Part of Alex Delaware, book 13
First published 2001
Dr. Alex Delaware faces a disturbing case when a prison psychologist is brutally murdered. His investigation takes him to the victim's workplace, where a dangerous psychopath sits under maximum security. Ardis "Monster" Peake remains heavily medicated, but his incoherent ramblings appear to have predicted the psychologist's death. Delaware must determine whether Peake's seemingly prophetic statements hold the key to solving the crime. Working alongside Detective Milo Sturgis of the Los Angeles Police Department, Delaware discovers this puzzling connection represents just one thread in a web of mysterious clues. The case forces Delaware to navigate the treacherous world of maximum security prisons while deciphering the mind of a killer who may know more than his drugged state suggests.
Genres: mystery, crime, detective, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-detective, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Los Angeles, Maximum Security Prison
Period: Contemporary
511 pages · Paperback · Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag
Content warnings: violence