Customer Reviews

Virgin Lies: A Novel

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I could have sworn I posted a review months ago. This seems to be happening to me a lot lately. Alzheimer's ?

Roderick Anscombe, a shrink himself, brings his experience into making this a huge cut above the usual tripe.

After reading "Virgin Lies:" I immeadiatley did an interlibrary loan for his other book "The Secret Life of Laszlo Count Dracula".

Virgin Lies GREAT, The Secret Life of Laszlo Count Dracula BORING

I discovered Roderick Anscombe when I purchased a second hand book called The Interview Room. Hardly expecting it to be a good read I started the first chapter....and could hardly put it down until I had finished it! In this book Virgin Lies he proves that he's not a one hit wonder and provides us with an edge-of-your-seat journey through a police investigation of a young girl who has been snatched. The main character is an expert in criminal profiling...and being able to decipher peoples body language...which comes in handy when the police are questioning suspects. We see the main character grappling with his own sense of morals and justice as time runs out for the missing girl. Well worth the read

the book was solid, kept me going, but i couldnt help but think.. your first suspect found so fast? i thought that was stretching it abit...but i liked the end im still sticking with him.

I really enjoyed my first foray into Anscombe's fiction. The story is riveting and unfortunately paralleled in the real world all too frequently. A young girl is kidnapped. How does an ethical person respond when she/he feels certain that the arrested suspect knows where the child is but refuses to say? That person worries that if the child is found, but found too late, will any witnesses or forensic evidence be there to make sure the perpetrator is punished appropriately? Is is moral to use any means necessary to extract this information, especially if that information could save the victim's life? This is one of the ethical dilemmas Dr. Roderick Anscombe puts before his readers in this very engaging novel.

The story is told briefly and with few wasted sentences. Anscombe has used Dr. Paul Lucas and some of the other characters in a previous novel, and so he involves them in the story perhaps more than is necessary. Happily, these are brief enough to prevent the story's pacing from being ruined. Dr. Lucas is invaluable in questioning the suspects in this case because his training helps him understand where these suspects are coming from and helps him know when they're lying.

Having expertise in the areas of forensic psychiatry, Anscombe infuses the book with realism and impressive detail that only serve to strengthen the plot and suspense. I will definitely look up more fiction from Dr. Anscombe. Even if you've not read the first novel that introduces his main character Lucas, you will still be able to understand the plot and characters thoroughly.