The levelheaded heroine adds welcome gravitas to the professional-woman-in-distress scenario, though the solution is a major...
Two Swedish sisters, a psychologist (Träff) and a thriller writer (Grebe), collaborate on—what else?—a thriller about a Stockholm psychologist. This novel was first published in Sweden in 2009.
In an ordinary week, the practice Dr. Siri Bergman shares with her friend Aina Davidsson and veteran therapist Sven Widelius brings her into contact with any number of disturbed patients, from Charlotte Mimer, the marketing manager struggling to overcome a history of eating disorders, to Peter Carlsson, an obsessive-compulsive tormented by violent and involuntary sexual fantasies. But the death of her patient Sara Matteus, who’s been cutting herself to avoid confronting her deepest pains and fears, falls outside even Siri’s often grim experience. To begin with, Sara was heartbreakingly young and alive. Her body was discovered in a pond just off a pier on Siri’s own suburban property. And contrary to preliminary indications, Assistant Detective Markus Stenberg announces that she’s been sedated and strangled. Given that her cat has disappeared, the power to her house has been cut, and her part-time secretary Marianne has been sent into a coma by a hit-and-run driver, Siri can’t help wondering if these misfortunes are more than coincidental. And indeed, her old school friend, psychology professor Vijay Kumar, agrees: Siri’s attracted the attention of someone who wants not merely to harm, but to kill her. But what possible motive could this someone have? And—since it’s clearly someone with intimate knowledge of her life, her past and her daily routine—who among her colleagues and patients, present or past, could it possibly be?
The levelheaded heroine adds welcome gravitas to the professional-woman-in-distress scenario, though the solution is a major letdown. First in a series.Pub Date: July 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4516-5459-2
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Free Press
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This ran in the S.E.P. and resulted in more demands for the story in book form than ever recorded. Well, here it is and it is a honey. Imagine ten people, not knowing each other, not knowing why they were invited on a certain island house-party, not knowing their hosts. Then imagine them dead, one by one, until none remained alive, nor any clue to the murderer. Grand suspense, a unique trick, expertly handled.
Pub Date: Feb. 21, 1939
ISBN: 0062073478
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1939
SEEN & HEARD
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
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