Virgin Lies: A Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Dr. Roderick Anscombe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2008

One summer day, Boston forensic psychiatrist Paul Lucas gets a call from his social worker wife, Abby: A nine-year-old girl has gone misisng. Paul, an expert interrogator, is called in to help evaluate the testimony of the only witness: a homeless woman who happens to be a paranoid schizophrenic.

Further interviews with other possible witnesses go nowhere, frustrating detectives and calling into doubt Paul’s role in the case. Believing the girl is alive but soon to die, Paul is pushed to the brink of a professional abyss—harangued by local media, distrusted by police, and pressured to save the day by Abby, whose stake in the search becomes deeply personal.

With time running out, Paul has to make a choice: to uphold the central oath of his profession or to do whatever it takes to find the girl—even if he must crack the mind of a vulnerable patient, and risk everything he has in the process.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Anscombe's taut thriller, his second to feature Boston forensic psychiatrist Paul Lucas (after 2005's The Interview Room), Lucas looks into the abduction of nine-year-old Danielle McNeely, who vanishes while buying coffee for Paul's wife, Abby, at her social services agency. The police, who still believe Paul killed a cop despite his being cleared in The Interview Room, are reluctant to work with him, but assistant DA Brenda Gorn insists. Paul's careful interviews with the one witness, Martha Kinnard, a homeless schizophrenic, lead to Arthur and Molly Hodges, an elderly couple whose van Martha may have seen. Abby, still traumatized by the loss of their only child in an auto accident, goads Paul to save Danielle by crossing ethical boundaries. In a psychologically brutal climax, Paul risks his personal and professional future. Anscombe, himself a forensic psychiatrist, adds depth and realism with his analyses of psychotic behavior, but some readers may find the ending jarringly truncated. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Psychiatrist Paul Lucas is desperate to restore his faltering marriage to social worker Abby. The death of their young son in an auto accident has driven a wedge between them. So when Abby calls to say that an eight-year-old girl has been abducted from her agency, Paul rushes to help. At the scene of the abduction, Paul becomes a largely unwelcome part of the police effort to recover the girl, but his professional skills elicit crucial information from a psychotic bag lady who witnessed the kidnapping. The tensions between police who need to find the abductors, a DA who needs to secure a conviction, and a psychiatrist whom police see as a hindrance are vividly drawn. But the heart of the novel is Paul's shock at his wife's demand that he abandon his medical ethics in order to help. At times, the plight of the anguished DA, Danielle, seems set aside for Paul's emotional-intellectual struggle, but that aside, Anscombe, a psychiatrist himself, delivers a thriller that is both suspenseful and insightful. Thomas Gaughan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031294750X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312947507
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,362,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Solid Book, May 5, 2007

By 

Ron M. Morin (Gloucester, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Virgin Lies: A Novel (Hardcover)

In a genre that has gone thin on Character and muscle-bound on Craft, Anscombe's thriller, Virgin Lies, is a massive infusion of good red blood cells. Paul Lucas, his main character, has Character--not stock, not a raging macho whose beef with the world drives him to justice; nor is he solving somebody else's problem to avoid his own suicidal depression. No! Lucas, an intelligent scientist of the micro gesture, an expert on the outward manifestation of lying, is motivated by compassion! Lucas is willing to risk all--the old definition of heroism--to save a young girl from the predations of a child abuser--because he cares about that little girl. The Character of Lucas is what the prophets in the old Testament would have called "righteous". Anscombe's book has it all: the pacing and plot of a thriller, an intelligent and original lead character, and a theme of moral significance. In this corporate age of publishing where, under the pressure to sell, thrillers are rushed to market like genetically-altered tomatoes, giving their familiar jolt with less and less substance, Anscombe's book is thoroughly organic.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best read, April 13, 2007

By 

Lena "lena56" (chicago area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Virgin Lies: A Novel (Hardcover)

I read a lot and rate this among the best I've read in a long time. I have a particular perspective as a clinical social work in a psychotherapeutic practice. This was a good story with fascinating information about the intricisies of forensic work. What I found most interesting was the theme of ethica dilemmas throughout the book. I was both shocked by what I considered serious breaches of professional ethics but at the same time forced to ask myself if I would do the same thing given the situation. I'm definitely recommending to this book to my colleagues.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 2 1/2 Stars -- Much Too Slow-Paced Through The First Two-Thirds To Make Up For A Pretty Good Ending!, September 21, 2011

By 

bobbewig (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Virgin Lies: A Novel (Hardcover)

Having enjoyed Anscombe's The Interview Room very much, I was looking forward to reading Virgin Lies and following the exploits of his main character, prison psychiatrist Dr. Paul Lucas. To me, The Interview Room was a very original and provocative book filled with rich character portayals, sharp, crisp dialogue and narrative skills for readers who like their justice subtle. Sadly, however, I found very few of these characteristics to be evident in Virgin Lies.

Prior to starting Virgin Lies, its plot premise led me to believe I would be in for another reading treat; with Dr Lucas, an expert in interrogating violent criminals and the insane, being called in to evaluate a homeless schizophrenic woman's testimony about a nine-year old girl's disappearance while crossing a public park. This was not to be. Instead, I found Virgin Lies to move at a much too slow pace to maintain a high level of interest throughout the first two-thirds of the book. While the ending was pretty good and intense, it provided too little too late. As such, Virgin Lies is not a book I'd recommend highly; but I would recommend that you give Anscombe's The Interview Read a read.