The Strange Case of Jane O.

 The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker is a novel that was published in early 2025. It was recommended by a dear friend who said it was one of the more fascinating novels that he had recently read. It’s the story of a curiously emotionally disturbed woman and her treatment by a psychiatrist, Dr. Bird. Given my history of having worked as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst for the last 50 years (recently retired), my friend wanted me to read this and then have a discussion about it. That discussion is soon to occur.

 

Jane O. has an eidetic memory which appears to allow her to recall in great detail essentially every day that she has lived detail since she was a young girl. As the story began, she recently had a baby boy via sperm donation. She was living with her son in New York City where she was mostly estranged from her parents in California, and she worked as a librarian for the city. It was apparently her first dissociative episode that led her to reluctantly seek psychiatric care in New York. She may have been suffering from a dissociative disorder which is sometimes referred to as a fugue episode. According to the DSM5, the book that defines all recognized psychiatric disorders, “Dissociative disorders are characterized by a disruption of and/or discontinuity in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotional, perception, body representation, motor control, and behavior.” Jane claimed to have seen Dr. Bird for one occasion about 20 years earlier although her need for psychiatric attention at that time was never explained. It was Dr. Bird who she sought for help once again.

 

Dr. Bird was a troubled man himself. Not long after the birth of their baby daughter, his wife died in a pedestrian accident when she walked in front of a vehicle and was immediately killed. He also had been fired from the institution where he worked. He was particularly interested in studying patients who reported premonitions, a topic that would not have been easily recognized as worthy of research by the psychiatric community. When he tried to keep his interest secret and then lied about doing that work, he was terminated. He struggled to get on his professional feet once again, and he opened his outpatient private practice. It was then that Jane O appeared in his life.

 

The story is about the relationship the two of them had as Dr. Bird worked to understand what was happening with his patient. He clearly found something appealing about Jane and she put her faith in him for a cure. She then had recurrent dissociative episodes which sometimes lasted for hours, but eventually lasted for weeks. He finally came to the understanding that he was overly involved with Jane although they were not reported to have had a sexual encounter with one another. He was constantly thinking about her and looking forward to his sessions with her more than his other patients. As the book came to an end, Dr. Bird announced that he would have to terminate his treatment efforts with Jane and refer her to a psychiatrist who treat her more dispassionately.

 

It was the very end of the book that requires mentioning. While Dr. Bird had planned to end this relationship, and while he planned to do so after saying goodbye to her, he found himself unable to do so. Rather, as Jane narrated this part of the story, she described that they met and sat on a park bench together for a long period of time without speaking to one another and while holding hands. Finally when Dr. Bird stood up, instead of parting, they walked off hand-in-hand.

 

The book brings up the importance and sometimes difficulty of maintaining strict boundaries with patients, which the mythical Dr. Bird failed to do. It seems to me that stories about psychiatric and psychoanalytic treatment tend to be only interesting to most readers when there have been boundary violations. Try to think of any story of such treatment in which boundary violations was not a significant theme. Any well-trained therapist should know this and observe the clinical importance of doing so. While it’s true that such mistakes do occur in treatment, I won’t take the time to explain the damaging effect that this causes to patients regarding their own emotional growth, which is the goal of treatment. I’ve been involved as an expert in a couple medical legal cases in which such boundaries were violated which rightfully led the loss of the doctor’s license to practice medicine.

 

What was the reader supposed to understand about the ending, perhaps that like a shining knight in white armor rescued the damsel in distress and rode off into the sunset to live happily ever after? In reality, that’s not how this works. Rather, it is my thought that these two troubled people were doomed to have a failed and unworkable relationship. With this warning regarding what was clearly a treatment failure, you could read this story and sadly watch how this doctor-patient relationship quickly grew into a dysfunctional one.

The Collectors

The Collectors by Richard A. Danzig is the third book in the third book in the Chance Cormac legal thriller series. However, it’s the first Danzig book to be reviewed in this blog. This is a good crime novel with one exception, but it’s a story that’s worth filling your entertainment time. There are a three main story lines with some excellent subplots.

 

Chance, an attorney whose practice is in Brooklyn, is hired to investigate whether a multimillion dollar painting that was purchased through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, could be a forgery. The Met is the largest museum in the U.S., which is located in Central Park, and it’s security systems are clearly state of the art, and no such theft had ever occurred in the long history of this museum. But quickly, it becomes apparent that Chance’s new client is not fully cooperating with the investigation for reasons that are not clear. At the same time the reader is learning about Chance and this new case, we learn that the man who had been working for him as an investigator, Damian, had given up such work to move to a new life in Costa Rica where he eventually teamed up with two old buddies, all former Navy SEALS. It was Troy who owned the surf shop, where he employed JR and Damian. They were all burned out on the high stress of their former jobs and were just looking to have a good life in paradise without much more to worry about than the size of the waves each morning.

 

It was during his morning run on the beach that Damian found a body of a man who had obviously been shot and killed. He called JR to help him deal with the matter and they promptly called the local policeman to report it. However, it turned out that Sergeant Rios was corrupt, and he decided to frame Damian and JR for the murder. Rather than take them to the local jail, he sent them to a remote prison that was only for convicted felons. It was a prison that was actually run by a corrupt warden and was controlled by dangerous gangs. Despite their training and SEALS, Damian and JR were helpless to deal with the gangs. Damian was beaten within an inch of his life and JR was beaten to death. Of course, Chance was contacted to help rescue Damian.

 

Danzig introduced a third story line of a man who had grown up in Costa Rican poverty. His parents owned and lived in a bodega in San Jose. They were honest and hardworking people and their son, Alejandro Renata was devoted to them. He was also a gifted student who won scholarships to college in San Jose, and then a scholarship to Johns Hopkins for medical school. Renata excelled at his efforts and quickly made his way into the world of organ transplants. His successes and research brought him tremendous wealth. He worked hard and loved his life, but he also fiercely protected his own territory of transplant research, much as his father had protected his bodega in San Jose. When his aging father needed a heart transplant, Renata used his worldwide influence to find a suitable heart from a donor in Argentina. However, the plan fell through and led to his father’s death. Renata was enraged and rather than continue in his lucrative work in London, he moved to Costa Rica where he built his own elite hospital that specialized in treating elite and wealthy people who needed transplants. As a result, he became more wealthy than ever.

 

It was Danzig’s pulling the seemingly diverse stories together that was the plot of this book. It was entertaining, and I very much liked his development of the characters. Chance’s personal life was compelling, and his hiring of a new investigator, Wendell Holmes brought a new fascinating man to the drama. I thought the only weak part of the story was the transition of Dr. Renata from being a internationally renowned surgeon into a sociopath who was engaged in black market dealings to get the organs he need his super rich patients. I think this book falls into my class of airplane novels, something that would successfully distract me while taking a cross-country air flight. I can see picking up one of his earlier novels for just such a trip.

An Inside Job

 

 

An Inside Job by Daniel Silva is the 25^th book in  his series about Gabriel Allon. I’ve read them all and most of them at least twice, so you know I’m a fan. While I thought a couple of his recent novels were somewhat weaker than usual, this one was certainly not. He has set a high standard for  his work. Although when I consider which one of his books that I’ve liked the best, I can’t make a choice. An Inside Job just may be his best, although I’ve  written that before.

 

Five years retired from the clandestine Israeli force that he worked for, Gabriel Allon now works for his wife’s art restoration firm, and Allon is thought to be among the finest art restorers in the world, especially of the old masters. Allon now lives in Venice with his family, a wife and twins, a boy and girl. Although no longer a spy, he is a consultant with various police departments about various serious crimes. In this case, he learns a particularly valuable piece of art has been stolen out of the highly secure vaults in the Vatican. Prior books about Allon have established his long and deep friendship with the current Pope, so it is not surprised that Allon is consulted in this case. The matter gets much more complex as a young apprentice restorer has been found murdered, and the work she has done was on an undiscovered portrait by Leonardo da Vinci. The painting had long been buried beneath a painting by a lesser known artist. Beyond the importance of such a discovery by Leonardo was its current value, probably of half a billion dollars. Not only does the Vatican expect to recover the painting, the Pope needed to understand how such a theft could have occurred.

 

Who could afford to buy such an expensive painting? The pursuit of the painting involved multiple bidders and other interested parties including a Russian oligarch, the Camorra which was the most violent part of the Mafia, the financial dealings of the Papacy itself, and two financiers who worked to launder money for the Camorra. The Carabinieri, the Italian police were deeply involved in solving the case. Meanwhile, the Pope was trying to reform the church and root out the massive corruption that he knew existed. There were substantial forces against him who wanted the various corrupt schemes to continue, and the Pope’s life was in danger, along with the life of his buddy, Gabriel Allon. It was during his time as a young priest that the current pope had a torrid love affair, and since his appointment as the new pope, his former paramour reemerged.

 

That’s enough information. It remains my opinion that in this particular genre, that I’ve never encountered an author who writes with more skill than Silva. His character development and plot creation are superior. He produces his new books once a year, so I eagerly await the next one, then read it in a day or two, and then have to wait a whole year for another. An Inside Job was a book that was worth the wait.

Murder at the Orpheus Theatre

 Murder at the Orpheus Theatre by Irina Shapiro, although just published in February 2025, is truly written as an old-time mystery which takes place in London in 1859. It begins with the intriguing idea that the co-stars of the production of Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy by Shakespeare in which both title characters die at the end of the play, are actually murdered on stage in front of their audience. The actors were able to finish their roles and their deaths were only discovered at the first curtain call when did not come to the stage to bow to the audience and receive their applause. Their bodies showed now signs of trauma, so they had not been shot or bludgeoned. Who could have pulled off such a double homicide? Why were these two well-known actors a target of murder? 

The audiobook was performed by Imogen Church, and she brought out the old-time quality to the story. I assume actors of the day delivered their lines in overly dramatic, emotive and flowery fashion, which in today’s world seems too exaggerated and unbelievable. This style of reading certainly added to the enjoyment of listening. It felt like I was listening to vintage radio shows. So, it was fun although not something that I want to encounter on a regular basis.

 

Meanwhile, there was a most interesting cast of characters, most of whom had secrets and possible interest in murdering the young actors. Inspector Sebastian Bell and Gemma Tate were the main players. Bell had to deal with a troublesome boss while trying to solve the case, and Tate was an unusual woman for her time. She was bright and educated as a nurse. Rather than seeking life as a housewife and mother in a world in which women had almost no rights of independence from a husband, Gemma volunteered to go to Crimea for the Crimean War which lasted from 1853 to 1856. In Crimea, her services were highly regarded and she learned more about the world than she could have by staying at home in London. Upon her return to London, she immediately ran into struggles with a male dominated society that did not give credit to a woman’s opinions or ideas. She happened to be at the theater on the night of the murder.

 

The author explored the lives of the many people and patrons of the theater and really took the reader on a delightful tour of what life was like from people who occupied vastly different roles in the society of the time. The book provided both good character development and a well-designed plot. I had come across this book when I was searching for a new audiobook to listen to during my early morning dog walks, and I was duly entertained.

Bodily Harm

Thanks to my son-in-law, Mateo, I’ve discovered the work of Robert Dugoni, and Bodily Harm is the sixth book I’ve read by Dugoni. Once again, the protagonist is David Sloane, the third book of the series. Sloane has a most interesting start in life as a charismatic child preacher in Mexico, but he escaped the slaughter by the cartel attack on his village and secreted to the U.S. Unfortunately, he ended up in the U.S. foster system and saw early life from a cascade of different and dysfunctional foster homes. Somehow, he was able to extract himself from those traumas and to educate himself right through law school. He became one persuasive and successful lawyer, but his life was bereft of companionship and love. Sloane managed his early adult years by paying attention to how he should act to get ahead, not how he really felt. 

Given his brilliance and attractive appearance, he finally started a relationship with Tina and she proved to be a critically important person for him. She taught him how to love. Tina had a son by a prior marriage which she had left because it was simply emotionally dead and flat. But, she produced a wonderful son, but life with her husband was troubled by his substance abuse. With Tina and Jake, David had a family and life was good. But Sloane got involved in a case that involved the world of toys. There was big money involved in the development and marketing of a new toy created by an independent toy maker, Kyle Horgan. Kendall Toys bought the toy from Horgan who then returned to his life of isolation. Kendall’s main competitor was Galaxy Toys and those two were out to control the production of this new miracle toy and for the survival of their own companies. Early marketing results suggested that it was bound to be the next hot item – the toy was a sort of super transformer which was made of plastic but contained a number of small but very powerful magnets. However, there was a design in its production. If the magnets were not contained in a high but expensive plastic, then those magnets could be fatal to youngsters who swallowed them.

 

When the prototypes were made with a cheaper grade of plastic, a couple kids did died.

But their cause of death was not understood to be due to the magnets. A wonderful doctor was successfully sued by Sloan, and he won a huge judgement against Dr. Douvalidis. When Sloan learned Douvalidis had done nothing wrong, it was too late because the doctor had committed suicide. It was then that Sloan turned his attention to Kendall, the toy’s manufacturer. This was literally a dirty business and an attempt was made on Sloan’s life, only to have his wife get caught in the middle of a gun fight that left her dead.

 

I won’t reveal any more of this excellent plot. Not only is the plot bold, interesting, and believable, the characters themselves are very well developed. This book deserves a 5-star rating. You won’t be disappointed.

The New Couple in 5B

On the basis of experiences that can’t be understood otherwise, I do believe in paranormal phenomena. Given the typical fiction thrillers that are read and then reviewed in this blog, it’s clear that the reader must have some talent for setting aside reality testing, at least to some degree in order to enjoy the books we write about with such gusto. To make a book interesting and believable, there’s a line the author must ride between uncommon experiences of the characters and the unreality which would make a story preposterous. The authors that we review over and over again are the ones who understanding that distinction. 

The New Couple in 5B is the third book I’ve read and reviewed by Lisa Unger, and I’ve provided favorable reviews for Under My Skin and Confessions on the 7:45. There were certainly strong hints early in the book that the occult would be a part of this story, but I did not fully realize the extent that the occult was really the centerpiece for the author’s plot. It’s my opinion that Ms. Unger has crossed the line between reality and the preposterous. I found myself getting eager just to finish the book and not so excited about what the author would do with her characters.

 

If you’re more attracted to the occult content of his book than I am or if you have more of an ability to set aside all reasonable reality testing than I do, then I could recommend the story to you. However, I’m disappointed that I took the time to read it to the end.

Nightshade

 

Michael Connelly has written about 40 novels and Nightshade is unrelated to the Bosch series of 24 books and the Lincoln Lawyer series of 7 books, etc. Men Reading Books has reviewed nearly all of Connelly’s work. None of the usual characters were mentioned in this story. A new protagonist has been introduced, Detective Stillwell who has been assigned to Catalina Island for the last year. Catalina is 22 miles offshore from Los Angeles. He had been sent to Catalina as punishment for his behavior in a murder investigation in Long Beach when he knew a compatriot Detective Ahern (fondly referred to by his associates as A-Hole) had cut corners on a case and wrongfully got an old buddy freed of charges. Stillwell (who A-Hold referred to as Stillborn) was enraged, but he made a mistake in the way he addressed the problem and his contentions about A-Hole were not supported. So, he found himself out of the limelight and in a position on Catalina that typically was not a place where one could ever get promoted. He was ordered to keep his investigation and any police activities confined to the island and to do no such detective work on the main land.

 

Connelly presented Catalina as the quiet and beautiful idyllic place that it is. Rather than hating this assignment, Stillwell found himself to be quite happy with the style of life there. Little happened during the weekdays, and the island tended to fill up with tourists for the weekend when drunks was the most interesting work for  the police. It was also a haven for the wealthy who built weekend palatial homes there. The wealthy arrived in their yachts and often belonged to the exclusive Black Marlin Club.

 

This was a story of the huge gap between the lifestyle of the very rich and that of people who had a more typical income. There were also people with little income who simply came to the remote areas of the island to avoid other people for one reason or another. There was a cast of people who either lived there or arrived on weekends to service the wealthy ones.

 

There were three crimes that occurred that resulted in Stillwell having to once again associate with A-Hole and the other officers who saw Stillwell as an outsider. The first crime was the murder of a Buffalo which roam about the mostly deserted island. The second had to do with the seemingly unprovoked assault of one of Stillwell’s deputies when a bar patron hit the unsuspecting deputy over the head with a wine bottle. The third crime had to do with the murder of a waitress from the Black Marlin Club who had been on gold digging activities with the male members. Her body was found wrapped around an anchor on the floor of the Avalon Harbor. Meanwhile, Stillwell began a romance with a native of the island, Tash (short for Natasha), and we learned about the other typical social activities that went on for the locals.

 

I thought this was an engaging novel. As Bosch essentially aged out as being a great protagonist, we now have a new honest and determined detective who is unwilling to let crimes go unsolved and criminals go unpunished. Connelly has done it again and I hope to read more of Detective Stillwell.

Confessions on the 7:45

 Confessions on the 7:45 is the second novel by Lisa Unger that I’ve read and reviewed in this blog. She’s been a remarkably prolific author whose work I only became aware of recently.  This is a story of painful and failing marriages and vulnerable people who end up entrapped by sociopaths who prey on such defenseless people. The novel is complicated by family and genetic entanglements that are only known by the sociopaths who are playing a long game against their victims. Also, the story covers some of the long-term complications of the victims who learn to identify with their captors. This is a most interesting and captivating novel in which Unger displays her grasp of the psychological thriller.