Like the cover back said ‘a terrifying read’. In this psychological thriller, William Diehl left out no trick. The story kick starts with the violent murder of Archbishop Rushman, described in graphic detail through the eyes of the murderer. Gruesome & bloody, it sets the tone of the book. Aaron Stampler is found near the murder scene with blood all over him ‘and’ the murder weapon in hand, but he claims, he hadn’t dunnit. Martin Vail, the city’s most feared and brilliant attorney gets slapped with the case. His detractors say, it’s an open and shut case, he cannot win. As Vail & team delve into the mind of Aaron Stampler, they are astounded by the extent of its disorientation & brilliance. Diehl chooses those fascinating complexities & defense mechanisms which the mind contrives & explains them with élan.
Schizophrenia, split personality disorder, its causes, devastating effects & the mind of Aaron is dealt with brilliant dexterity. Diehl’s pace never slackens a moment, whether he’s explaining about the mind & its ego, superego & id or if it’s Vail’s courtroom shenanigans or Aaron n his antics, it races like a bullet train. Horrifying, thrilling & thought-provoking, it’s a roller-coaster ride, start-to-finish.
Suspenseful, it keeps one guessing, what Vail would do & how he would get Stampler’s acquittal. Like the tip of the scorpion’s tail, the ending’s a stinger.
William Diehl was a reporter before he started writing and as I read the book, I wondered where he got these absolutely thoroughly terrifying storylines from, could it be from his past profession? Does life imitate art or is it the other way around…..
[No. of pages: 508]
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