The Suspect by Michael Robotham

The psychological thriller that marked the debut of one of contemporary suspense fiction's most compelling heroes: "A gripping first novel...taut and fast-moving." --Washington Post Renowned psychologist Joseph O'Loughlin has it all -- a thriving practice, a devoted, beautiful, fiercely intelligent wife, and a lovely young daughter. But when he's diagnosed with Parkinson's, O'Loughlin begins to dread the way his exceptional mind has been shackled to a failing body, and the cracks in his perfect existence start to show. At first, O'Loughlin is delighted to be called in to a high-profile murder investigation, hoping his extraordinary abilities at perception will help bring a killer to justice. But when O'Loughlin recognizes the victim as one of his former patients, an emotionally disturbed young woman who nearly brought ruin upon him, O'Loughlin hesitates -- a fateful decision that soon places O'Loughlin at the top of the lists of both a bullish detective, and a diabolical killer

Nicely written but too depressing, as most psychological thrillers are.

This is a pretty standard thriller with nothing special to recommend itself over any other of its kind. Basically, a whiny shrink, Joseph “Joe” O'Loughlin, who keeps making stupid decisions throughout the entire book ends up being man-hunted as the prime suspect in a string of murders, starting with a former patient of his. Very early on, when being asked to help in the investigation of the murder, Joe decides it's a brilliant idea to withhold essential information from the police: “All the while I'm thinking, I should say something now. I should tell him. Yet a separate track in my brain is urging, It doesn't matter anymore. He knows her name. What's past is past. It's ancient history.” This stupidity annoys me without end: The cops will find out about such connections anyway so Joe should have told them right away. After all, he will have read this in countless books or seen it a hundred times at the cinema or on TV. Such lies by omission never help. Robotham still using this dead-beat plot device made me groan with despair. Joe O'Loughlin is pretty daft all around, though: He's seriously best friends with a man who – after more than a decade – still tries to get at Joe's wife. When confronted with having Parkinson Joe doesn't talk to his wife but hops into bed with a former prostitute. Yes, the parts where Joe is on the run are suspenseful and I kept on reading but at the end of the day, suspense is not enough. Suspense is not sustainable and provides no “food for thought” and even in a thriller there should at least be a very small bit of that or it will taste stale quickly – just like Michael Robotham's “The Suspect”. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram