Psychopath » (Abridged)

Keith Ablow, also the author of Compulsion, is a forensic psychiatrist and has testified as an expert in some of the most highly publicized criminal cases in America. He lives in Massachusetts.

Forensic psychiatrist Frank Clevenger returns in this arresting new thriller from bestselling author Keith Ablow. Having achieved celebrity status with his last case, Clevenger is tapped by the FBI to catch an elusive murderer known as the Highway Killer, who has left twelve bodies strewn across twelve states. But the Highway Killer isn’t just a serial killer—he’s a psychiatrist whose brilliance as a doctor is matched only by his precision as a murderer.

When he writes to a national newspaper challenging Clevenger to cure him through an exchange of open letters, a gripping public therapy unfolds. With the Highway Killer’s brutality reaching new heights as he confronts his mind’s darkest demons, will Clevenger exorcise those demons before they spin completely out of control?

Publishers Weekly

Ablow's latest thriller (after Compulsion) pits his series protagonist, Boston forensic psychiatrist Frank Clevenger, against Jonah Wrens, a spooky serial killer who also happens to be a psychiatrist. The result is a serviceable spin on the now familiar duel between secret-sharing adversaries. What lifts the novel above the endless line of Thomas Harris remakes is the author's ability to create unique, psychologically complex characters. Clevenger, a refreshingly scarred and flawed hero still recovering from his addictions to sex, drugs and rock `n' roll, is facing the additional daunting task of single-parenting a similarly addicted teenage ward. The homicidal Wren is an empathic genius as adept at understanding and curing disturbed children as he is at meeting, speed-reading and rending his hapless victims. Ablow has created full-bodied characters, but they deserve an audio interpretation beyond his capability. His voice has the proper timbre, and his straightforward delivery won't cause anyone to tune out. But a more experienced narrator could have provided Clevenger and company with the timing, tone and nuance that would have turned this merely acceptable adaptation into an exceptional audio. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's hardcover (Forecasts, June 30). (July) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.