Freda Hansburg

First off when I hear the words, Gone Girl, I think of a very suspenseful thriller. I did not really experience that from this book. Not that this is a bad book but I wanted to be left hanging on the edge of my seat. This is because the actions by Nikki were at times predictable and childish.

If I am brutally honest; Jeremy was not that likable. He kind of put himself in the difficult situation. He did not truly show remorse, except for when he got caught. So, he kind of deserved what he got. Although, the intrigue level was middle, I still read this book in a matter of a couple of hours. The pacing was good, the storyline was fine as was the characters. I would read another book from this author and can't wait to see what author, Freda Hansburg comes out with next.… (más)

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and I was pleasantly surprised by it! I picked it up to read as I was in the middle of a reading slump. I have read around 10 books this week, and I felt pretty ambivalent about all of them. So I was looking for something to break me out of the doldrums. And, believe me, I was skeptical when I picked this one up. It's not the typical book that I review - I usually stay within the romance genre.

So color me surprised that this was an engaging read that I finished in one sitting, and kept me up until 1am. This book reminded me of False Memory by Dean Koontz... it might be because that was the only other "psychology-based" psychological thriller that I have read - but I enjoyed them both very much.

In this story, the murder victim is a psychiatrist connected to a university and resident program. He has been engaging in some very dicey behavior with regard to patients in a clinical drug trial. He is not a likeable man, and you don't really feel bad for his death. Everyone in the department seems to have skeletons in their closet, so you have lots of suspects. I figured out the culprit about half way through, but that did not take away from the story in the least. April Simons was a likeable lead character, especially when interacting with the broody Detective Sam Perone.

The patients in the clinical trial were a good secondary story. I hated that part of their issues involved hurting animals... I sometimes like animals more than people. Luckily none of that was very graphic.

All-in-all, I found this story a realistic (if depressing) portrayal of academia. Given that Hansburg is a psychologist herself, this does not surprise me. Full of competition, juicy secrets, and back stabbing. Throw in murder, a pregnant mistress, a bitchy aging wife addicted to botox, a "real woman" lead character, sexy Italian detective... and you have a juicy made-for-tv mystery that you won't want to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and am glad that I volunteered for the review opportunity.

See full review at: http://bambi-unbridled.blogspot.com/2015/04/review-shrink-rapt-by-freda-hansburg...… (más)