Dangerous Attachments [Mass Market Paperback]

Sarah Lovett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 1996

"[A] SUSPENSE-SOAKED THRILLER . . . A welcome addition to Patricia Cornwell territory, Lovett is a meticulously fine writer who offers both cold, clinical realism and sensitive insight."
--West Coast Review of Books
As a consultant to the New Mexico prison system, forensic psychiatrist
Dr. Sylvia Strange has probed the minds of some of the country's most disturbed and dangerous criminals. But nothing prepares her for the madness of Lucas Watson.
"[A] CHILLING TALE, PEPPERED WITH CONTINUOUS PLOT TURNS.--San Francisco Examiner
When Lucas escapes from the state penitentiary, he cooly and methodically begins to stalk Sylvia. Now, caught in a harrowing cat-and-mouse-game that only one of them can win, Sylvia must use all of her psychological insights and courage to stay one step ahead of a madman.
"DANGEROUS ATTACHMENTS continues to surprise and excite to the very end. An emotional, vivid thriller."
--Vincent Bugliosi
Author of Helter Skelter
"COMPELLING . . . NOT TO BE MISSED."
--Mostly Murder

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This title also marks the debut of a highly skilled perfectionist whose ability to portray emotional tension and psychological disturbance should make this a popular choice. When Dr. Sylvia Strange recommends against parole for dangerous psychotic Luke Watson, she incurs the displeasure of his influential politician father and the fevered stalkings of his younger brother. Meanwhile, Sylvia's friend Rosie, an investigator at the New Mexico Penitentiary, hears rumors of another prison riot, fields incidents of missing body parts, and hunts for a mysterious prisoner feared by all the rest. Scary suspense, lethal action, and gruesome detail.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

A first printing of 50,000 and lots of prepress publicity will get Lovett's debut book off to a fine start, and her publicist's claim that she's the new Patricia Cornwell should help generate sales. Lovett, who's been a forensic researcher for the New Mexico penitentiary, sets her story in that dark, merciless prison. Her heroine, psychiatrist Sylvia Strange, is asked to evaluate inmate Lucas Watson for parole. Watson's father has powerful friends in high places, and even though Lucas is known as a sociopathic killer whose trademark is cutting off his victim's body parts and keeping them as souvenirs, the elder Watson is determined to use his influence to make sure Lucas is freed. But when Lucas is found dead, and a prison riot erupts, Sylvia finds herself surrounded by violence, stalked by an unknown enemy, and fighting to save herself and her sanity before a terrifying killer makes her his next victim. Fans of the genre will no doubt be delighted by this promising debut. Emily Melton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Ivy Books; Reprint edition (June 30, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804112975
• ISBN-13: 978-0804112970
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,051,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A gritty, but compelling tale, October 8, 2003

By 

Roberta M. Austin (Alpharetta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dangerous Attachments: A Dr. Sylvia Strange Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

In her work as a forensic psychologist, Dr. Sylvia Strange has had to deal with a lot of people with severe mental illness and depraved minds. When she is called into evaluate Lucas Wilson for parole she is definitely against it. He demonstrates a high level of paranoia and delusion. There is political pressure on her as Lucas is the son of an ambitious politician who already has a skeleton from the past in the form of his wife's apparent suicide.

When Lucas escapes from jail during a riot, he does not want to run away to another state or country, but pursue Sylvia who has become an object of obsession. Prison officials are also concerned about someone the other inmates have dubbed "the jackal" who is making off with body parts of those both dead and alive.

This is the first in a series Sylvia Strange novels. The protagonist is strong and intelligent, but still realistic in the fact she carries around emotional baggage from the past and is shown "warts and all". The secondary characters are well developed and add greatly to the texture and depth of the story. The vivid descriptions are grisly and graphic, but suit the subject matter. The author takes you on a roller coaster ride that keeps you holding on until the last page. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series in the very near future.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too Good to Put Down!, July 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Dangerous Attachments (Mass Market Paperback)

I had never heard of this author before, and came across "Dangerous Attachments" in a used book store. The book will keep you reading non-stop until the very end. Sarah Lovett ranks at the very top of the list of super writers, such as James Patterson and Jonathan Kellerman. If you like serial murders, thrown in with a good liberal dose of criminal psychology, and an "on the edge of your seat" ending, you will love this book. Having studied criminal psychology, there was one particular segment of the book that seemed out of character. After Merry Maids cleaned up Sylvia's house it mentions that the service left the keys to the new door lock in the mailbox. If one was being stalked and your house was broken into, it is highly unlikely, anyone with any smarts at all would have a service leave "your new keys" in the mailbox when someone could be watching your home and all activity going on. Overall, it was still a great book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dangerous reviews!, March 9, 2005

By 

One of Amazon's Best Customers (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dangerous Attachments: A Dr. Sylvia Strange Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read all of the Sylvia Strange novels, and of course it was this first one that grabbed my attention. I found it interesting, well written, and compelling. The psychological basis of the book is well considered and accurate, a major point given that Sylvia is a forensic psychologist.

Well worth it!