Freud's Revenge — P.J. Adams

Two knife wounds--one to the groin, one to the hand impaling him to the desk--suggested somebody definitely wanted the guy dead. In this Amanda Carlisle Mystery set in posh Del Mar, California, empath Amanda Carlisle and detective Nick Caswell find themselves in a race with a nearly invisible psychopath. When Amanda mind-walks the killer, she discovers a complex Freudian psychosis that may be the key to the crime. Unbeknownst to her, that psychotic mind has decided Amanda will be next. It will take Nick's hardboiled sleuthing and Amanda's deciphering the victim's cryptic clues to catch the killer in gorgeous surf-meets-turf Del Mar--where the ponies race and a psychopath is on the run. Reviews: "The most frightening monsters are those who don't seem like monsters at all. Freud's Revenge is a mystery novel surrounding a murder in Del Mar, California, as detective Nick Caswell and empath Amanda Carlisle are on the trail of a ritualistic murder. Taking cues from the psychology of Freud, Freud's Revenge is a riveting thriller with plenty of enticing twists and turns. (Helen Dumont, Midwest Book Review) "Psychotherapist Adams explores the world she knows best and injects it with a dose of cold-blooded murder. On Monday morning, things are business as usual at Seaside Mental Health Clinic, but by Tuesday its staff and patients are thrust into a world of anonymous threats, inter-colleague sexual liaisons, unmedicated psychotics and a brutal ritualistic murder. The man to solve the case is Nick Caswell, a character with a name on par with any Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett could come up with...Adams novel quickly gathers speed, and the reader's interest...Psychotherapy and murder go together like peas and carrots." (Kirkus Review) “Freud's Revenge is a churning whodunit. It explores the Freudian dimensions of human development as they manifest in sane people acting insane and insane people acting sane. A smartly written mystery with enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing right to the end. A fun read.” (Tom Leech, author of Say It Like Shakespeare and On the Road in ‘68) The most frightening monsters are those who don't seem like monsters at all. "Freud's Revenge" is a mystery novel surrounding a murder in Del Mar, California, as detective Nick Caswell and empath Amanda Carlisle are on the trail of a ritualistic murder. Taking cues from the psychology of Freud, "Freud's Revenge" is a riveting thriller with plenty of enticing twists and turns. (Helen Dumont, Midwest Book Review)