Shadow Image [Paperback]

Martin J. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1998

Now psychologist Jim Christensen returns--to explore a Shadow Image of the mind...
First time in print--a powerful follow-up to Smith's successful thriller debut, Time Release
TIme Release received unprecedented acclaim from bestselling authors James Ellroy, Robert Ferrigno, T. Jefferson Parker, and several Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters.
Excellent reviews from the Los Angeles Times, Publishers Weekly, Kansas City Star, Birmingham News, Pittsburgh and Seattle magazines, and more

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Psychologist Jim Christensen takes on a touchy, timely subject--the ravages of Alzheimer's and how little is really known about it--in Martin J. Smith's second original paperback featuring Christensen (after the equally tense and strongly written Time Release). It appears that Floss Underhill has attempted suicide by jumping off a bridge on her family's estate outside Pittsburgh, and both Christensen and his live-in lover Brenna Kennedy become involved in the case. Brenna's the lawyer hired by the politically powerful Underhill family to keep a lid on the story. Jim knows Floss from his work at the Alzheimer's research center where she is a longtime patient. As Brenna and Jim arrive at the same conclusion from different angles--that Floss was the victim of attempted murder--their lives and those of their two children from previous marriages are threatened by old and new secrets that bubble up from unexpected sources, including the strangely lucid paintings of a disturbed woman. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly

Smith brings back psychologist Jim Christensen (Time Release) in an obvious whodunit set against a truly engaging background of art therapy used to aid Alzheimer's patients. Christensen and his lover Brenna Kennedy, the knockout defense attorney, are caught in the maelstrom when the matriarch of the powerful Underhill family, Floss Underhill, goes over a railing on the family estate. Floss is in the late stages of Alzheimer's, so it is through her paintings that the duo hope to unravel the secrets behind Floss's "accident." The scenes at the Harmony Brain Research Center are fascinating, but unfortunately, Smith's plotting plods, with Jim and Brenna often two steps behind any reader who's ever seen or read a mystery.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: Jove (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515122866
• ISBN-13: 978-0515122862
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,255,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, May 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Shadow Image (Paperback)

This book hooked me from the first page. It's a terrific page turner. Do yourself a favor and order Time Release at the same time because when you finish this, you'll want to read more by Martin J. Smith.

5.0 out of 5 stars Taut Page-turner, March 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Shadow Image (Paperback)

Martin J. Smith has penned a second book that tops his explosive debut TIME RELEASE. Psychologist Jim Christiansen, a memory expert, is called in to help investigate the attempted murder of a powerful grande dame of a wealthy political family who has Alzheimer's. She has been shoved off a cliff but survived the fall. Now he must sift through the shattered pieces of her memory to find the truth -- as her son runs for office in state government. An intriguing, gripping tale of murder that works on many levels, and has an explosive, satisfying ending.

5.0 out of 5 stars Martin J. Smith is a master of suspense, January 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Shadow Image (Paperback)

In Pittsburgh, police are investigating the apparent unsuccessful suicide attempt of an Alzheimer's patient, Floss Underhill, a member of a prominent political family. Because of physical evidence and an eyewitness statement, law enforcement officials are looking into possible foul play by Floss' husband and primary caregiver, former Gov. Vincent Underhill. The family hires highly regarded defense attorney Brenna Kennedy to provide them legal protection, advice, and a defense, if necessary.

Brenna's mate is psychologist Jim Christensen, who is studying how Alzheimer's patients communicate through drawings. Jim and Brenna work closely together to insure that the Underhills have the best legal (and medical) defense possible even as the team has private doubts about what is actually the truth.

SHADOW IMAGE is a great mixing of elements from the legal thriller with that from medical novels (a la Cook), a blend that makes this work one of the best books of the year. The characters are all top rate with their motives very obvious, especially the lead protagonists and the Underhills. However, it is the premise of the story line -- that our legal system is built around the faulty memories of the victims -- that is brilliantly portrayed. This reviewer strongly recommends this novel and Smith's previous work, TIME RELEASE, for some mind-boggling stories.