Boston

Other than those 2 flaws the book is fantastic. It's exciting to read and keeps you interested all the way to the end. Bravo to Perri Klass for writing this gem!

Heroine Maggie Claymore seems to have a lot going for her: a distinguished career as a neonatologist at a prestigious teaching hospital, a supportive husband, a house and some good friends. Yet when she begins receiving anonymous accusations, she becomes vulnerable. Her accuser doesn't stop with poison pen letters, but instead goes on to post warnings in public hallways.

Some reviewers say this novel deals with the psychology of Maggie Claymore, a complex achiever who can intimidate students and colleagues. In fact I believe it's a case study in the politics and sociology of accusation. And the lesson Maggie -- and we, the readers -- learn is that an anonymous accusation can have more power than first-hand evidence.

As the media begins to take on this theme, we can begin to recognize a pattern. High-status accusers can escape the consequences of their accusation. Accused individuals who seem "different" or who are "outsiders" are more vulnerable to accusations and less likely to escape the consequences.

Maggie's hospital hires an investigator, Donna Leon. Like all characters in this thoughtful novel, Donna has flaws and it's hard to like her. Yet she delivers the goods. The hospital's reaction is classic. They're interested less in justice than in preserving status and status quo.

I read this book after renting a DVD version of Capturing the Friedmans, an award-winning documentary. The parallels are striking. Interestingly, I have found few research studies of accusation in the literatures of psychology and sociology. Hopefully this book will provoke further recognition of the power of accusations to create new victims.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was gripping; I read it in one "extended" sitting. It was not, ultimately, a "medical thriller". We learn the identity of the letter writer 2/3 of the way through the book and the motive for the campaign is not pat - not clear cut revenge or jealousy just an act of neuroses that in many respects topples Maggie's life.

The idea that stuck in my mind for days was the power of anonymous accusations: the investigation seems to focus first on the validity of the accusations about Maggie and somewhat secondarily on the identity of the accuser. Everyone seems to look at her askew - or is it just the paranoia growing inside of Maggie? Ultimately this book had some loose ends and imperfections, but it was a gripping quasi medical thriller with character development.

A bout of pneumonia I experienced a few years ago was resolved with medication and without the hospitalization it would have required twenty or so years ago. But a prostate gland examination still requires a ... well, prostate gland examination. And a bloodd test requires extraction with a hypodermic needle. My last doctor visit ended with my being informed that we'd be doing blood work next month. My thought was, "No we're not." That was two years ago. I'm waiting for some sort of gadget that Gene Roddenberry dreamed up years ago, where I lay down on a table or stand in a booth for twenty seconds and get diagnosed and cured all at once. Which brings us to OBSESSED. And MRIs.

MRIs are those wonderful diagnostic machines that are the bane of claustrophobics. They make the patient feel as if they're being stuffed down a clothes dryer loaded with athletic shoes. I believe I've seen advertisements for open MRIs (back to Star Trek and that diagnostic table) but I'm also fairly certain that they have somewhat limited utility. OBSESSED, however, is concerned with the mothership of all MRIs.

OBSESSED is the fourth in G.H. Ehpron's fine series concerning psychologist Dr. Peter Zak, who balances his career with his resolving but residual grief over the murder of his wife and the ups and downs of his relationship with Annie Squires. OBSESSED finds Zak attempting to help a co-worker who is being stalked by an unknown individual. The co-worker is Dr. Emily Ryan, who Zak is supervising during her postdoctorate period while she works part-time at Pearce Psychiatric Institute. The stalker's anonymous acts continue to escalate, and Zak is becoming increasingly concerned about where, and when, the violence will end.

Ryan, meanwhile, is splitting her time and attention between Pearce and University Medical Imaging Center, which is performing revolutionary research in the diagnosis and treatment of Lewy body dementia. The driving force behind this research is Dr. Jim Shands and a new, extremely powerful MRI unit. When Zak is given the opportunity to witness the powerful MRI in action, he jumps at the chance. He also finds that the trail of Ryan's stalker seems to lead back to UMIC.

Zak is further drawn back to UMIC when Squires's uncle begins to exhibit signs of dementia and is considered potentially to be afflicted with Lewy body dementia, a provisional diagnosis that makes him a candidate for MRI study. When one of UMIC's associate physicians is killed in a suspicious accident, Zak is slowly drawn into a self-driven investigation of UMIC and Shands. Zak discovers that the Lewy body dementia patients who have been evaluated at UMIC seem to be experiencing premature morbidity and that Ryan's still-unknown stalker may be linked to it.

Ephron (a pseudonym for a writing duo consisting of a journalist and a forensic psychologist) continues to do an excellent job of melding medical and psychological issues with entertaining mystery plots while simultaneously developing Zak's life and personality. The moral and ethical issues that Zak encounters in his professional and personal life are real and true to life --- the occasional difficulties in his relationship with Squires ring especially true, as does his almost involuntary attraction to Ryan in OBSESSED --- and bode well for future novels from Ephron. Zak is complex enough as a character that readers of this series will look forward to his return, and Ephron's, for some time to come.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Peter does his best to comfort Emily who leans on him a little too hard, which Annie points out to him. Both become suspicious of Emily when further incidents occur and there is no evidence that another person is doing it. Emily also works at the University Medical Imaging Lab where Annie and Peter discover the death to patient ratio is much higher than normal. Peter starts investigating the facility and almost ends up murdered for his efforts.

When Peter's protégée is arrested for the murder of the person the police think was stalking her, he and Annie know that University Medical Imaging is involved. After looking at the UMI records, the reports show more deaths from patients who used a special MRI at the facility than those who did not. Annie and Peter go into sleuth mode to insure an innocent woman isn't framed for murder and the killers who snuffed out the lives of the elderly are brought to justice.

Two great lead characters and a strong secondary crew (medical, patient, and otherwise) inside a terse medical thriller will make readers obsess over the works of G.H. Ephron. OBSESSED is a fantastic medical thriller that will appeal to fans of Robin Cook.

Harriet Klausner

Who is stalking colleague, Dr. Emily Ryan and why? Who, or what, in her past, may be rising up to haunt her? Will Peter, himself, get entangled with Dr. Ryan, or will girlfriend, Annie Squires keep him from stumbling into something blindly?

What and where are the far frontiers of psychological scientific research? What are the psychological symptoms at work in the minds of murderers and their targets? What does it take for someone to step over the line from passion to obsession?

These questions and more are interestingly portrayed and answered in this, the fourth book from writer Hallie Ephron and neuropsychologist Dr. Donald Davidoff, the two authors who collaborate as G.H. Ephron. If you like Jonathan Kellerman, you'll enjoy anything by G.H. Ephron.

I truly enjoyed "Obsessed," and it really kept me turning the pages. I thought the characters were very well thought out and rendered, and the psychological aspects and the new science of the book were fascinating, as well.

I particularly loved the way the ending left things a little messy, just like real life, so unexpected, and certainly a good example of the repetition compulsion if I've ever seen one! Dr. Emily Ryan is a great, interesting and complex character, and she seems to have a lot more going on under the surface than is immediately apparent.

Most important to a good mystery, the plot kept me guessing who really dunnit, and who dun what else and why, until the very end!

This is the portrait of a restless mind, worth delving into.

For those of you are old enough to remember the time, the book faithfully recalls the suspense of the season and the games that made it that way. To those who have known only pampered stars with million-dollar salaries, the book provides a window into a purer form of baseball.

The writing carries the reader through the season just as it happened, the suspense is allowed to build, and the foibles of the teams and players are described and analyzed. The research is excellent, and the organization crisp. The season's end leaves the reader satisfied that the winner rose to the occasion and the almosts gave a good accounting of themselves.

This reader can offer only one disappointment. The author obviously came to be very familiar with the players that made it all happen. Had he weaved into the text a more detailed set of profiles that captured more of the players' personal essence, the richness of the read would have been greater.

In summary, the book was well written, makes a serious contribution to the written history of baseball, and is highly recommended to anyone who enjoys the national pastime.

The writing, itself? It's not bad. It won't make anyone forget Thomas Boswell, but it is clear and orderly and doesn't get in the way of the story.

The book isn't a casual read. There is so much to tell about the '48 season that you actually have to pay attention to the abundance of detail in order to take in everything there is to take in.

In other words, it doesn't have that great a beat, but you can still dance to it... I give it a 68.

And if you're specifically interested in the Indians of that era, or the '48 race itself, then of course the book is completely indispensable.

Although I enjoyed Angela and her family, I was looking for that twist to the mystery plot. While the novel ended up in an exciting climax, there wasn't much surprise about who was keeping Albert, why they were doing it, or what was going to happen next.

Everyone knows that faithful son Albert is a front guy for the mob, but the Matelli clan ignores that because they love him. When Albert fails to call his mother as he has done for years, a panicky Mrs. Matelli calls her daughter the sleuth to find him. A reluctant Angela cannot say no to her doomsday mother and goes to Albert's house where she discovers a corpse. Her follow-up inquiries lead her to her brother's employer, the Rhode Island Don, who admits that he and Albert are business partners in a toy manufacturing company. Albert calls his sister and requests she learn what is going on at the toy factory because someone is willing to kill to take it over.

The Angela Matelli mysteries are witty, action-packed tales filled with local color. The likable heroine is a tough broad who seems to be a female Spencer. HE WHO DIES is a who-done-it with several elements of a family saga. The support cast adds eccentricity and atmosphere with several interesting enough to have their own series. Wendi Lee writes a dynamic story that female sleuth fans will enjoy.

Harriet Klausner

The authors, to their credit include a section on the special care of pregnant Boston bulls. More often than not, Bostons have to have their puppies delivered by C-section because the puppies' heads are too large for the dog to have a natural delivery. Special attention has been given to this aspect of Boston bull care.

This book is worth having for people who own or love a Boston bull.

Finally, Theroux is one of those few novelists (Iris Murdoch and Robertson Davies come to mind) who seamlessly weaves a large amount of knowledge, history and culture into his narratives. In its way, this is also one of the finest books on photography ever written. I encourage you to find a copy--there's something here for those who like literary fiction, vivid description and...an excellent story.

A brilliant novel in many respects, I only subtract a star due to the (in my opinion, of course) overblown nature of some of Maude's rantings. Perhaps that was part of the point -- her visceral passion.

RESCUE could be the first Cuddy mystery you read( I hope not but it could be) and you would still be involved, committed and interested. This story is topical, current, and thought provoking while at the same time highly entertaining.
Read RESCUE. Read it---then ask yourself; the next time you bypass a stranded motorist, how you feel now?
Promises, promises.

The truck leaves but the pair's car turns up at the scene of a drowning. The dead girl resembles Melinda but her face is unrecognizable, smashed up, according to the police, by the rocks in the water. Cuddy, unconvinced, goes looking for the boy, who reminds him of a dead buddy in Vietnam.

He traces the boy's home to Elton, New Hampshire, where the taciturn police are unhelpful and the the boy's even more taciturn parents heighten Cuddy's suspicions with their spooky religious zeal. A run-in with the driver of the pick-up results in a gruesome killing in self-defense with a rather shocking aftermath. It also results in Cuddy's next lead.

Armed with false identification and an illegal gun, Cuddy heads for the Florida Keys (stopping off at the Vietnam Memorial in D.C. for a poignant visit) to investigate an evangelical religious organization where he suspects the boy is being kept.

But the heavily secured compound is open only to privileged church members. Unable to gain entrance, even by a substantial donation to the charismatic leader, and stonewalled on all sides by close-mouthed Keys denizens, Cuddy must resort to more ingenious - and dangerous - methods of penetrating the compound.

Healy's novels are seamless works of investigation, suspense, and character. Cuddy's voice is strong and individual. A man of action, whose vulnerable side is haunted by his past, his grief for his dead wife and his new love for a younger girlfriend, Cuddy pulls the reader into his life.

Passages of description integrate thoroughly with the story, giving the reader the feel of being there. The vivid plot is fleshed out with people who make their way through life on the edges of society, some by choice, some by necessity. An absorbing page-turner.