Professor Maura Delaney鈥檚 book, 鈥淭he Good Sociopath,鈥� is about to hit the market with a neurosurgeon, Dr. Craig Canning, as her primary example. The publisher has even put his photograph on the cover.
Canning is arrogant and lacks genuine emotions (although he鈥檚 good at faking them), but his exceptional surgical skills have saved hundreds of lives. Canning doesn鈥檛 care one whit about his patients, but he glories in his reputation as one of the best in his profession
Then a young woman plunges to her death from a balcony in an apartment building where Canning also resides. Police rule it an accident, but Maura says she isn鈥檛 so sure. If Canning was responsible, Maura鈥檚 academic career will be in ruins, so she hires newly-minted private eye Annalisa Vega, a former Chicago PD detective, to recheck the police work. So begins 鈥淎ll The Way Gone,鈥� Joanna Schaffhausen鈥檚 fourth novel featuring Annalisa.
Famous for tracking down a serial murderer dubbed the Lovelorn Killer, Annalisa is skeptical of the very idea of a good sociopath. Nevertheless, it鈥檚 a widely recognized phenomenon. Most sociopaths are not criminals. High functioning ones often possess qualities 鈥� including exceptional intelligence, charisma, charm and the ability to stay calm under pressure 鈥� that help them succeed in fields such as medicine, law, politics and business.
But when Vega meets Canning, she immediately gets a 鈥渂ad vibe.鈥�
Meanwhile, Vega鈥檚 newly-discovered teenage stepdaughter, Cassidy, the product of one of her husband鈥檚 extramarital affairs, needs help with her own problem. Cassidy鈥檚 girlfriend, Naomi, will die if she doesn鈥檛 get a kidney transplant, and so far no match has been found.
The best remaining chance would be her mother, who abandoned the family when Naomi was a toddler, but no one knows where she鈥檚 gone. As it turns out, she鈥檚 a psychopath, too, with no possibility that she鈥檚 one of the good ones.
Vega juggles the two cases with the skill readers of the series have come to expect of her. The dueling plot lines are also in Schaffhausen鈥檚 wheelhouse. She possesses a doctorate in psychology and has a long-standing interest in brain development.
The author鈥檚 prose is clear and tight, and she does a fine job of moving the story along at a swift and sometimes frantic pace, piling on twists that readers are unlikely to see coming.
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winner of the Mystery Writers of America鈥檚 Edgar Award, is the author of the Mulligan crime novels including 鈥淭he Dread Line.鈥�
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AP book reviews:
Bruce Desilva, The Associated Press
