The Survivors

by Robert Palmer

Overview

“Do you think you know what your own mother might do? The Survivors is an up-close-and-personal mystery—the best suspense I’ve read this year. It will haunt you.” —DIANA GABALDON, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Outlander series Psychologist Cal Henderson has a successful practice in Washington, DC, and big plans for the future. But he can’t escape a terrible secret. When he was a boy, his mother murdered his father and two brothers and severely wounded Cal’s best friend, Scottie Glass. Desperate to keep the nightmare at bay, Cal has turned his back on everything that happened that night. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the killings, Scottie shows up at Cal’s office—edgy, paranoid, but somehow still the loveable kid he once was. Though their lives have taken very different paths, they both believe Cal’s mother couldn’t have been a murderer. She loved them too much, no matter what dark place she found herself in. They set off to dig up the real story. Cal uncovers one shocking secret after another about his family. The trail leads to a shady defense contractor, a scheming US Attorney, and, ultimately a billionaire with the kind of power and connections that can only be found in Washington. But Cal is paying a price. The memories he has avoided for so long have come flooding back, sending him into a tailspin from which he may never recover.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633880825
Publisher:	Seventh Street Books
Publication date:	10/13/2015
Pages:	319
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 5.50(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Robert Palmer is a lawyer in Washington, DC, and teaches at George Washington University School of Law and Georgetown University Law Center.

Editorial Reviews

08/10/2015
Early in Palmer’s convoluted debut, a series launch, Washington, D.C., psychologist Cal Henderson receives a surprise visit from Scottie Glass, a childhood friend he hasn’t seen since Cal’s mother apparently shot his father, two older brothers, and herself to death 25 years earlier at the family’s suburban Maryland home. The only survivors were eight-year-old Cal, who hid under a bed, and visiting Scottie, who was seriously wounded. Scottie’s memories of those chilling events differ from Cal’s, but they both have doubts that Cal’s mother was the killer. The still-traumatized Cal, who suffers from blackouts, finds the obsessive-compulsive Scottie hard to deal with, but gradually they unearth discrepancies in the record of the crime that upset some powerful people. An assist from a sympathetic FBI agent provides essential help as they uncover a network of lies built on a slaughter of innocents. Unfortunately, the plot never gathers much steam. Agent: Katherine Fausset, Curtis Brown. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

“Do you think you know what your own mother might do? The Survivors is an up-close-and-personal mystery—the best suspense I’ve read this year. It will haunt you.”
 
—DIANA GABALDON, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Outlander series

“A superb mystery, seething with psychological intrigue and rich, deeply layered characters. Palmer’s masterful control of suspense and his complex plots and subplots pull the reader through the novel at a lightning pace and prove that he is a writer to watch. This is a terrific read.”
 
—ALLEN ESKENS, Edgar® Award–nominated author of The Life We Bury and The Guise of Another
 
“The Survivors is the very definition of a page-turner.”
 
—DANA STABENOW, Edgar® Award–winning bestselling author of the Kate Shugak series

“The Survivors is sharply plotted and riveting—deliciously spiced with all the ingredients that make for masterful suspense.”
 
—LYNN SHOLES, coauthor of the bestselling Cotten Stone mysteries and Maxine Decker thrillers

From the Publisher