The Cadaver's Ball

by Charles Atkins

Book Overview

In this psychological thriller with Count of Monte Cristo-style vengeance, psychiatrist Peter Grainger struggles to get back on track after the death of his wife and unborn child. Unbeknownst to him,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0843957573
• ISBN13: 9780843957570
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Leisure Books
• Length: 342 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Loved it!

This was a wonderful thriller and a fast read. I could not put it down!

Great Thriller

As a practicing psychiatrist, I found this book both gripping and fascinating. Dr. Atkins weaves a spectacular tale of revenge that centers on two psychiatrists. The psychiatric details of the book added a special element for me, but at its core, this is a great thriller; the book was so exciting I found myself reading chapters between patients. My wife, who is also a psychiatrist, couldn't put this book down either. A great read.

review

I reviewed Dr. Atkins' first two novels for Publishers Weekly (The Portrait; Risk Factor) and only wish I was working for them now so I could review this one as well, because this psycho-medical novel of revenge ranks right up there with his earlier works and belongs on the shelf of any reader who has ever enjoyed the work of Robin Cook or Michael Palmer.

Couldn't Put It Down

This is an excellent psychological thriller. It combined a mystery that kept me turning the pages and it led me into a labyrinth of twisted characters who were by turns fascinating, horrible, pitiful, charming and wholly believable. The villian, if he is a villian, was clearly deluded and evil, but he was also appealing -- a broken-hearted genius who took a tragic turn. The hero, if he is the hero, is also sympathetic, as well as charming and attractive. At the same time, his inability to come to turns with his own inner demons make him frustrating and not always likable. I loved the way the whole thing came together in the end and I especially liked the touches of South American shamanic medicine. Did what I think happened at the end really happen at all? I don't even mind that I'm not sure. Highly recommended.

fabulous psychological thriller

In 1991, Ed Tyson proposes to Beth, who apologetically says no. Instead she marries another medical student Peter Grainger. Ed vows that one day Beth will be his at any cost as he thinks of his father the "Judge" saying the " end justifies the mean". In 2004, Peter, now a psychiatrist, struggles with the accident that killed Beth and their unborn child. He currently works as the medical director for the University Hospital Mental Health Clinic, a job he got because of his pal Ed, Dean at the school. As a favor to Ed, he currently is seeing a twenty-two years old coed Ann Walsh who looks just like Beth. Ann apparently cut her wrists following a discussion with her drunken father renowned writer Carter Walsh. Soon other incidents each more dangerous than the previous occur with Peter wondering if Ed is setting him up for some reason or he is just going insane. Police Detective Nicole Sullivan, whose daughter remains traumatized from being molested by an uncle, looks into the strange happenings at the University Hospital Medical School. THE CADAVER'S BALL is a fabulous psychological thriller starring a person at his most vulnerable as he still grieves deeply his loss; even his son cannot help Peter recover. Interestingly the manipulations of the twisted Ed are what snap a teetering Peter back to life. Though flashbacks by Peter to happier times add depth on the other hand Ed reflecting back to his childhood seems out of place although that provides some understanding as to his Bushian philosophy of the end always justifies the means. Harriet Klausner