- this edition published in 2017 by Thomas & Mercer
- ISBN 978-15030943568
- 350 pages
Synopsis (Amazon)
What if you had to relive your most terrifying memory…over and over? A detective and a psychiatrist investigate in Thriller Award–winning author Brian Freeman's gripping psychological novel.
Homicide detective Frost Easton doesn't like coincidences. When a series of bizarre deaths rock San Francisco―as seemingly random women suffer violent psychotic breaks―Frost looks for a connection that leads him to psychiatrist Francesca Stein. Frankie's controversial therapy helps people erase their most terrifying memories―and all the victims were her patients.
As Frost and Frankie carry out their own investigations, the case becomes increasingly personal―and dangerous. Long-submerged secrets surface as someone called the Night Bird taunts the pair with cryptic messages pertaining to the deaths. Soon Frankie is forced to confront strange gaps in her own memory, and Frost faces a killer who knows the detective's worst fears.
As the body count rises and the Night Bird circles ever closer, a dedicated cop and a brilliant doctor race to solve the puzzle before a cunning killer claims another victim.
My Take
Psychiatrist Frankie Stein meddles with people's memories and fears. She tries to eliminate things that they want to forget and at times substitutes pleasant feelings. There are those including her own father that believe she goes too far. In particular she writes a favourable psychiatric report for someone who is clearly a murderer and gets him out of jail.
But somebody is playing the same game with some of her ex-patients, making them react to triggers like special sounds and music. A number of them have died without warning after psychotic episodes.
Detective Frost Easton meets someone who witnessed a person jumping off a bridge. The episode happened without warning and he is worried that the witness herself may be targeted by a person in a mask that she saw on the bridge.
This plot is a very creepy scenario particularly after it becomes obvious that those who have died are being stalked by someone.
My rating: 4.4
About the author
Brian Freeman is a New York Times and Amazon Charts bestselling author of more than two dozen psychological thrillers, including the Jonathan Stride and Frost Easton series. His books have been sold in 46 countries and 23 languages. He is widely acclaimed for his "you are there" settings and his complex, engaging characters and twist-filled plots. Brian was also selected as the official author to continue Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne series, and his novel THE BOURNE EVOLUTION was named by Kirkus as one of the best mysteries and thrillers of 2020.
Brian's stand-alone thriller SPILLED BLOOD won the award for Best Hardcover Novel in the annual Thriller Awards given out by the International Thriller Writers organization, and his fifth novel THE BURYING PLACE was a finalist for the same award. His novel THE DEEP, DEEP SNOW was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original in 2021.
His debut thriller, IMMORAL, won the Macavity Award for Best First Novel and was a finalist for the Edgar, Dagger, Anthony, and Barry Awards. IMMORAL was named an International Book of the Month, a distinction shared with authors such as Harlan Coben and Lisa Unger.
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