Dangerous Minds

In the first installment of what looks to be a cracking good new series, forensic psychiatrist Claire Roget gets a wedding invitation that scare her to death. Her former patient, Jerome Barclay plans to wed. Claire knows the man is seriously mentally ill with a severe personality disorder. During her time with him, she became convinced that he was also a killer, responsible for the deaths of at least three people, possibly more. While Claire could never prove that Barclay was a killer, in her heart, she knows he’s guilty. What on earth will happen to the poor woman he’s going to marry? And how does Barclay have so much information about Claire’s life, both professional and private? Reminiscent of Michael Robotham’s Joe O’Loughlin series, this is an outstanding, heart pounding debut

Claire is a psychiatrist. She became one to help people. She enjoys the challenges and the variety, and likes people in general. But she doesn't like some of her patients...

Severn House and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published June 15th.

Our minds are wondrous. There are compartments, pathways, and ideas all stored in our minds. Trying to help someone straighten out the path they are walking is hard to do. Especially when one of your patients scares you. Claire knows enough to know he's dangerous, but she can't prove anything. She finally sets him free so she doesn't have to deal with him. Then he invites her to his wedding.

It gets creepier when the invitation was left at her house, not her office. How does he know where she lives and how did he get her home phone number? Just what does he want? Then she finds out he's manipulating her other patients. Who in the office is giving him enough information he knows what buttons to push? He also knows her boyfriend has moved out. Is she in danger?

She's afraid he's going to kill his new pregnant wife and her parents to get the lottery money they won but they won't listen to her and neither will anyone else. There's nothing to be done since there is no proof of the incidents in the past. Maybe he was just telling her stories and all the tragedies in the past were natural events. But what if they weren't?

This story has a very unusual ending. Claire was shocked and so was I. I enjoyed the insights shared by the doctor and the ending was ironic but appropriate. I'll remember this one for a while.