The Unresolved Seventh

by Richard Helms

Ben Long never intended to practice forensic psychology again after his sudden retirement four years earlier. His friend Sidney Kingsley, the new DA, had other plans. Junior Torrence has been charged with murder. His attorney has hired a psychologist to prove Torrence mentally ineligible for a capital trial. Kingsley wants Long to do a separate evaluation. Kingsley assigns law clerk Paula Paige to assist Long in his evaluation. She finds Long quirky, distant, and even a little frightening, until Kingsley explains that--besides being brilliant--Long has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism. As their evaluation brings Torrence's competency into question, they begin to question whether he was even capable of committing the crime! Have the police arrested the wrong man? The clock is ticking. A hearing that will determine Junior Torrence's fate draws near, and Ben Long and Paula Page race against time to untangle the puzzle of The Unresolved Seventh.

302 pages, Hardcover

First published May 11, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

aka Eric Shane and Noah Roarke
Three-Time PWA Shamus Award Nominee. Author of the Pat Gallegher series set in New Orleans, and the Eamon Gold series set in San Francisco. Editor and publisher of The Back Alley, a webzine featuring hardboiled and noir fiction for a new century.
On May 2, 2008, he became the only author ever to win TWO Short Mystery Fiction Society Derringer Awards in the same year, for THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO GORDON BLACK, which was published under his own name in Kevin Burton Smith's Thrilling Detective Website, and for PAPER WALLS/GLASS HOUSES, which was published under his pseudonym Eric Shane in his own Back Alley Webzine. It's been a big year!

Series:
* Pat Gallegher
* Eamon Gold
* Judd Wheeler

Reviews

[Michael Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was privileged to be selected to read an advance copy. Despite the title, this is a stand-alone forensic procedural novel by an author with several series in his previous fourteen novels, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this could be the start of an interesting new series.

Imagine a detective with Asperger’s Syndrome; perhaps Sherlock Holmes or TV’s Monk come to mind. While it might be impractical for a police detective, a forensic psychologist with Asperger’s (a high-functioning form of Autism) makes a credible investigator in a murder mystery. His function is to help the District Attorney’s Office prove the man charged with the crime can be prosecuted with a capital crime, but Ben Long’s condition drives him to determine the truth of the case, by way of finding out about the suspect’s mental and medical conditions, capabilities and handicaps.

Long’s mind must “make all the pieces fit,” which leads him to not only psychologically evaluate the suspect, but to investigate his health, background, and the circumstances of the crime. An average detective would have picked apart the crime easily, but since the police detective in the case had a confession, he was not motivated (or required) to pursue the truth; a flaw in our justice system, sadly evident in many cases, both factual and fictional.

This book is written in a crisp, lean, and flowing style, and I could have easily finished it in a single reading, if I had the time. I am unfamiliar with the author’s previous works, but perhaps the style was used to reflect the protagonist’s traits. There is only the necessary modicum of description. The reader is not distracted from the swift completion of the engrossing 300-page volume. Not a word is wasted, nor is any passage trivial. Everything falls into place, in a thoroughly enjoyable read. The author has a singular wit, which he uses only sparingly, but is most welcome.

"The Unresolved Seventh" is a satisfying, captivating, and riveting novel, and an intriguing new angle on mysteries and crime books.

[Heather Lewis · Rating 2 out of 5]

For its genre it did what it should; enticed the reader with quick sometimes witty dialogue, added new aspects to the case designed to keep the reader wondering who the murderer truly was, and presented characters that in one way or another we could relate to if not somewhat identify with. That being said it was a decent enough whodunit book. After a while, all the characters became annoying especially Ben and Paula. And yes the main character has aspergers. If you don't pick up on this in the second chapter when it is blatantly told to you by a main character don't worry because it will be repeated in each following chapter. My biggest tiff with the book was the editing. The victims's name is supposed to be Amber, however, several times she's referred to as Amanda. If you want a quick lightless read this books is surely for you.

[Agnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the psychology aspect of this crime/legal novel and Ben, the forensic psychologist with Asperger's. I did not like Paula, the judgmental law clerk who kept whining about Ben's "bad manners". If there is another book about Ben, hopefully there is less (or no) Paula. The outcome of the case itself was fairly transparent but the crisp writing and (Ben's) dialogue kept me engaged

[Auntie M Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great new character, a forensic psychologist with Asperger's, who unravels a crime in a very different way, aided by a law intern. Great characters and interesting plot.

[Doug]

I liked the story, the conversations between Ben Long and Paula Paige, the diagnosis procedure, and the story about the young student and her family.