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After a woman is brutally slain, investigators bring psychiatrist Joe O'Loughlin in for expert consultation. Joe is shocked to discover the dead woman is a former patient of his who cried rape when he rebuffed her sexual advances. Citing doctor/patient confidentiality, Joe hides this information. But the truth emerges, and suddenly he is the prime suspect.Tags
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In Suspect Joe is at the center of everything since it's his former-patient who's been killed. Ruiz is the investigating officer and is convinced Joe is guilty. And who wouldn't? Joe routinely makes bad decisions and keeps covering up information or even outright lying. Circumstantial evidence piles up. Eventually Joe ends up on the run, hiding from Ruiz and desperately trying to find out who set him up and why. The answer is more dazzlingly Byzantine than you usually get in a thriller of this type and it was pretty staggering. His enemy is an old one and spent years compiling enough information to destroy everyone and everything in Joe's life. That's some kind of twisted revenge fantasy. And it almost worked.
Aside from the relentless show more plot against Joe and Ruiz's determination to close the case, there is the whole side-issue of Joe's recent diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Naturally he's emotionally wrecked by this news and compounds the problem by not being up front with his wife, instead turning to a former patient and erstwhile lover. Another of Joe's bad decisions. Eventually he pulls his head out of his ass, but it's not pretty. Not only is he struggling with his own future disability, but how he will hang on to his practice, his marriage and be a good father to his daughter and unborn child. There isn't a lot of angst-y flailing, but a pretty good portrait of a person trying to deal with a life-changing health issue. As a person who's been on the receiving end of some not so good news from a doctor, I thought Robotham handled it pretty well. show less
Aside from the relentless show more plot against Joe and Ruiz's determination to close the case, there is the whole side-issue of Joe's recent diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Naturally he's emotionally wrecked by this news and compounds the problem by not being up front with his wife, instead turning to a former patient and erstwhile lover. Another of Joe's bad decisions. Eventually he pulls his head out of his ass, but it's not pretty. Not only is he struggling with his own future disability, but how he will hang on to his practice, his marriage and be a good father to his daughter and unborn child. There isn't a lot of angst-y flailing, but a pretty good portrait of a person trying to deal with a life-changing health issue. As a person who's been on the receiving end of some not so good news from a doctor, I thought Robotham handled it pretty well. show less
I once described reading crime fiction as, "The literary equivalent of putting on the slippers after wearing high heels all day and having that first cup of tea when you get home from work". Well this was truly a welcomed return to the comforts of reading a favourite genre, but what a sweet return. I loved the blend of the psychological thriller, the twists and the growing awareness of the entanglement of the central character Joe O'Loughlin. I liked the parallels of O'Loughlin's struggle over his body afflicted with Parkinsonism and the struggle to regain control over his own life. Even the somewhat cliched device of "the wrongly accused sets out to prove his innocence" was deftly handled, so much so that I paid it little regard. A show more fast paced and well written thriller. Now I'm a new fan of Michael Robotham and obviously I have some catching-up to do, but the tea is hot, I have my ugg boots on and I just can't wait! show less
If you follow my blog you will know that I have read this title before, much closer to the date of original publication (2004).
It is the book that introduced British psychologist Professor Joseph O'Loughlin and his creator Australian writer Michael Robotham to the crime fiction world. Now the Joseph O'Loughlin/ Vincent Ruiz series has 8 titles and Robotham has produced another 4 stand-alones. He has won many awards, been translated into a myriad of languages, and even become the basis of a German TV series. (What an irony it will be if in Australia we have to view a translated version!)
Listening to this excellent audio version, unabridged of course, has given me a new appreciation of what a startling new voice Robotham was. The writing show more is crisp and tight, the plot multi-stranded, but somehow all coming together at the end.
So, if you haven't read any of this series yet, there is no better place to start - at the beginning.
I will be downloading the unabridged version of #2 in the series: LOST (aka THE DROWNING MAN). show less
It is the book that introduced British psychologist Professor Joseph O'Loughlin and his creator Australian writer Michael Robotham to the crime fiction world. Now the Joseph O'Loughlin/ Vincent Ruiz series has 8 titles and Robotham has produced another 4 stand-alones. He has won many awards, been translated into a myriad of languages, and even become the basis of a German TV series. (What an irony it will be if in Australia we have to view a translated version!)
Listening to this excellent audio version, unabridged of course, has given me a new appreciation of what a startling new voice Robotham was. The writing show more is crisp and tight, the plot multi-stranded, but somehow all coming together at the end.
So, if you haven't read any of this series yet, there is no better place to start - at the beginning.
I will be downloading the unabridged version of #2 in the series: LOST (aka THE DROWNING MAN). show less
Initially, I was enjoying finding about this new character, his patients and his loving family. But as the book went on, it was also obvious that Joseph is a flawed character, who is self-absorbed, selfish and often makes horrible self-interested decisions. I was really disliking him but the author makes it clear that the character knows his flaws and so do other people and he can’t excuse them. By the end, I had accepted this flawed character but still don’t really like him.
Another thing that bothered me was how sexualized the language and situations were regarding most of the female characters. Women were definitely objectified in this book. I dreaded it any time a new female character was introduced. It took me out of the story show more because I’m thinking about how this was clearly written by a male. But maybe it’s also another character flaw? Next book will show me if it’s the character, the author or combination of both.
What I did like was that this was generally well written, suspenseful and I couldn’t predict what was going to happen next. This was just as much of an adventure story as a mystery. I am also curious about how the events from this book is going to affect Joseph. So while I had some misgivings about this, I liked it enough to continue with the next one. show less
Another thing that bothered me was how sexualized the language and situations were regarding most of the female characters. Women were definitely objectified in this book. I dreaded it any time a new female character was introduced. It took me out of the story show more because I’m thinking about how this was clearly written by a male. But maybe it’s also another character flaw? Next book will show me if it’s the character, the author or combination of both.
What I did like was that this was generally well written, suspenseful and I couldn’t predict what was going to happen next. This was just as much of an adventure story as a mystery. I am also curious about how the events from this book is going to affect Joseph. So while I had some misgivings about this, I liked it enough to continue with the next one. show less
Let's talk about Joseph O'Loughlin for a moment.
He starts off with all the promise in the world -- loving father, loving husband, great career and loads of prestige. It looks like the perfect life, and one couldn't possibly imagine that anything could go too askew with it. Right? Riiiiiiight?
...Then in comes the crazed killer, a load of *gasp* secrets! and other spoilery stuff that I'll leave for you to read yourself. If you do plan on reading the book.
Now, let's talk about the book itself.
It starts off with all the promise in the world -- intriguing premise, gripping tone, elaborate structure as far as the eye can see. It looks like the ideal story, and one couldn't possibly imagine that anything could go too askew with it. Right? show more Riiiiiiiiight?
Okay, so The Suspect was a bit of a mess. Robotham starts off with an interesting idea -- a woman's been murdered, and Joseph, the main character, happens to both personally know the victim and a person who may or may not have murdered her. Then comes further complications; Joseph's past with the woman harbors secrets of their own, and the potential-murderer happens to be one of Joseph's psychiatrical patients, with some mental affliction makes it one hell of a difficulty to have him talk about the right thing.
You can already see that Robotham's weaving a giant knot for the reader, and ideally, he should be able to unravel it for us by the end.
Only, he doesn't really. It's more like he tangles himself in his own knot, then pulls an Alexander the Great.
Let's talk about Bobby now. It's one thing tohave the protagonist suspect what seems to be the murderer, then reveal that the murderer was, in fact, someone just as likely but unnoticed. It's another thing to have him suspect what seems to be the murderer, then say that it WAS the murderer. That's just a cheap move.
Now, it's an even cheaper move tomake the most likely candidate the actual murderer, but then butcher the rationale so that somehow, despite it making perfect sense that he DID murder the person, you still somehow make it sound illogical. If anything, I think this was Robotham still trying to tout the fact that he has a big fat knot designed, while neglecting the fact that he's already overplayed his hand.
And then there's Dafyyd. Why does the character even exist? Bobby was fine on his own. Dafyyd was just another character who went so unnoticed that, when Robotham revealed his role, nobody really cared.
Looking back, most of the characters have structural flaws, actually. I'm all in for character development, but completely changing their personality halfway is another thing. Bobby goes from beingsomewhat dull but lovable to some cunning, cold-blooded killer without much warning, and we're just supposed to accept it. Jock goes from being semi-cocky to a complete egomaniac. And Joseph, who should've been the one to undergo some character change, considering all the crap that happened to him, stays just as smug as before. And that's even while he was simultaneously on the run from the police and a determined killer . Does this make the story any more realistic, either? I doubt it.
What's even worse is that the story is written from Joseph's perspective. So we hear his overly-casual, pompous narrative for 400 entire pages.
In a nutshell: Robotham had all the premise and characters to craft an amazing story. But then he threw it all into a ditch halfway.
If there's one good thing I can say, it's that he's certainly improved his craft later on. I read one of his more recent works, and damn, it was much better than this... thing. show less
He starts off with all the promise in the world -- loving father, loving husband, great career and loads of prestige. It looks like the perfect life, and one couldn't possibly imagine that anything could go too askew with it. Right? Riiiiiiight?
...Then in comes the crazed killer, a load of *gasp* secrets! and other spoilery stuff that I'll leave for you to read yourself. If you do plan on reading the book.
Now, let's talk about the book itself.
It starts off with all the promise in the world -- intriguing premise, gripping tone, elaborate structure as far as the eye can see. It looks like the ideal story, and one couldn't possibly imagine that anything could go too askew with it. Right? show more Riiiiiiiiight?
Okay, so The Suspect was a bit of a mess. Robotham starts off with an interesting idea -- a woman's been murdered, and Joseph, the main character, happens to both personally know the victim and a person who may or may not have murdered her. Then comes further complications; Joseph's past with the woman harbors secrets of their own, and the potential-murderer happens to be one of Joseph's psychiatrical patients, with some mental affliction makes it one hell of a difficulty to have him talk about the right thing.
You can already see that Robotham's weaving a giant knot for the reader, and ideally, he should be able to unravel it for us by the end.
Only, he doesn't really. It's more like he tangles himself in his own knot, then pulls an Alexander the Great.
Let's talk about Bobby now. It's one thing to
Now, it's an even cheaper move to
And then there's Dafyyd. Why does the character even exist? Bobby was fine on his own. Dafyyd was just another character who went so unnoticed that, when Robotham revealed his role, nobody really cared.
Looking back, most of the characters have structural flaws, actually. I'm all in for character development, but completely changing their personality halfway is another thing. Bobby goes from being
What's even worse is that the story is written from Joseph's perspective. So we hear his overly-casual, pompous narrative for 400 entire pages.
In a nutshell: Robotham had all the premise and characters to craft an amazing story. But then he threw it all into a ditch halfway.
If there's one good thing I can say, it's that he's certainly improved his craft later on. I read one of his more recent works, and damn, it was much better than this... thing. show less
I liked this book very much. At first it seemed to me like the story was going nowhere in particular. A psychologist, who more or less denies having Parkinson's, happily married, one daughter. He tells a little white lie and form that point on it all goes down hill.
He is a supsect in a murder case he did not comit (or so he says). Evidence however tells a different story. More murders are committed and he has no clue why a person would want to let him take the blame for it all.
Untill he starts to dig in the past. His past, but also that of one of his patients. And little by little he finds out who does it, and why. And in the end there's a twist, that made me hold my breath...
I liked the way the author took me on the journey Joseph show more O'Laughlin started. I caught myself thinking along with him, not having a clue either who did it and, especially WHY and how to stop it all.
Like the other Robotham I read, I loved it! Surely recommended! show less
He is a supsect in a murder case he did not comit (or so he says). Evidence however tells a different story. More murders are committed and he has no clue why a person would want to let him take the blame for it all.
Untill he starts to dig in the past. His past, but also that of one of his patients. And little by little he finds out who does it, and why. And in the end there's a twist, that made me hold my breath...
I liked the way the author took me on the journey Joseph show more O'Laughlin started. I caught myself thinking along with him, not having a clue either who did it and, especially WHY and how to stop it all.
Like the other Robotham I read, I loved it! Surely recommended! show less
I recently watched a YouTube video of a talk made by a law professor/former criminal lawyer on why you should never talk to the police about a crime, whether you are innocent or guilty. He made a very good case, and was followed by a policeman who surprisingly agreed 100%. This book illustrates what can happen when you ignore this advice and talk too much about a crime.
Joseph O'Loughlin, an innocent psychologist, tries to help a detective, Ruiz, who shows up at a talk Joe is giving having to do with prostitution asking questions about a murder of what he thought was a prostitute.
Joe tries to help, but when he realizes that he knows the victim, he doesn't mention this right away, which makes Ruiz suspicious. Other omissions and facts show more along the way make him more suspicious, and eventually Joe becomes the primary suspect. As more and more evidence seems to point to him, he becomes a fugitive and is forced to investigate the case to save himself and possibly others.
After I listened to that law professor telling the various ways an innocent person can be arrested for a crime, this book doesn't seem very far fetched. It was pretty complex, and a little slow at times, but the story built and kept me interested the whole way. Sometimes it was a little hard to like Joe when he did a few WTF things, but nobody's perfect, and he was under a lot of stress - not only being the suspect in what becomes multiple murders, but also having been recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. So he can be forgiven for making a few mistakes I guess. And, of course, it makes him seem more real, because really, most people besides me do some crazy things sometimes. ;-) show less
Joseph O'Loughlin, an innocent psychologist, tries to help a detective, Ruiz, who shows up at a talk Joe is giving having to do with prostitution asking questions about a murder of what he thought was a prostitute.
Joe tries to help, but when he realizes that he knows the victim, he doesn't mention this right away, which makes Ruiz suspicious. Other omissions and facts show more along the way make him more suspicious, and eventually Joe becomes the primary suspect. As more and more evidence seems to point to him, he becomes a fugitive and is forced to investigate the case to save himself and possibly others.
After I listened to that law professor telling the various ways an innocent person can be arrested for a crime, this book doesn't seem very far fetched. It was pretty complex, and a little slow at times, but the story built and kept me interested the whole way. Sometimes it was a little hard to like Joe when he did a few WTF things, but nobody's perfect, and he was under a lot of stress - not only being the suspect in what becomes multiple murders, but also having been recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. So he can be forgiven for making a few mistakes I guess. And, of course, it makes him seem more real, because really, most people besides me do some crazy things sometimes. ;-) show less
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Published Reviews
British journalist/ghostwriter Robotham’s first novel is a masterful riff on I Confess with a psychologist substituting for the embattled priest.
Professor Joe O’Laughlin is shocked to hear about the murder of Catherine Mary McBride, the Liverpool nurse he’d treated for self-mutilation who responded by coming on to him and crying rape. He’s even more disturbed when he realizes that one show more of his current patients, Bobby Moran, fits DI Vincent Ruiz’s description of the sadistic killer. Bobby’s nightmares and violent behavior, together with compelling circumstantial evidence, make Joe itch to share his suspicions with Ruiz despite his secular priesthood’s promise of confidentiality, and eventually he gives in. But it’s already too late: Ruiz, pointing to baffling discrepancies in Joe’s description of Bobby and Joe’s lack of alibi for the fatal night, arrests Joe for murder. So far, so predictable—especially the hoary reason Joe can’t say where he was when Catherine was killed. When Joe turns detective in order to save his skin, however, his narrative takes off, for he’s both desperate and drastically competent, fully a match for the demon bent on destroying his livelihood, his family, his home and his life.
Readers will forget their own jobs, meals and families while they race to find out which one of his targets the killer actually hits before he’s brought down. show less
Professor Joe O’Laughlin is shocked to hear about the murder of Catherine Mary McBride, the Liverpool nurse he’d treated for self-mutilation who responded by coming on to him and crying rape. He’s even more disturbed when he realizes that one show more of his current patients, Bobby Moran, fits DI Vincent Ruiz’s description of the sadistic killer. Bobby’s nightmares and violent behavior, together with compelling circumstantial evidence, make Joe itch to share his suspicions with Ruiz despite his secular priesthood’s promise of confidentiality, and eventually he gives in. But it’s already too late: Ruiz, pointing to baffling discrepancies in Joe’s description of Bobby and Joe’s lack of alibi for the fatal night, arrests Joe for murder. So far, so predictable—especially the hoary reason Joe can’t say where he was when Catherine was killed. When Joe turns detective in order to save his skin, however, his narrative takes off, for he’s both desperate and drastically competent, fully a match for the demon bent on destroying his livelihood, his family, his home and his life.
Readers will forget their own jobs, meals and families while they race to find out which one of his targets the killer actually hits before he’s brought down. show less
added by VivienneR
Joe O'Loughlin, a London psychologist, loves his job and loves his family—wife Julianne and eight-year-old daughter Charlie—even more in Australian author Robotham's well-written, if somewhat convoluted, debut suspense novel. O'Loughlin's life takes two disastrous turns: first, he's diagnosed with Parkinson's disease; second, while helping Det. Insp. Vincent Ruiz on the case of a murdered show more nurse, Catherine Mary McBride, he becomes the primary suspect in the killing. The crime occurred close to O'Loughlin's London home, giving him opportunity, and it turns out that McBride had been his patient and had accused him of harassment, giving him plenty of motive. Vivid characters mostly avoid stereotype, while a fast and furious last section makes up for a wealth of asides and anecdotes that, however effectively done, slow the narrative. More seriously, the book can't decide whether it's a psychological mystery or a conspiracy thriller and strains credibility well past the breaking point. Still, Robotham shows real promise, putting a fresh spin on the familiar crime fiction trope of the falsely accused man. show less
added by VivienneR
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Author Information
40+ Works 11,162 Members
Michael Robotham was born in Australia in 1960. In 1979, he moved to Sydney and became a cadet journalist on an afternoon newspaper. He spent the next fourteen years working for newspapers in Australia, Europe, Africa and America. As a senior feature writer for the United Kingdom's Mail on Sunday, he was among the first people to view the letters show more and diaries of Czar Nicholas II and his wife Empress Alexandra discovered in the Moscow State Archives in 1991. He also gained access to Stalin's Hitler files, which had been missing for nearly fifty years. He left journalism in 1993 to become a ghostwriter, collaborating with politicians, pop stars, psychologists, adventurers and show business personalities to write their autobiographies. He also writes novels including The Suspect, The Night Ferry, Lost, and The Secrets She Keeps. He won numerous awards including the Ned Kelly Award for the Crime Novel of the Year in 2005 for The Drowning Man, the Ned Kelly Award for the Crime Novel of the Year in 2008 for Shatter, the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger award for best crime novel in 2015 for Life or Death, and the 2018 Australian Book Industry Awards, General fiction book of the year for The Secrets She Keeps. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Michael Robotham is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.
Some Editions
Series
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Suspect
- Original title
- The Suspect
- Alternate titles
- Suspect
- Original publication date
- 2004
- People/Characters
- Joseph O'Loughlin; Vincent Ruiz; Julianne O'Loughlin; Charlie O'Loughlin; Catherine Mary McBride; Malcolm (teen-aged oncology patient) (show all 23); Gracie (deceased aunt of Joseph O'Loughlin, jr.); Finnegan (dog); Gravesend; Dr. Fenwick Spindler; Meena (assistant to Joseph O'Loughlin, jr); Bobby Moran; Elisa Velasco; Dr. Emlyn Robert "Jock" Owens; Eddie Barrett; Dr. Joseph O'Loughlin, sr.; Lucy O'Loughlin; Simon Koch; Det. Sgt. John Keebal; Bert McMullen; Louise Elwood; Melinda Cossimo; Bridget Aherne
- Important places
- Liverpool, England, UK; London, England, UK; Vale of Conwy, Wales, UK; Hatchmere, England, UK
- Related movies
- The Suspect (2022 | IMDb)
- Epigraph
- 'I did that,' says my memory.
'I could not have done that,' says my pride, and remains inexorable.
Eventually - the memory yields.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Beyond Good and Evil - Dedication
- To the four women in my life:
Vivien, Alexandra, Charlotte and Isabella - First words
- From the pitched slate roof of the Royal Marsden Hospital, if you look between the chimney pots and TV aerials, you see more chimney pots and TV aerials.
- Quotations
- "Remember, Joseph, the blackest hour of your life only lasts for sixty minutes."
I was so worried about rocking the boat, I failed to spot the iceberg. - Last words*
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Maar ze hebben niet allemaal een beeldschone vrouw, een schat van een dochter en een nieuwe baby om zich op te verheugen.
- Blurbers
- McNab, Andy; Gerritsen, Tess
- Original language*
- Engels
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 1,509
- Popularity
- 15,197
- Reviews
- 64
- Rating
- (3.70)
- Languages
- 11 — Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 67
- ASINs
- 22