Part of Alex Delaware, book 3
First published 2004
A midnight phone call sends child psychologist Alex Delaware speeding through the San Fernando Valley. Jamey Cadmus needs help. Five years ago, Alex failed this troubled patient. Now Jamey reaches out with a desperate plea that Alex cannot ignore. By the time Alex arrives at Canyon Oaks Psychiatric Hospital, Jamey has vanished. Police find him the next day and arrest him as the Lavender Slasher, a serial killer terrorizing the city. A powerful defense attorney recruits Alex to build a case for Jamey's innocence. Alex gets his second chance to help the young man he couldn't save before. He digs into the Cadmus family's dark secrets and explores Jamey's brilliant but fractured psyche. The investigation puts Alex at the center of a media circus. In a world where wealth and mental illness collide, Alex must determine the truth. Did something drive Jamey to commit these brutal crimes, or is the real killer still free?
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Canyon Oaks Psychiatric Hospital, San Fernando Valley
Period: Present Day
448 pages · Paperback · Ballantine Books
Content warnings: graphic-violence, mental-illness