Scablands

by E.J. Averett

When a fellow psychologist turns up brutally murdered on the scablands outside of town, his body sadistically mutilated in ways never seen by local investigators, forensic psychologist, Dr. Carmen Carillo, is on her guard. Denny Musgrove was at one time her protege, one she realizes she never quite understood. Given she knows the suspected killer, is Carmen, a sex offender shrink, to blame for Denny’s death? Is the horrific nature of the death predictive of her own future? Join this astute, intelligent and intrepid investigator in the first volume of The Carmen Novels series as she delves through murder, pornography and professional deceit in her quest to uncover the truth and find justice for Dr. Denny Musgrove.

271 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 30, 2017

Reviews

[Marianne Donovan · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Scablands" (The Carmen Novels, #1) by E.J. Averett begins with a psychologist who has been murdered and left on the scablands, mutilated and stuffed inside a cow. Dr. Carmen Carillo feels guilty that it may have been a patient she referred to her former protege Dr. Denny Musgrove that murdered him. She also is discovering that Denny had several secrets. There are several murders and a pornography ring uncovered as Dr Carillo searches for the truth. I thought that the plot was timely and well thought out. I however have a hard time with first person narrative, I either love it or hate it. It strictly depends on the character. I struggled with this book as I did not care for Carmen. I was not able to relate to her as a woman so she just read so false to me. She seemingly had no healthy relationships which was off putting for a shrink. That lack of connection with the character made it difficult to enjoy a book that I otherwise would have enjoyed as I loved the descriptions of the land and the geology lessons.

[Marcia Brineman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book

Having lived in Spokane for 30 years, it was fun to connect it to the story. This is a well-written book by an excellent author. I can't wait for the next book of the series! Go Carmen....

[Terry Trueman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be riveting and powerful. Brilliantly written and I can't wait for the next installment. Carmen is a character for the ages and the bold content of this series is wonderful!