Compulsion: A Novel (Frank Clevenger) [Paperback]

Keith Ablow (Author)

Book Description

Series: Frank Clevenger | Publication Date: June 16, 2003

Burdened by his own psychological scars, brilliant forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Frank Clevenger, has weathered the most extreme twists of the human mind. Then he receives a disturbing call from Nantucket's Chief of Police. The five-month-old daughter of prominent billionaire, Darwin Bishop, has been found murdered in her crib.

The obvious suspect is Darwin's adopted sociopathic son, Billy. Even Clevenger can't fathom the motive behind the troubled boy's murder of an infant. But what is Billy really running from? Does Darwin's stunning wife Julia know? If she does, she isn't talking. Neither is the Bishop's other son who's harboring terrible secrets of his own.

Falling for Julia is Clevenger's first mistake. Investigating the Bishops' twisted emotional landscape is his second. It's done more than just draw him into the maze of a psychosexual family history. It's trapped him. As his own demons rise to the surface, he must play the ultimate mind game to catch a killer-and make it out alive...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Billy Bishop, the Russian-born adopted son of a billionaire, has all the classic signs of a sociopath, but before he's arrested for the murder of Darwin and Julia Bishop's infant daughter, his half sister, Nantucket police chief North Anderson wants another opinion. Frank Clevenger, the forensic psychiatrist evaluating Billy, isn't convinced of the teenager's guilt, especially when he learns that Darwin has been abusing Billy for years. The victim of his own father's abuse, Frank has difficulty maintaining appropriate emotional boundaries in his dealings with the Bishops--not just with Billy, but also with Julia, who becomes his lover. All the loose ends in this tidy little psychological thriller are tied up a bit too neatly, and the denouement comes as no surprise to anyone except perhaps Frank himself, who's a little too quick to abandon his professional objectivity. Keith Ablow, a forensic psychiatrist like his protagonist, has used his medical background before (Denial, Projection), but in his effort to make the defenses and motivations of the characters in this novel completely comprehensible to his readers, he sacrifices its subtlety and diminishes its suspense. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Battle-scarred Boston forensic psychiatrist Frank Clevenger is reluctantly drawn into the Nantucket murder case of five-month-old twin Brooke Bishop in this brainy psychological thriller. All evidence points to the younger of the victim's two adopted Russian-born brothers, 16-year-old problem child Billy. The boy's father, Darwin Bishop, a wealthy entrepreneur from Brooklyn, promptly sends Billy off to the psych ward at Manhattan's Payne Whitney to keep him under observation. But Clevenger's old inner-city cop buddy, North Anderson, now the Nantucket chief of police, thinks Billy was set up by the real killer and fears for the surviving twin. Clevenger heads to the island, but the pressures of the case retrigger his old alcohol problem, which is complicated by his instant lust for Bishop's ex-model wife, Julia. Billy escapes the psych ward, and there is a murder attempt on the other twin, but it is far from clear that Billy is the culprit. Meanwhile, Darwin has Clevenger followed by goons in vans, gets North kicked off the case and pushes Billy into jail without getting him a good trial lawyer. Unsettling phone calls from Billy; a pretty nanny's pricey jewel; old court records; clues from Billy's older brother, Garrett; a dark secret of North's; and assaults on Clevenger and Julia send Clevenger down a twisted trail to a whammy of a double surprise ending the reader won't see coming. Action nimbly shifts from gritty urban Boston to window-dressed Nantucket, and the people and politics are realistically portrayed, including the ballsy but deeply flawed protagonist. Not as bloody as Ablow's first outings (Denial; Projection), this one scores as a great psychological mind-bender.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (June 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312988249
• ISBN-13: 978-0312988241
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #870,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A COMPELLING READ, June 9, 2004

By 

Kay Blythe "southladykay" (Fredericksburg, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Compulsion: A Novel (Frank Clevenger) (Paperback)

Ablow's newest tale is his best yet. The author doesn't use his background in forensic psychiatry to bore you with complicated medical terms but instead allows the reader more of a layman's perspective on some of society's neuroses. As I glided through Ablow's prose and provocative storytelling, I was twice legitimately surprised by the turns this mystery takes. This is a top-notch read.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ablow's third is a winner, January 15, 2004

By 

David Group (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Compulsion: A Novel (Frank Clevenger) (Paperback)

Ablow's last novel PROJECTION turned me off so much I didn't want to read any more of his books, but I gave this a try anyway, and I'm glad I did. This is a first-rate psychological thriller with hardly a false note in the entire book. Though the murder of a child within the confines of a troubled household may not be the most original plotline, Ablow's keen psychological insight guides you masterfully through the twists and turns of a deeply disturbed family, springing surprises just when you thought you had everything figured out. Highly recommended.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!, February 25, 2005

By 

D. A KENNEDY "read ranger" (Santa Cruz, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Compulsion: A Novel (Frank Clevenger) (Paperback)

I enjoyed this entry in the Frank Clevenger series immensely! I especially appreciated the quick pacing and smart plot. Mr. Ablow does a fine job of keeping you guessing, creating compelling characters, examining their motives without dragging it out, ( I hate being forced to skim), and he throws in some really interesting and ingenious diagnostic scenerios. It is the proverbial page-turner, and I did indeed stay up late into the night to finish it. Highly recommended.
I will now proceed to critique and pick apart every little nuance and plot turn in the book, and complain that I hated the main character, because he's human, with human frailties, weaknesses, and not altogether pure motives......NOT!!!!
Doesn't that describe all of us, to one extent or another? Why do critics think that the protagonist has to be pure of heart, (read one-dimensional) in order to be believable? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Go figure.
This book is time and money well spent, and like myself, you'll likely learn a few things along the way. What could be better?