Dante's Wood: A Mark Angelotti Novel

by Lynne Raimondo

Overview

A troubled psychiatrist turns investigator when a young patient confesses to murder. Psychiatrist Mark Angelotti knows that genes don't lie. Or do they? Back at work after a devastating illness, Mark believes he has put his past behind him when he is asked to examine Charlie Dickerson, a mentally handicapped teenager whose wealthy mother insists he is a victim of sexual abuse. Mark diagnoses a different reason for Charlie's ills, but his prescription turns deadly when a teacher is murdered and Charlie confesses to the police. Volunteering to testify on Charlie's behalf, Mark's worst fears are realized when paternity tests show the victim was pregnant with Charlie's child. Now it's up to Mark to prove Charlie's innocence in a case where nothing is as first meets the eye. Not even genes—Mark's or Charlie's—can be trusted to shine a light on the truth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616147181
Publisher:	Seventh Street Books
Publication date:	01/15/2013
Series:	Mark Angelotti
Pages:	350
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Lynne Raimondo (Evanston, IL) is a full-time writer. She formerly worked as the general counsel for Arthur Andersen LLP and later as the general counsel of the Illinois Department of Revenue.

Editorial Reviews

Near the start of Raimondo's engaging debut, Chicago psychiatrist Mark Angelotti receives a visit from the parents of 18-year-old Charlie Dickerson, who has the mental age of a grade schooler and has been crying in the middle of the night at his care facility, the New Horizons Center. Charlie's well-heeled parents fear that Charlie has been abused at New Horizons. The psychiatrist, who's still reeling from a diagnosis of a degenerative eye disease, doubts abuse, but he soon faces a bigger problem after Charlie confesses to the murder of the center's art teacher, Shannon Sparrow. Accused of malpractice and fearing the effect of imprisonment on Charlie, Angelotti begins to look into the backgrounds of Shannon and her co-workers. Angelotti's smart-aleck tendencies and unswerving dedication to his vulnerable client—as well as an exciting climax—keep the reader turning the pages. Agent, Sharlene Martin, Martin Literary Management. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Stunning. . . . One of the best mystery debuts since V.I. Warshawski solved her first case."
–Mystery Scene

“A real keeper.” 
–Library Journal STARRED REVIEW and Mystery Debut of the Month

“Looking for the next great mystery series? I've found it.... Instantly engaging.... It was nearly impossible to tear myself away, and the sleuth inside my head was kept busy guessing whodunit until the very end...[P]erfect. Get in on the ground floor with this series, you won't be sorry.”
–Chicago Now

“The trial scenes and dialogue with lawyers bristle with realism, and the book climaxes with a surprising twist.”
–Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

"A taut, compelling, very moving debut novel that invites us into a murder, and into the life of a wonderful main character. This is an astonishingly accomplished and assured novel; the fact it's a first novel is wonderful news for those of us who love crime fiction."
–LOUISE PENNY, author of How the Light Gets In: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

"Angelotti's smart-aleck tendencies and unswerving dedication to his vulnerable client—as well as an exciting climax—keep the reader turning the pages." 
–Publishers Weekly
 
“If you cross Christie’s And Then There Were None, Grisham’s The Firm and Harris’ The Silence of the Lambs, you might get something like [this.]”
–RT Book Reviews
 
“Raimondo's wonderful writing brings the heart-stopping action to life, and she is just as accomplished at pulling the readers' heartstrings.… The book ends with the mystery of the killer wrapped up, but it leaves the mystery of the ensuing trajectory of Mark's life wide open. I'm looking forward to finding out about the latter in future installments of the series.”
–Reviewing the Evidence
 
“[A] terrific mystery starring a wise-cracking protagonist who uses self-deprecating humor as a defense mechanism…. The storyline grips the reader from the moment Mark and Charlie meet….”
–Mystery Gazette

From the Publisher

Troubled Chicago psychologist Mark Angelotti is haunted by a reckless past in which he ‘annihilated’ his Hippocratic Oath. Mark is returning to his professional life with blindness caused by a genetic defect. Though he’s pretty much a walking emotional maelstrom, he’s high functioning, whose empathy meter redlines in the case of Charlie Dickerson a developmentally disabled adult with Fragile X syndrome who is framed for murder and from whom the cops have coerced a confession. Mark is dead set to exonerate Charlie by finding the murderer himself, but as he gets closer the killer targets him. Raimondo offers more than a typical thriller. Though the story itself is tight and fast paced, Raimondo also has the especially convincing Mark railing against a police system divorced from justice and also exploding various stereotypes about persons with disabilities, especially visual impairments. Readers will love Mark’s dry, sarcastic wit “I’ll keep my eyes wide open,” he’ll say, or refer to his Blindberry. Whether he is arguing with a disability rights activist, sparring with a cruel, confrontational lawyer, gently wooing a colleague (blind sex is no different than regular sex, it seems), or carefully navigating the emotional minefield represented by Charlie’s parents, Mark is a vivid character, an astute and insightful man. Even if he does sometimes uses big words (e.g., eidetic, arriviste), I hope we ‘see’ (ha!) more of him soon.

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