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Summary
Summary
Claire Waters is a dedicated forensic psychiatrist with unnervingly personal insights into the criminal mind. Haunted by a disturbing childhood incident, Claire has always been drawn to those rare "untreatable" patients who seem to have no conscience or fear. But one shocking case could make or break her career-and it's waiting for her in the psychiatric wing of New York City's Rikers Island. Quimby is a deranged inmate whose boyish good looks hide a sordid history of dysfunction and abuse, and he triggers something in Claire she'd rather not face. As she tries to unlock Quimby's past, she leaves herself dangerously vulnerable. When the case propels her into the mind of another killer-a homicidal maniac who's watching her every move-it could only end in madness, or murder, or both¿ Brilliantly constructed and breathtakingly suspenseful, Kill Switch is a masterful combination of murder, mystery, and modern forensics- and a stunning debut from a spectacular writing team
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Fans of high-octane, intricate thrillers will welcome TV producers Baer and Greene's fiction debut, which introduces New York City forensic psychiatrist Claire Waters. A traumatic childhood experience-witnessing a friend's abduction-still haunts Waters, who feels responsible for not having prevented the crime. She gets a whole lot more to feel guilty about after she's assigned to the case of Rikers Island inmate Todd Quimby, a relatively minor offender whose mother murdered his father. Their initial conversation goes off the rails after she unexpectedly conjures up her long-standing feelings of self-loathing and helplessness. Her mentor and biggest booster, Paul Curtin (aka "Dr. Oz of Forensic Psychiatry"), still believes in her potential, but is concerned about her performance. The violent fallout from the botched interview leads her to team with NYPD Det. Nick Lawler, back on the job after his wife used his service weapon to kill herself, to track down a serial killer. The twists are de rigueur, but are delivered with skill. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Silence of the Lambs and other more venerable entertainments doesn't even hold up as an airplane book. Baer and Greene's careers as former producers of series like Law Order: Special Victims Unit and A Gifted Man should give readers a sense of what they're getting into. After a very slight prologue in which a girl is abducted in 1989, the novel opens on forensic psychiatrist Claire Waters' first day working among the inmates of Riker's Island. She's been invited into this rare research fellowship by Dr. Paul Curtin, a severe taskmaster with his own agenda. "I want to fix them, or at least understand them," Claire philosophizes about her chosen path. In the most simplistic psycho-speak, Claire believes that childhood is the key to understanding all deviants, not least her first patient Todd Quimby, due for parole soon. Quimby is a hard case with a history of drug and sexual abuse hurtling toward even worse crimes who fixates on his new doctor. Meanwhile, a Manhattan homicide detective named Nick Lawler is recovering from the death of his wife, looking after two young children, and is suddenly called back to homicide after a long exile in a dead-end assignment. Lawler runs across Claire while investigating the murders of young blonde women, with all evidence pointing towards Quimby. Claire is even more horrified when the next victim has been altered to look more like her. The investigative narrative is workmanlike but tolerable, much like the rerun of a TV serial. It's toward the end, as Claire confronts the killer who abducted her childhood friend and the primary plot becomes a Fugitive-style medical mystery, that this novel starts to lose its edge. Another police procedural about the criminal mind with lackluster characters and a predictable plot.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
A promising forensic psychiatrist with a prestigious fellowship for work with violent mental patients and an NYPD detective, newly reinstated to duty after being suspected of murdering his wife, team up to catch a serial killer. Both have deeply hidden secrets that may limit their effectiveness. Dr. Claire Waters still feels guilty about the kidnapping of her best friend by a murderous abuser many years earlier, and Detective Nick Lawler has retinitis pigmentosa, an incurable disease that leads to blindness. When Claire suspects that her patient, Todd Quimby, is killing young women after his release from Rikers Island, she goes to police and takes an active role in the case that Nick leads. He in turn helps her reach closure on the case that has haunted her since childhood. Nagging loose ends remain, leading to deadly risk for the protagonists and a suspenseful (if a bit contrived) conclusion. Still, characters and dialogue ring true in this promising debut by the former executive producers of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
A kill switch is akin to the big red button on a piece of machinery-in an emergency, when pressed, it shuts the entire mechanism down. Claire Waters, a brilliant, beautiful forensic psychiatrist, has decided that she will perform this function for serial killers by shutting down their primal urge to kill and guiding them through their childhood memories to help them become "normal." Unfortunately, her first case is under the guidance of Dr. Paul Curtain, who has his own peculiar agenda, and brings her into contact with Todd Quimby, a drug and sexual abuser who is starting to crumble. He admits that he goes into rages and thinks about killing women of a certain type. When Quimby escapes New York City's Rikers Island and these women start to die, Claire partners with homicide detective Nick Lawler. Verdict The co-executive producers of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, ER, and A Gifted Man have written a decent debut thriller with believable medical jargon and plots, well-rounded characters, and an ending that is difficult to guess. Fans of psychological thrillers will look forward to more adventures with Claire Waters.-Marianne Fitzgerald, Severna Park H.S., MD (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
