Joanna Schaffhausen

Annalisa Vega has traded in her police badge, and is embarking on a new career as a private investigator. In addition, after much soul searching, she remarried her ex, Nick Carelli, a detective in the Chicago Police Department. Anna’s first client is Mara Delaney, an assistant professor of psychology who has written a book, “The Good Sociopath,” that focuses on a brilliant and gifted neurosurgeon named Craig Canning. Mara’s premise is that there are more sociopaths among us than we realize. They can be charming, and according to Delaney, the good ones may choose to channel their impulses into productive endeavors. Mara hires Anna to investigate Dr. Canning, to make sure that he is not hiding anything that could hurt the sales of her soon-to-be-published work of non-fiction.

In “All the Way Gone,” Joanna Schaffhausen presents us with a plot that has many moving parts. There are a host of red herrings, more than a few violent confrontations, and shocking twists and turns. While Anna tries to figure out if Canning is a Dr. Jekyll on the surface and a Mr. Hyde in private, she and Nick are navigating personal issues involving Cassidy Weaver, Nick’s adolescent daughter. He had had a one-night stand seventeen years earlier and, until recently, did not know that he was a father.

The author’s colorful characters, well-written dialogue, and fast-moving action sequences propel this novel along successfully until its final pages. Although the story is undeniably engrossing, its concluding revelations require a sizable suspension of disbelief. Still, Anna and Nick are an appealing couple, and “All the Way Gone” makes the thought-provoking case that sociopathy is poorly understood. We still do not know whether this mental health condition is inborn, unchangeable, and invariably a precursor to criminal behavior.… (more)

In the fourth installment of the series, Annalisa has taken over a private investigator office and her first client is a professor who wants the doctor who's the focus of her soon-to-be released book to be looked into. Mara Delaney is sure that Dr. Canning is a good sociopath, the title of her book, but when a woman in his building falls to her death, Mara thinks maybe he's not so good after all.

During Annalisa's investigation, everything points to Canning, but he was at the hospital in surgery when it happened. How could that possibly be? When things start happening to Mara and Annalisa, and it seems that Canning is two steps ahead at every turn, Annalisa starts second-guessing herself.

Cassidy, Annalisa's stepdaughter, has decided she wants to be Anna's assistant at the PI office. After asking Anna to look for her friend Naomi's mom, and Anna doesn't take it on, Cassidy does it herself. Her investigation instincts are good, but not good enough to keep her out of trouble.

There were definite twists in this one, and although I wouldn't say it was a thriller or even very suspenseful, it was a really good mystery with a turn around every corner. The stories between the characters were well-developed and moved the plot along. The characters were fully fleshed out, and had their own voices and personalities.

All in all, I think this is a good addition to the series. I haven't read the first three books, but if they're like this one, then I'm sure they're worth the read. If you like a female cop/private investigator with real-world issues and a twisty pyschological mystery, then this is for you.

Thank you to @Minotaur_Books and @NetGalley for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.… (more)

This is the second in the Ellery Hathaway series. I read books 1 and 3-5 and wanted to go back and read this one that I missed.

Ellery is on leave from the Woodbury MA police department as a result of actions that occurred in Book 1. Receiving therapy and enrolled in a survivors group, she is approached by a young rape victim for assistance in finding her tormentor; the police are getting no where. She also encounters a victim of a fire that killed the victim’s son and thinks that the person arrested many years ago for the crime is not the true culprit. She feels compelled to investigate and calls upon FBI agent Reed Markham to assist. They have a history. Ellery was kidnapped by a serial killer when she was fourteen. She survived because Markham figured out who the killer was and saved her. Markham puts in job in jeopardy once again to rush to Ellery’s side.

I really like Schaffhausen’s writing and this book is no exception. Once again, I stayed up late into the night to finish it because I could not put it down. It is another well plotted addition to the the series with good character development. The reader is also given insight into the role of behavior analysis in identifying criminals.

Thanks to #NetGalley and @StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks for the DRC.… (more)

When three people go missing in three successive Julys in small town Woodbury, MA, police officer Ellery Hathaway thinks they are related and as that month approaches once again, fears another disappearance. The only problem is that no one in her department sees it the way she does so she calls upon FBI agent Reed Markham to help out. They have a history. Ellery was kidnapped by a serial killer when she was fourteen. She survived because Markham figured out who the killer was and saved her. Ellery has reinvented herself and kept her early history secret but now it seems that history may be related to the goings on in Woodbury.

This is the first in the Hathaway/Markham series. I have read three of the more recent ones and wanted to go back to the very first one. Knowing the future events in these characters’ lives did not interfere with my enjoyment of this story.

Although I did guess the identity of the culprit, it did not detract from the suspense of this novel. It was well plotted with good character development. It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down, reading it well into the night.

I really like this author’s writing and will continue to seek out her works.

Thanks to #NetGalley and @StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks for the DRC.… (more)