Reviewed By: Jeff Kreider - RAM
The Syndrome
Amazon US HC Amazon US Audio Book Amazon Canada HC Amazon Canada Audio Book
John Case
Class/Genre: Mystery Medical Thriller
The Syndrome is the third from "John Case", who, it is now revealed on the back flap, is a husband and wife team of Jim and Carolyn Hougan. This is a bizarre mix of "who dun it?" "who'd they do it to?" and "did they really?" A young woman is dead from an apparent suicide. Her "not so close" sister, who now regrets their estrangement, tries to back track her life in an effort to figure out why. She soon discovers that her sister had been seeing a psychiatrist who had unraveled evidence that she was an abused child. She was, apparently, a repeated victim of satanic tortures. But it just isn't true. She confronts the doctor and accuses him of "seeding" the problem in order to maintain the client. Then it is revealed that the good doctor seems to be missing a few eggs from his own basket. First of all, he's mildly agoraphobic. Secondly, his history only goes back a few years. Third, much of what he does remember is flat not true. Nevertheless, the sister and the doctor then set out to find out what's really going on. I listened to this on unabridged audio.
It was a fine story, but I recently did Dean Koontz's False Memory, so I was already tuned into the basic premise. I was repeatedly frustrated with the pace, which might, for someone else, been somewhat suspenseful. For me, however, it was like, "Hey, been there, done that; get on with it." I was mildly (but only mildly) disappointed after reading Cold, Cold Heart by James Elliot (another pseudonym for the same writing team) and what I'd heard about The Genesis Code, Case's first.
Jeff Kreider - RAM
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Jeff Kreider - RAM
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