Dr. Ben Cowper, an attending
psychiatrist, has a dilemma. He admitted Harry Shapiro to the
Episcopal Hospital psychiatric ward because he believed the ex-CEO of
Seligman Brothers, an investment bank, was contemplating suicide.
Harry and his wife, Nora, are a major hospital donors. When Harry
wants to be released Ben's boss forces him to agree although he's not
sure Harry isn't still a danger to himself. Nora promises to hide
Harry's gun, and Ben tries to convince himself that it's a good
resolution until the new CEO of Seligman Brothers, the man who forced
Harry out, is found dead on the Shapiro's living room floor.
The plot is timely with all the
problems experienced by Wall Street Banks in 2008, but the pace is
very slow. Ben is not a charismatic protagonist. He makes bad
decisions then agonizes over them. He wants to respect patient
confidentiality, but goes chasing off trying to be an investigator
and breaks the rules about dealing with patients and their families.
His constant internal agonizing makes the story drag. I felt it would
have been a better mystery with less psychiatry and more investment
banking.
I didn't enjoy the book. The plot is
good, but the characters are poorly drawn and generally
uninteresting. As a mystery, it failed.
I reviewed this book as part of the Amazon Vine Program.
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