startling discovery starts to bring things up from long forgotten depths - things that Erin would rather not remember. Will she be prepared to continue her search for truth?
The book takes its time looking into the character's psyche and slowly revealing what really happened on that fateful night. But Stern isn't the only one with secrets to uncover - Erin also has hidden depths just waiting to be explored. Some of the novel's twists and turns were quite predictable, while others came as a surprise. It's an intriguing, enjoyable read and I could see Erin coming back in future novels.
star rating : 4/5
RRP : £8.99
- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Legend Press (15 July 2020)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1789551153
- ISBN-13: 978-1789551150
- Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 19.8 cm
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Disclosure : I received a free copy of the book in order to share my honest review.
Quite like books that take time to explore - another for my book shelf
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