Guilt (Peter Zak Mysteries) - Hardcover

Ephron, G. H.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312335954 ISBN 13: 9780312335953

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2005

Synopsis

When a bomb detonates outside a Harvard law school building, killing several including a law student who was counseling Jackie Kelvinski, a woman trying to get out of an abusive marriage, Jackie is afraid that the bomb was set off by her unstable husband. Annie Squires, an investigator helping her out, tries to convince her that's unlikely, but Jackie's not listening. And before the Cambridge police get very far in their investigation to determine who could have committed such a crime, a second deadly bomb explodes, this time at a Cambridge courthouse.

The bomb narrowly misses forensic neuropsychologist Dr. Peter Zak, late for a meeting inside. Peter, suddenly closer to the action that he'd like to be, agrees to help the police by profiling the bomber from some anti-government fliers found at the crime scene. But were they really written by the perpetrator? Or is the bomber's motive more personal, perhaps directed at Jackie, or Peter, or another target? Delving deeper into the mind of the criminal, Peter must work quickly before more lives are lost, including possibly his own.

Guilt, G. H. Ephron's latest thrilling psychological suspense novel, is a fascinating and surprising novel about motive and murder, survivor's guilt and criminal culpabilty--and trying to stay one step ahead of a killer.

About this title

About the Author

G.H. Ephron is a pseudonym for two writers, Hallie Ephron, a journalist, and Donald A. Davidoff, Ph.D., a practicing forensic psychologist. They are the authors of four previous Peter Zak mysteries. Both live in Massachusetts.

Reviews

For a refreshing change, Ephron's fifth Dr. Peter Zak mystery (after 2003's Obsessed) focuses on a person—the Boston-area forensic psychiatrist's love interest, detective Annie Squires—rather than a disease. A bomber is terrorizing Cambridge, striking at Harvard Law School and the city courthouse, and Annie believes these fatal explosions could be the work of Joe Klevinski, the abusive husband of Jackie, a recovering drug addict who's begun working in Annie's office. The case gets close to home when Jackie and her young daughter, Sophie, move into Zak's mother's apartment—and Klevinski shows up, manipulative and uninvited, at the little girl's birthday party. As the investigation narrows, the police begin to suspect an anarchist at work, a mysterious man on a motor scooter, as the bomber graduates to bigger symbols of authority as his targets. Is the governor of Massachusetts next? Ephron does a fine job of delivering adrenaline-pumping prose, and the cast of characters is consistently interesting. The warm bonds of business and affection that unite the regulars in this series never become cloying, and this book, like its predecessors, evokes a palpable sense of place.
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One half of the pseudonymous G. H. Ephron is a forensic psychologist and the other is a journalist; no surprise, then, that their series features a forensic investigator, Dr. Peter Zak. The latest adventure focuses on Peter's girlfriend, Annie Squires, a former public defender who now runs her own investigation firm. When a bomb is detonated near her office in Harvard Square, Annie is shocked to discover that a woman she knew was killed. It soon turns out that a serial bomber is striking targets all over Boston. Though he dislikes being labeled a "profiler," Peter reluctantly agrees to help police paint a picture of the bomber. Meanwhile, Annie deals with Jackie Kelvinski, who caught a glimpse of the bomber. An abused wife who is reluctant to leave her violent husband, Jackie comes to work for Annie with mixed results. Ephron does a nice job of evoking life in Boston while keeping the suspense level high. Best of all, the switch in focus from the sometimes-whiny Peter to the delightful Annie gives the series new energy. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312335954
• ISBN 13: 9780312335953
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304