Denial [Paperback]

Peter James (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1999

When actress Gloria Lamark takes her own life, her devoted son, Thomas, is heart-broken. Something must be wrong with a world in which such a tragedy is allowed to happen. How could her high-profile, media-star psychiatrist have failed to save such a special person, whom Thomas loved in such a very special way? Dr Tennent has a lesson to learn ...a very painful one. Michael is caught up in the first flush of love - but has no idea how dangerous romance can be. For both Michael and Thomas will do anything for the women they love ...

Editorial Reviews

Review

'James has a gift for turning mindstretching subjects into novels that are irresistibly readable as well as utterly believable' -- ROBERT GODDARD

About the Author

Peter James is an award-winning novelist and film-maker. He was educated at Charterhouse and then film school. All his novels reflect his deep interest in medicine, science, technology and the paranormal. After living in North America for a number of years, where he was the executive producer on THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, starring Al Pacino, Peter James now lives in Sussex.

Product Details

• Paperback: 498 pages
• Publisher: Orion Paperbacks (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752826883
• ISBN-13: 978-0752826882
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 1.2 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,004,282 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great denoument, September 16, 2008

By 

Sheri Oz (Haifa, Israel) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Denial (Paperback)

Picked this book up by chance at a 2nd-hand book clearance. Was about to put it down after the second instance of unbelievably cruel and sadistic violence. But the short chapters and good writing kept me going, hoping there wouldn't be anymore graphic descriptions of torture even though there was ample threat that such was just about to happen!!! My heart was in my throat throughout in spite of my sense that the book would end with a Hollywood ending. Surprise! Surprise! Hollywood ending, yes. But in addition there was a totally unexpected twist that got a good guffaw out of me. Loved it.

Another surprise - there was even some philosophizing by the psychiatrist main character that gives food for thought in light of all that happened. As a psychotherapist, myself, I am well aware of how we can never be sure of how our supposedly brilliant (at least in our own minds) interventions will affect our clients and/or others in their close circles. Hope I never have a client with a son like in this book. But I am still thinking about the implications of making comments, some of them off-the-cuff, that we may think are illuminating, helpful, life-changing when, in fact, they may be inconsiderate or even hurtful.

Thanks for a good intelligent read, Peter James.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Love Of A Son, December 31, 2002

By 

Momo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Denial (Paperback)

When Gloria Lamark, an actress long past her prime, can't face the end of her career and commits suicide, Thomas, her mentally unstable son, decides someone has to pay for the loss of his beloved mother. The target of his revenge campaign is high profile psychiatrist Michael Tennent whom the actress had seen for therapy sessions. A cat-and-mouse game commences in which the psychopath sets the rules and to which only he has all the clues.

Very early in the novel the author shows the amount of violence (think Thomas Harris) that the actress' son is capable of. This resulted in me being very anxious whenever one of the "good guys" seemed to fall into one of the traps set by the highly intelligent Thomas Lamark. Later in the book, when some of the many plotlines come together, the pressure on the criminal increases and culminates in a gripping showdown.

The only problem I had with the book is that some things seemed too coincidental. For example there is a secondary character who just happens to drop a name out of the blue when the plot threatens to go nowhere. Apart from that "Denial" is a very suspenseful thriller that reads quickly and is almost impossible to put down.