Who could have killed Stanley Kolberg and why? As far as the Seattle police are concerned there is no shortage of suspects when the lifeless battered body of the Dr, an anger management psychiatrist is found in his office. Called to assist the Seattle PD is Dr Joel Ashman a profiler regularly consulted to study murder scenes and create profiles. This time, things are personal for Ashman the victim is a former partner and was also a mentor.

Joined by fellow law enforcement agents Ethan Devonshire and Claire Shepherd, they dig into the doctor’s past and after performing numerous interviews, it becomes clear that Dr Kolberg has a hidden past; for one thing he seems to have had a thing for S&M and routinely included his patients against their will. This tidy little case becomes a tangled mess as the investigation progresses and clues are revealed…. it is discovered that some of his past patients have died of apparent suicide… adding a whole different twist to the story…..

This book is very suspenseful, full of twist and turns, great character development, the writer’s clues are subtle. The protagonist Ashman’s good-guy façade shifts and his transformation keeps us in suspense, the author throws us a curveball hard to figure till the last few pages, I found it to be a very clever ending not one I would have expected

The story will pull you into a world of sexual deviancy, murder and mind games. I love the way this author weaves science and medicine to provide a nail biting thriller. Well done. ( )