Part of Alex Delaware, book 7
First published 2003
Child psychologist Alex Delaware faces his most disturbing case when he's called to investigate twenty-one-month-old Cassie Jones. The toddler appears bright and healthy, yet her parents bring her to the emergency room night after night with baffling symptoms that no doctor can diagnose. Delaware suspects Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a disorder where caregivers deliberately make children sick for attention. Both parents seem genuinely worried about their daughter, and the nursing staff appears devoted to Cassie's care. Delaware's instincts tell him someone close to the child is deliberately harming her, but identifying the perpetrator proves challenging. The investigation takes a deadly turn when a hospital physician is murdered. A second suspicious death emerges, connected to the first killing. Delaware teams up with LAPD detective Milo Sturgis to solve both crimes before time runs out for Cassie.
Genres: mystery, crime, detective, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: investigation, medical-mystery, unreliable-narrator
Setting: LAPD, Los Angeles
Period: 21st-century
528 pages · Paperback · Ballantine Books
Content warnings: child-abuse, medical-trauma, mental-illness