“Our subject today – let’s call him Patient M – is a forty-seven-year-old male employed as a clinical psychiatrist at a large urban teaching hospital. For the better part of a year, M has been on leave of absence following the sudden onset of a rare medical condition, the effects of which are considered by most members of society – with the apparent exception of M’s employer – to impose significant restraints on the patient’s lifestyle and to require a prolonged period of adjustment and rehabilitation.”

Dante’s Wood by Lynn Raimondo

Psychiatrist Mark Angelotti has just returned to his practice after spending months adjusting to his new life. His new case is a mentally handicapped young man whose parents believe is the victim of sexual abuse. From their first meeting, Mark can tell the mother is hyper-sensitive to one of the teachers and thinks it’s just that Charlie is just growing up and doesn’t know how to process his feelings.

Months later a teacher is murdered and Charlie Dickerson has confessed to being the killer after he is found next to the victim. When the autopsy reveals that the victim was pregnant and the paternity tests who that Charlie is the father this seems like and open and shut case for the police. Mark firmly believes Charlie is innocent and will throw himself into the case no matter if his career and personal safety are on the line. As the reader learns more about Mark, not only is he concerned Charlie but also wants to atone for mistakes in his past.

What a thought-provoking story. What I didn’t mention about Mark Angelotti is that he lost his vision and a lot of the story has to do with how he manages without it. His fears of a relationship, his triumphs as he’s helping with the investigation and his acceptance of the reality. Also, with how society treats people with disabilities and despite a lot of good intentions there is still a lot of work to do whether in finding cures to finding acceptance.

Discovering who the killer was not a surprise for me but that didn’t deter from my enjoyment of the story. As a matter of fact, I’m normally not big into legal thrillers but this one had such a compelling character. I really liked Mark and his sarcastic humor.

Source: Personal copy

I hope you all had a great weekend. I spent a very nice weekend with friends and catching up on my reading. I also spent a fun afternoon opening lots of packages that had recently arrived. Look at all of this book bounty:

If only I had more reading time. Some of these books I’d heard of and some are new to me. In case you can’t see some of the titles here is the list of the books:

• Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher. This looks like a fun love story
• More Bitter Than Death by Camilla Grebe and Ã…sa Träff. I believe is the second in a series set in Stockholm.
• The Why of Things by Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop. A story about a family struggling to cope in the aftermath of a daughter’s suicide.
• Me on the Floor, Bleeding by Jenny Jägerfeld. Another novel set in Sweden but this is a YA story. I’ve read lots of crime fiction but no YA so I’m looking forward to this one.
• A Conspiracy of Faith by Jussi Adler-Olsen. I read the first book in Detective Carl Mørck series and I’m sure it made it on one of my yearly favorites list so I have high hopes for this book.
• The President’s Hat by Antoine Laurain. A bestseller in France this book has been likened to Amélie, gives the essence of Paris like The Eleance of the Hedgehog and is reminiscent of Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader. Sounds good right?
• The Suicide Shop by Jean Teulé. Set in the distant future when the environment is near destruction, a family runs a shop offering creative ways to end one’s life.
• The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken by Tarquin Hall. I believe this is the third in the Vish Puri series. I loved the first one but had a bit of a hard time with the second. Let’s see how this one turns out.
• The Time Between by Karen White. I was lucky to discover Karen White via so many of you who’ve read and recommended her novels.With this story she explores the complicated bond between sisters.
• The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway. A historical adventure story about forbidden love and time travel.

Let me know if you’ve read any of these and what you thought. I tempted by all of them of course but right now I’m just getting started with another book.