Delusion: A Mystery [Paperback]

G. H. Ephron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 7, 2003

From the acclaimed author of Amnesia and Addiction comes the story of a paranoid man accused of killing his wife-is he ill, or is he a great actor trying to get away with murder?

Forensic neuropsychologist at Boston's prestigious Pearce Psychiatric Center and expert defense witness Peter Zak regularly testifies at murder trials on issues like a defendant's conception of right and wrong or the reliability of a witness's memory. This time a lawyer calls Peter to the scene of a crime-Nick Babikian has just found his wife brutally stabbed and floating in their backyard pool. The lawyer wants Peter to assess Nick's state of mind. A brilliant but paranoid man who's made millions inventing and marketing his own computer role-playing game, he was working in the house while his wife was stabbed, and he's certain to be accused of wielding the knife.

Nick claims his innocence, but he has no proof, though certainly some of what he claims seems true. For example, there are signs his wife was having an affair. And oddly, the longer they work together, the more Peter relates to Nick's feelings. For Peter himself becomes more and more convinced that his own wife's killer, a man who's supposed to be serving life in prison, is somehow tormenting him at home and at work.

It's up to Peter to separate fact from fiction in this chilling entry in a masterful series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Forensic psychologist Peter Zak, hired to determine whether Nick Babikian's paranoia led him to stab his wife to death, is feeling a little paranoid himself. Despite the fact that the man who murdered his own wife is in prison, Peter has reason to believe that Ralston Bridges is behind the break-ins at his house, the tricks being played on his girlfriend, even the illegally installed surveillance system he discovers in his home. Is Babikian's paranoia catching, or is Bridges, a patient at the same mental hospital where Nick is being held, actually manipulating Peter with the help of an outside accomplice? And why is the detective assigned to the case so anxious to pin the murder on someone that he's ignoring important evidence from Nick's own in-house security system? Fans of Jonathan Kellerman and Stephen White, take note: here's a psychological thriller that's chilling enough to make you wonder who's watching you, too. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Ephron's third novel (after 2001's Addiction) to feature forensic psychiatrist/expert defense witness Dr. Peter Zak deftly probes the intersections between sanity and psychosis, paranoia and murder, doctor and patient. Lisa Babikian, the luscious young wife of a computer games wizard, is found naked and eviscerated, floating in her swimming pool behind a house filled with masks and surveillance equipment. Zak must decide whether her blood-spattered husband Nick committed the crime. One possible witness is Nick's elderly mother, but her mind is riddled by Alzheimer's disease and the family paranoia originating in the Armenian massacres of the early 20th century. As usual, Zak confronts his own emotions relating to his own wife's brutal murder as they enlighten and confuse the case. Ephron uses psychology and pharmacology to add complexity and credibility to the plot, so the reader feels informed rather than intrusively educated. As in Addiction, the hospital where Zak works and the Boston/Cambridge setting become vivid characters in the novel. This is by far the best book in the Zak series-lively, astringent, fast paced and believable. Zak sometimes waxes bitter with baby boomer angst when confronting the younger, pierced generation, but his warming relationship with detective Annie Squires saves him from becoming too much of a curmudgeon. Zak is a thoughtful, compassionate sleuth who, if he ever finds gum on his shoe, will no doubt trace it quickly to the factory of its origin.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (December 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312993528
• ISBN-13: 978-0312993528
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,024,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Is Paranoia Catching?, January 6, 2003

By 

"tsm224" (Cleveland ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delusion: A Mystery (Hardcover)

Peter Zack is involved in a most complex case. His friend Chip, who is a lawyer, calls in the middle of the night and requests him to accompany him to the home of a client. Upon arriving they meet Nick who is acting rather bizarre. After walking through the house, they discover a blood trail and follow it to the pool.
In the pool floats his wife. She has died a rather horrible death and Nick claims he neither remembers nor heard anything in the house. Since Peter is a forensic psychologist he agrees to examine Nick and determine his state of mind that night. Upon meeting with Nick we quickly learn he is paranoid. He believes THEY are out to get him. Peter is trying to figure out who he means by THEY. We also meet Nick's mother who is suffering from Dementia. Peter knows she witness something that night but she believes she is reliving the massacre of the Turks by the Armenian army in the 1930's. I have loved this series from the first book and with the third this duo writing team holds it together. We see Peter at work handling his duties at the Pearce
Institute, working on this case and we see more of his personal life. A couple years ago he put away a deranged killer and now it seems that this man is stalking him from behind bars. So while we are watching Peter become paranoid like Nick this author spends a great tale that is disappointing in the end. About two
thirds into the book, I thought I had it all figure out but when the conclusion is revealed it made me sad. I felt disappointed that they wove such a tight plot to leave fall flat at the end. I still give it a 9 but the ending should of been different.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just because they're out to get you...., November 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Delusion: A Mystery (Hardcover)

Delusion explores a gripping world where fear threatens to take over. The protagonist, Peter Zak finds himself emmeshed in the same paranoia that plagues the defendant accused of the central murder. As Zak unravels the mystery, the reader unravels a truth: paranoia is its own danger. A great read that will keep you up at night wondering...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Involving with great characters, November 15, 2002

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Delusion: A Mystery (Hardcover)

It seems like an open and shut case. A beautiful woman is found killed and her husband has blood on his shoes. Psychologist Peter Zak is asked to do an analysis of the husband, but something about the case bothers him. The evidence seems too perfect. Nick, the husband, is certainly paranoid, but as Zak comes to find out, sometimes paranoia is the appropriate response when they really are out to get you. The only question is, who THEY are and why they now seem coming for Zak.

Author G. H. Ephron (the pen name for writing team Hallie Ephron and Donald A. Davidoff) delivers a really good mystery. Zak is a sympathetic character with his attempts to wade through Nick's insanity to find the truth. Zak's own emotional trauma (his wife was also murdered) gives him both emotional depth and lets him sympathize with Nick's efforts to prove his innocence.