Bad Thoughts (Five Star Mystery Series) - Hardcover

In Zeltserman's unconvincing third thriller (after Fast Lane), Cambridge, Mass., detective Bill Shannon dreads every February 10th, the anniversary of the day his mother was brutally murdered in their California home when Bill was 13. Around the anniversary, Bill suffers from debilitating blackouts that often cause long stretches of amnesia. As the 20th anniversary approaches, the blackouts become more severe, disrupting Bill's work and home life. Soon he's spiraling out of control, unsure how to tell reality from nightmare. A series of gruesome slayings have Bill questioning whether he himself could be responsible and terrified that Herbert Winters, his mother's killer, has come back to claim him. Crime novelists from Robert B. Parker to Dennis Lehane have found fertile ground in a similar premise and setting, but Zeltserman falls short of their standard. Bill Shannon lacks the depth required for a character who walks the line between victim and potential killer, and instead collapses into stereotype.
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A compellingly clever wheels-within-wheels thriller, Zeltserman's new novel blends genres in a subtle mix that will appeal to both mystery and horror fans. Police detective Bill Shannon's dreams are being invaded by images of horrific violence, but the source of the intrusion remains shadowed until the harrowing conclusion of the novel, a homage to the Australian Aboriginal concept of "Dreamtime." The reader will be kept guessing as to whether the psychologically hammered cop is being revisited by his own guilt or whether there's an outside factor involved in his recurring visions of murdering his own mother. The resolution of the novel clearly indicates the possibility of sequels to come, so if you want to get in on the ground floor, now's the time. An ingenious plot, skillfully executed. Elliott Swanson
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