The Suspect

Joseph O'Loughlin appears to have the perfect life - a beautiful wife, a loving daughter and a successful career as a clinical psychologist. But nothing can be taken for granted. Even the most flawless existence is only a loose thread away from unravelling. All it takes is a murdered girl, a troubled young patient and the biggest lie of his life. Caught in a complex web of deceit and haunted by images of the slain girl, he embarks upon a search that will take him from London to Liverpool and into the darkest recesses of the human mind ... A nerve-shredding psychological thriller from one of the most brilliant crime authors of today, Michael Robotham

london Psychiatrist Joseph O'loughlin Seems To Have The Perfect Life. He Has A Beautiful Wife, An Adoring Daughter, And A Thriving Practice To Which He Brings Great Skill And Compassion. But He's Also Facing A Future Dimmed By Parkinson's Disease. And When He's Called In On A Gruesome Murder Investigation, He Discovers That The Victim Is Someone He Once Knew. Unable To Tell The Police What He Knows, O'loughlin Tells One Small Lie Which Turns Out To Be The Biggest Mistake Of His Life. Suddenly, He's Caught In A Web Of His Own Making.

the New York Times - Marilyn Stasio

there's Usually Some Plot Loophole In A Suspense Novel That Takes The Fun Out Of It. The Protagonist Of Michael Robotham's First Novel, suspect, A London Psychiatrist Named Joe O'loughlin, Refuses To Divulge A Perfectly Good Alibi And Goes On The Lam When One Of His Former Patients Is Killed In A Peculiarly Gruesome Manner. But, For Once, The Flawed Logic Doesn't Sink The Pleasantly Creepy Story, Which Is Plotted With Precision And Narrated With Real Intelligence By The Doctor, Whose Decision To Keep Mum On A Serious Medical Condition Of His Own Makes Him Look Suspicious -- And Leaves Him Vulnerable When The Real Murderer Shows Up. The Thing About Shrinks Is, They May Know It All, But They Just Have To Make It Complicated.

Already a hit in the U.K., Suspect may do for psychological thrillers what Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent did for the legal variety. Joe O'Loughlin is a psychologist with secrets. He is trying to hide his Parkinson's disease from the world, and his wife suspects he's having an affair. And after a gruff detective asks the doctor for insights into the stabbing death of a young woman, we discover the nurse was an ex-patient who accused him of sexual assault. O'Loughlin has an alibi for the night of the murder, but he decides not to share it. That the psychologist consistently withholds key information from the police, his wife--everyone--makes this tightly plotted story even more compelling. To those who "think that the truth is real and solid," O'Loughlin counters, "The truth isn't like that. If I were to tell you this story tomorrow it would be different than today." This stance makes him a deliciously maddening character to root for, and it soon becomes clear he is a highly compartmentalized person. As a series of damning clues turn up to indict him, O'Loughlin takes flight. But then he taps a hidden reserve of cunning and pluck as he seeks to clear his name--and ultimately discovers just how easy it is to destroy someone's life while trying to figure out what's going on inside his or her head The hunter becomes the hunted when an expert consultant in a baffling murder case becomes the prime suspect in Michael Robotham's stunning debut thriller. At forty-two, psychiatrist Joe O'Loughlin seems to have it all: a thriving practice, a beautiful wife, an adoring daughter. But Joe's snug, happy world is crumbling. Recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he's dreading the inevitable and all too palpable deterioration of his body and mind. Then, when the police ask for his help in solving the brutal murder of a woman they assume is a prostitute, he's horrified to recognize the victim as a nurse he once worked with, and with whom he had a bit of a past. As Joe begins to suspect that one of his patients may be responsible, the police zero in on him. Michael Robotham possesses the rare ability to create fully believable characters, fashion terrific dialogue, and generate nonstop suspense. Suspect is a powerhouse first novel, intricately crafted and chillingly authentic. After a woman is brutally slain, investigators bring psychiatrist Joe O'Loughlin in for expert consultation. Joe is shocked to discover the dead woman is a former patient of his who cried rape when he rebuffed her sexual advances. Citing doctor/patient confidentiality, Joe hides this information. But the truth emerges, and suddenly he is the prime suspect. Joe O'loughlin, A Psychologist Faced With A Recent Diagnosis Of Parkinson's Disease, Confronts A Conspiracy Against Him After He Becomes The Prime Suspect In The Brutal Murder Of A Woman With Whom He Once Had A Relationship.