Customer Reviews

Mind Games: The True Story of a Psychologist, His Wife, and a Brutal Murder (True Crime (St. Martin's Paperbacks))

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Carlton Smith is a popular true crime writer. This book is probably my favorite of his true books so far. This case is far more complicated and the author does his best to bring about this case to the public life. The case of Susan Polk who killed her psychiatrist husband, Dr. Frank Felix Polk, is far more complicated than it appears to be. At first, I felt that Susan Polk was guilty of the crime but it's not that simple. She first met him while he was counseling her as a teenager for sexual abuse. Dr. Polk was an expert in the field of counseling sexual abused victims but sadly he crossed the line and abused his power with Susan. He divorced his first wife and married a young girl named Susan who also had a troubled history much like Dr. Polk himself. He was a holocaust survivor who with his family escaped the Nazis in Europe as a child. He also had a troubled psychiatric history and it's ironic that he becomes a psychiatrist counseling others. In all honesty, he was truly a disturbed individual but in reality that should not stop him from being a person to help other people or deserve the ending of his life. He was brutally murdered by his own wife who was disturbed as well. You wonder if the authorities could have done any more to stop and prevent this tragedy. We must not forget the three sons of Felix and Susan who are equally troubled. One son, Gabe, testified against his own mother in court. Susan is still paranoid and suffering from delusions. before I read this book, I didn't doubt Susan's guilty but I swayed to believe that she probably thought she was doing it in her best interests to save herself.

Maybe because this book was so focused on Susan Polk and her plethora of neuroses, I found it particularly tedious to complete. True, it is the heart of the matter, but very little attention is given to the complexities of Dr. Polk outside of occasional heresay or documented background history, inadvertantly sowing the seeds of sympathy for the him; and leaving the reader to wonder if this book was culled entirely from court transcripts (Susan Polk served as her own counsel). Frankly, after only about a third of the way into the book, I was already wishing death on Susan. I usually enjoy Mr. Smith's TC books, but I'd have to recommend a pass on this one.

I am a Carlton Smith fan but this book just drolled on and on. When it finally got to the court case, it got better, but still rambled. At least the first half was just conversations, etc. It was setting up the court case but too much!

excellent speed of arrival, book in good shape;i am totally satisfied with book, service (how incredibly QUICK it was);also it is a good book of its' genre & i thank you (i plan to purchas more from you !!). sincerely, judith redman