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Season of Fear: A Novel
NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
When psychiatrist John Randall does a fitness-for-duty evaluation of police officer Ed Gannon, he has no idea of what lies ahead. A few weeks after the psychiatric evaluation, he receives a subpoena to testify at a trial in which Gannon is suing his employer for alleged discrimination. At the same time, a deranged man, Charles Davis, has escaped from the Yale Psychiatric Hospital and, for his own bizarre reasons, has John in his crosshairs. So begins a harrowing series of events that threatens to upend the lives of John, his wife, Ellen, and their seven-year-old daughter, Maya. John and Ellen must find the inner resources to deal with these mortal challenges to the family's peaceful suburban life.
When psychiatrist John Randall does a fitness-for-duty evaluation of police officer Ed Gannon, he has no idea of what lies ahead. A few weeks after the psychiatric evaluation, he receives a subpoena to testify at a trial in which Gannon is suing his employer for alleged discrimination. At the same time, a deranged man, Charles Davis, has escaped from the Yale Psychiatric Hospital and, for his own bizarre reasons, has John in his crosshairs. So begins a harrowing series of events that threatens to upend the lives of John, his wife, Ellen, and their seven-year-old daughter, Maya. John and Ellen must find the inner resources to deal with these mortal challenges to the family's peaceful suburban life.
342 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 15, 2025
3 people are currently reading
About the author
Mark Rubinstein
35 books819 followersMark Rubinstein graduated from NYU with a degree in business. He then served in the army as a field medic tending to paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division. After discharge, he re-entered NYU as a premed student.
As a medical student at the State University of New York, he developed an interest in psychiatry, discovering in that specialty the same thing he realized in reading fiction: every patient has a compelling story to tell. He became a board-certified psychiatrist.
In addition to his private practice he became a forensic psychiatrist because of the drama and conflict in the courtroom. He also taught psychiatric residents, interns, psychologists, and social workers at New York Presbyterian Hospital, and became a clinical assistant professor at Cornell University’s medical school.
He is a contributor to Psychology Today and The Huffington Post.
Before turning to fiction, Rubinstein coauthored five medical self-help books: The First Encounter: The Beginnings in Psychotherapy (Jason Aronson); The Complete Book of Cosmetic Facial Surgery (Simon and Schuster); New Choices: the Latest Options in Treating Breast Cancer (Dodd Mead); Heartplan: A Complete Program for Total Fitness of Heart & Mind (McGraw-Hill), and The Growing Years: A Guide to Your Child’s Emotional Development from Birth to Adolescence (Atheneum).
Rubinstein's high-octane thriller Mad Dog House was a finalist for the 2012 ForeWord Book Of The Year Award for suspense/thrillers. His 2nd thriller, Love Gone Mad, was published in September 2013 and his novella, The Foot Soldier (November 2013) won the Silver award in the 2014 Benjamin Franklin Awards competition, in the Popular Fiction category. His novel Mad Dog Justice (September 2014), tagged as a "pulse-pounding tale of post-modern paranoia," is a finalist for the 2014 ForeWord Book of the Year Award. His novella, Return to Sandara, won the Gold Medal for suspense/thrillers in the 2015 IPPY Awards. The Lovers' Tango, is a medical and legal thriller about which Michael Connelly said, "The tension on these pages never lets you go. Rubinstein is a born storyteller." The Lovers' Tango has won the Gold Award in Popular Fiction for this year's 2016 IPPA Benjamin Franklin Award.
Bedlam's Door: True Tales of Madness and Hope, was published in September 2016. Beyond Bedlam's Door: True Tales from the Couch and Courtroom was published on May 15, 2017.
Rubinstein's book MAD DOG VENGEANCE, the 3rd in the Mad Dog Series, was published on October 15, 2017.
Rubinstein has since written Assassin's Lullaby and A Lethal Question.
As a medical student at the State University of New York, he developed an interest in psychiatry, discovering in that specialty the same thing he realized in reading fiction: every patient has a compelling story to tell. He became a board-certified psychiatrist.
In addition to his private practice he became a forensic psychiatrist because of the drama and conflict in the courtroom. He also taught psychiatric residents, interns, psychologists, and social workers at New York Presbyterian Hospital, and became a clinical assistant professor at Cornell University’s medical school.
He is a contributor to Psychology Today and The Huffington Post.
Before turning to fiction, Rubinstein coauthored five medical self-help books: The First Encounter: The Beginnings in Psychotherapy (Jason Aronson); The Complete Book of Cosmetic Facial Surgery (Simon and Schuster); New Choices: the Latest Options in Treating Breast Cancer (Dodd Mead); Heartplan: A Complete Program for Total Fitness of Heart & Mind (McGraw-Hill), and The Growing Years: A Guide to Your Child’s Emotional Development from Birth to Adolescence (Atheneum).
Rubinstein's high-octane thriller Mad Dog House was a finalist for the 2012 ForeWord Book Of The Year Award for suspense/thrillers. His 2nd thriller, Love Gone Mad, was published in September 2013 and his novella, The Foot Soldier (November 2013) won the Silver award in the 2014 Benjamin Franklin Awards competition, in the Popular Fiction category. His novel Mad Dog Justice (September 2014), tagged as a "pulse-pounding tale of post-modern paranoia," is a finalist for the 2014 ForeWord Book of the Year Award. His novella, Return to Sandara, won the Gold Medal for suspense/thrillers in the 2015 IPPY Awards. The Lovers' Tango, is a medical and legal thriller about which Michael Connelly said, "The tension on these pages never lets you go. Rubinstein is a born storyteller." The Lovers' Tango has won the Gold Award in Popular Fiction for this year's 2016 IPPA Benjamin Franklin Award.
Bedlam's Door: True Tales of Madness and Hope, was published in September 2016. Beyond Bedlam's Door: True Tales from the Couch and Courtroom was published on May 15, 2017.
Rubinstein's book MAD DOG VENGEANCE, the 3rd in the Mad Dog Series, was published on October 15, 2017.
Rubinstein has since written Assassin's Lullaby and A Lethal Question.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 16, 2026
This was one hell of a rollercoaster from start to finish! It took me a little while to get into this one at first, because there is so much going on and many characters are kept being introduced throughout. After I got to know who everyone was, I found it very hard to put this book down, every chapter stops at a very intriguing part. The story begins at a very intense moment, and it gets even more unnerving as the story continues and we get to know there are two very dangerous men on the loose whilst a family are trying to enjoy the start of the festivities. You will be on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next. No spoilers at all, I just have to say, you might want to sleep with the lights on if reading this at night. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story and I highly recommend it.
I am giving this one a 5 out of 5.
I am giving this one a 5 out of 5.
September 4, 2025
Season Of Fear sees psychiatrist Dr John Randall carrying out a fitness-for-duty assessment of police officer Ed Gannon. The officer is forced to take medical retirement and sues the police department, meaning Randall has to testify in a trial. Gannon loses - and begins to stalk Randall and his family.
Much of the novel relates to the psychological effects on Randall, his wife and young daughter. The pace is slow in the middle section, and there are a lot of near things, possible sightings and repeated feelings of anxiety. The pace does pick up in the final section though as the situation finally comes to a head.
This is a good novel overall, perhaps a little overlong, but with an undercurrent of menace.
Much of the novel relates to the psychological effects on Randall, his wife and young daughter. The pace is slow in the middle section, and there are a lot of near things, possible sightings and repeated feelings of anxiety. The pace does pick up in the final section though as the situation finally comes to a head.
This is a good novel overall, perhaps a little overlong, but with an undercurrent of menace.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews