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Frank Janek #3
Lucida ossessione
When his own goddaughter becomes the latest victim of a serial killer wielding an ice pick, New York City Detective Frank Janek knows he must get inside the mind of a serial killer to locate this monster. Reprint. NYT. K.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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91 people want to read
About the author
William Bayer
53 books28 followersWILLIAM BAYER is the author of nineteen fiction and non-fiction books. Thirteen of his novels are now available in ebook and audiobook editions. His books have been published in fourteen foreign languages. Two of his novels, Switch and Pattern Crimes, were New York Times best sellers.
Bill was born in Cleveland, Ohio, son of an attorney-father and screenwriter-mother ( Eleanor Perry). He was educated at Phillips Exeter and Harvard where he majored in art history. His Harvard honors thesis was an analysis of a single painting by Paul Gauguin: “D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?” For six years he served in Washington, Vietnam and New York as an officer with the U. S. Information Agency. He has been a grantee of The American Film Institute and The National Endowment of the Arts.
His novels have won the following awards: Peregrine (The Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel, aka “The Edgar”); Switch, (the French Prix Mystère de la Critique); Mirror Maze, (the French Le Grand Prix Calibre 38); The Magician’s Tale (The Lambda Literary Award for Best Mystery); The Dream Of The Broken Horses (the French Prix Mystère de la Critique).
His novel, Switch, was the source for seven television movies, including two four-hour mini-series. In all of them the main character, NYPD Detective Frank Janek, was played by the actor Richard Crenna. All seven movies were broadcast nationally by CBS in prime time.
Bayer is married to food writer, Paula Wolfert. They have lived in Paris, New York, Connecticut, Tangier (Morocco), and San Francisco. They currently reside in the Sonoma Valley, an area North of San Francisco which Jack London called “The Valley of the Moon.”
Bill was born in Cleveland, Ohio, son of an attorney-father and screenwriter-mother ( Eleanor Perry). He was educated at Phillips Exeter and Harvard where he majored in art history. His Harvard honors thesis was an analysis of a single painting by Paul Gauguin: “D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?” For six years he served in Washington, Vietnam and New York as an officer with the U. S. Information Agency. He has been a grantee of The American Film Institute and The National Endowment of the Arts.
His novels have won the following awards: Peregrine (The Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel, aka “The Edgar”); Switch, (the French Prix Mystère de la Critique); Mirror Maze, (the French Le Grand Prix Calibre 38); The Magician’s Tale (The Lambda Literary Award for Best Mystery); The Dream Of The Broken Horses (the French Prix Mystère de la Critique).
His novel, Switch, was the source for seven television movies, including two four-hour mini-series. In all of them the main character, NYPD Detective Frank Janek, was played by the actor Richard Crenna. All seven movies were broadcast nationally by CBS in prime time.
Bayer is married to food writer, Paula Wolfert. They have lived in Paris, New York, Connecticut, Tangier (Morocco), and San Francisco. They currently reside in the Sonoma Valley, an area North of San Francisco which Jack London called “The Valley of the Moon.”
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 23, 2020
Published in 1991, Wallflower is the third entry in William Bayer's relatively short series featuring New York City homicide detective Frank Janek. Like the first two, Peregrine, and Switch, the story centers on a killer with deep psychological issues and on Janek's ability to effectively get into the mind of the killer and bring that person to justice.
This case, though, is deeply personal. Janek is enjoying a vacation in Italy when he receives terrible news: his goddaughter, a college student, has been stabbed to death while jogging at night in a New York City Park. It initially appears that this was a sick, random killing by someone who stabbed the young woman with an ice pick and then mutilated her body in a particularly gruesome way, and Janek promises the victim's parents that he will somehow find the killer.
The case has been assigned to a plodding homicide detective who is clearly in way over his head and whose chances of solving the case are virtually nil. An additional problem is that the detective assigned to the case is extremely jealous of Frank Janek and doesn't want him anywhere near the investigation.
Naturally, given his relationship to the victim, the department doesn't want Janek anywhere near the case either, at least not openly and officially. But Janek soon learns that his goddaughter's death was almost certainly not a random killing but rather was part of a series of killings that the F.B.I. is calling the Wallflower murders. The F.B.I. invites Janek to join the team investigating the crimes, but convinced that the fibbies are headed in the wrong direction, he devises a way to effectively checkmate both them and his own department and to pursue the investigation basically on his own.
These novels, at least the first three in the series, are somewhat different than the usual police procedurals that dominate the marketplace in that Bayer does not feel compelled to keep his main protagonist constantly at the center of the story. In each of these books, but particularly this one, the antagonist takes over the book for long stretches at a time. All of the villains in these books are seriously damaged characters, often brilliant in some limited ways, and it takes an equally brilliant detective to eventually understand them.
The villain and the crimes committed in this novel are unique and horrifying, but the book is riveting and expertly done. I'm eagerly looking forward to the fourth, and last, book in the series.
This case, though, is deeply personal. Janek is enjoying a vacation in Italy when he receives terrible news: his goddaughter, a college student, has been stabbed to death while jogging at night in a New York City Park. It initially appears that this was a sick, random killing by someone who stabbed the young woman with an ice pick and then mutilated her body in a particularly gruesome way, and Janek promises the victim's parents that he will somehow find the killer.
The case has been assigned to a plodding homicide detective who is clearly in way over his head and whose chances of solving the case are virtually nil. An additional problem is that the detective assigned to the case is extremely jealous of Frank Janek and doesn't want him anywhere near the investigation.
Naturally, given his relationship to the victim, the department doesn't want Janek anywhere near the case either, at least not openly and officially. But Janek soon learns that his goddaughter's death was almost certainly not a random killing but rather was part of a series of killings that the F.B.I. is calling the Wallflower murders. The F.B.I. invites Janek to join the team investigating the crimes, but convinced that the fibbies are headed in the wrong direction, he devises a way to effectively checkmate both them and his own department and to pursue the investigation basically on his own.
These novels, at least the first three in the series, are somewhat different than the usual police procedurals that dominate the marketplace in that Bayer does not feel compelled to keep his main protagonist constantly at the center of the story. In each of these books, but particularly this one, the antagonist takes over the book for long stretches at a time. All of the villains in these books are seriously damaged characters, often brilliant in some limited ways, and it takes an equally brilliant detective to eventually understand them.
The villain and the crimes committed in this novel are unique and horrifying, but the book is riveting and expertly done. I'm eagerly looking forward to the fourth, and last, book in the series.
June 20, 2020
WALLFLOWER [JULY 1991] BY WILLIAM BAYER
MY REVIEW FIVE STARS*****
I read Bayer's New York Times million copy Best Seller SWITCH in January of this year and was simply blown away by the novel in particular and the author's extraordinary talent in general. Finished Bayer's second installment in his wildly popular Janek series (WALLFLOWER) about a week and a half ago but am just getting around to posting a review.
It is to be noted that the character of NYPD Homicide Detective Frank Janek was actually first introduced to readers in Bayer's critically acclaimed novel PEREGRINE. The author considered SWITCH to be the first book in his Janek series because it was only in this timeless classic that the character was fully developed.
Today I sat down to write a brief but glowing review of WALLFLOWER and this morning happened to note that THE THIRD DEADLY SIN by Lawrence Sanders was featured as one of the advertised "Kindle Deals". That is so ironic because Sanders, like Bayer, is widely recognized as one of the truly great "old masters" of the crime fiction genre. In fact when I posted my review of SWITCH I drew comparisons to Sanders' similarly unforgettable classic THE FIRST DEADLY SIN.
I confess that after I had read SWITCH I immediately purchased PEREGRINE, and also the remaining novels designated by Bayer as "Janek Books". In retrospect I would not have waited so long to read the novel which followed the immensely popular SWITCH. Simply put, the novel was extraordinarily outstanding. There are few authors who possess the ability to mesmerize a reader so completely from the very beginning of a novel, and then effectively keep the reader in his or her thrall for the duration of the book. WALLFLOWER is "unputdownable" in spades. The plot of this second voyage with Janek at the helm could not be any more unlike SWITCH if it tried. Well, in fact, Bayer did endeavor to make the stories as dissimilar as possible. He was not a fan of series characters and was only persuaded to write the Janek books because of the wildly successful film and TV adaptations that his fictional character inspired. Fans loved Janek, and interestingly, Bayer opined that Richard Crenna was perfectly cast as Frank Janek. WALLFLOWER was fascinating, perplexing, and puzzling right out of the gate, and I was immediately immersed in a riveting story of the human condition, murder, madness, and the intricacies of the mind.
I could never aspire to articulate what an amazing experience as a reader that this "Hard Boiled Mystery" by William Bayer afforded this particular crime fiction buff. I agreed whole heartedly with all of the "Praise For WALLFLOWER", including such accolades as the following:
“Cleverly crafted and brilliantly plotted. Bayer’s best work to date..."
“A powerful psychological drama that equals the impact of the best-selling Switch.”
“Elegantly written and psychologically profound.”
I might add a few of my own words of praise (written earlier following the thrill of reading SWITCH) but just as applicable to WALLFLOWER to be sure.
"William Bayer displayed a distinct talent for writing unforgettable thrillers. It is of note that his primary focus and main intent was to write a narrative that was the epitome of psychological suspense. I would argue that his novels also succeed as gritty and hard hitting police procedurals. Additionally, he was known to create piercing characterization and the backdrop or atmosphere was unmistakably present in his prose as a character in its own right. His style at least in this respect reminds me of Connelly's character Harry Bosch and his immutable connection to LA and his expressed emotional feelings for her."
The author's writing style is nothing short of elegant, and his mastery of the English language enables him to paint using his words, creating a visual landscape so vivid that the reader can see, feel, and experience the atmospheric surroundings as the story unfolds. Bayer deploys his vast vocabulary like a virtuoso and effectively transports the reader into the fabric of every scene. Similarly his expertise with character development is remarkably on par with the best of the best. This incredible talent for bringing fictional characters to life is astounding. It feels like virtual reality at times, the characters are so real they are rendered in 3D, so real in fact the readers feels like they could reach out and touch them.
There are scores of writers out there who simply want to entertain their respective audiences. They don't aspire to literary greatness, but rather they want to publish successful fiction novels and make a decent income doing that very thing, certainly nothing wrong with that! It could be said that at the opposite end of the spectrum you have the great literary geniuses of their time, ones whose novels are read by readers for generations, and even taught in our liberal arts colleges. In William Bayer it is my opinion that he poses an incredibly rare hybrid of these polar opposites. He spins his narrative with the genius of an author of classic literature while he simultaneously weaves an utterly engaging tale that it is intended to be the absolute epitome of psychological suspense, to entertain the multitude of fans in the genre of crime fiction. In that sense he is more akin to the prolific author who spins his stories to entertain.
It may not have enjoyed the incredible popularity of SWITCH, but I found that the sheer intensity and psychological suspense of this second Janek book to be on par with SWITCH. It was subsequently adapted to film ("The Forget-Me-Not Murders" starring Tyne Daly and Richard Crenna as Janek). Novels are almost invariably far superior, more enjoyable and unforgettable than the made for TV movie, mini-series, or big screen adaptations they spawn. Personally, I haven't yet seen Bayer's works as they were rendered in the film media, but it is my understanding that Janek was quite popular and enjoyed a large fan base. It is my intent to purchase the DVDs but only after reading all of the Janek mysteries (including PEREGRINE which introduced Janek but was written by Bayer as a standalone novel).
Finally, I highly recommend that every crime fiction buff out there take advantage of the truly outstanding crime fiction novel WALLFLOWER. It is available in Kindle (and reasonably priced as well). I have made no attempt to write a synopsis of the story line, or to potentially include spoilers. Let it suffice to say that this imaginative work by Bayer works as purely a psychological thriller---I was utterly perplexed...transfixed is actually more accurate---puzzled, intrigued, and excited as the plot unfolded. Yet the suspense laden intensity only built as the story line progressed. WALLFLOWER works splendidly as a fine example of a police procedural as well, and its slick deviance from strictly serial killer fare is a stroke of genius by the author. The plot is original, well crafted, and brilliantly executed. A few readers may take exception to the separate story lines that were injected, but I feel that they were necessary, both to help explain the killer's motivations and to allow the reader to view the murderer as a human being. To be fair, I wasn't expecting the surprise ending, and the climax was a bit unsettling. I might add that this novel is graphic in that the subject matter was often sexualized. The author "pulls no punches" and if a reader is squeamish about graphically depicted violence, sexually charged language, or an all out visceral blow to your senses, then it may not be a good choice.
MY REVIEW FIVE STARS*****
I read Bayer's New York Times million copy Best Seller SWITCH in January of this year and was simply blown away by the novel in particular and the author's extraordinary talent in general. Finished Bayer's second installment in his wildly popular Janek series (WALLFLOWER) about a week and a half ago but am just getting around to posting a review.
It is to be noted that the character of NYPD Homicide Detective Frank Janek was actually first introduced to readers in Bayer's critically acclaimed novel PEREGRINE. The author considered SWITCH to be the first book in his Janek series because it was only in this timeless classic that the character was fully developed.
Today I sat down to write a brief but glowing review of WALLFLOWER and this morning happened to note that THE THIRD DEADLY SIN by Lawrence Sanders was featured as one of the advertised "Kindle Deals". That is so ironic because Sanders, like Bayer, is widely recognized as one of the truly great "old masters" of the crime fiction genre. In fact when I posted my review of SWITCH I drew comparisons to Sanders' similarly unforgettable classic THE FIRST DEADLY SIN.
I confess that after I had read SWITCH I immediately purchased PEREGRINE, and also the remaining novels designated by Bayer as "Janek Books". In retrospect I would not have waited so long to read the novel which followed the immensely popular SWITCH. Simply put, the novel was extraordinarily outstanding. There are few authors who possess the ability to mesmerize a reader so completely from the very beginning of a novel, and then effectively keep the reader in his or her thrall for the duration of the book. WALLFLOWER is "unputdownable" in spades. The plot of this second voyage with Janek at the helm could not be any more unlike SWITCH if it tried. Well, in fact, Bayer did endeavor to make the stories as dissimilar as possible. He was not a fan of series characters and was only persuaded to write the Janek books because of the wildly successful film and TV adaptations that his fictional character inspired. Fans loved Janek, and interestingly, Bayer opined that Richard Crenna was perfectly cast as Frank Janek. WALLFLOWER was fascinating, perplexing, and puzzling right out of the gate, and I was immediately immersed in a riveting story of the human condition, murder, madness, and the intricacies of the mind.
I could never aspire to articulate what an amazing experience as a reader that this "Hard Boiled Mystery" by William Bayer afforded this particular crime fiction buff. I agreed whole heartedly with all of the "Praise For WALLFLOWER", including such accolades as the following:
“Cleverly crafted and brilliantly plotted. Bayer’s best work to date..."
“A powerful psychological drama that equals the impact of the best-selling Switch.”
“Elegantly written and psychologically profound.”
I might add a few of my own words of praise (written earlier following the thrill of reading SWITCH) but just as applicable to WALLFLOWER to be sure.
"William Bayer displayed a distinct talent for writing unforgettable thrillers. It is of note that his primary focus and main intent was to write a narrative that was the epitome of psychological suspense. I would argue that his novels also succeed as gritty and hard hitting police procedurals. Additionally, he was known to create piercing characterization and the backdrop or atmosphere was unmistakably present in his prose as a character in its own right. His style at least in this respect reminds me of Connelly's character Harry Bosch and his immutable connection to LA and his expressed emotional feelings for her."
The author's writing style is nothing short of elegant, and his mastery of the English language enables him to paint using his words, creating a visual landscape so vivid that the reader can see, feel, and experience the atmospheric surroundings as the story unfolds. Bayer deploys his vast vocabulary like a virtuoso and effectively transports the reader into the fabric of every scene. Similarly his expertise with character development is remarkably on par with the best of the best. This incredible talent for bringing fictional characters to life is astounding. It feels like virtual reality at times, the characters are so real they are rendered in 3D, so real in fact the readers feels like they could reach out and touch them.
There are scores of writers out there who simply want to entertain their respective audiences. They don't aspire to literary greatness, but rather they want to publish successful fiction novels and make a decent income doing that very thing, certainly nothing wrong with that! It could be said that at the opposite end of the spectrum you have the great literary geniuses of their time, ones whose novels are read by readers for generations, and even taught in our liberal arts colleges. In William Bayer it is my opinion that he poses an incredibly rare hybrid of these polar opposites. He spins his narrative with the genius of an author of classic literature while he simultaneously weaves an utterly engaging tale that it is intended to be the absolute epitome of psychological suspense, to entertain the multitude of fans in the genre of crime fiction. In that sense he is more akin to the prolific author who spins his stories to entertain.
It may not have enjoyed the incredible popularity of SWITCH, but I found that the sheer intensity and psychological suspense of this second Janek book to be on par with SWITCH. It was subsequently adapted to film ("The Forget-Me-Not Murders" starring Tyne Daly and Richard Crenna as Janek). Novels are almost invariably far superior, more enjoyable and unforgettable than the made for TV movie, mini-series, or big screen adaptations they spawn. Personally, I haven't yet seen Bayer's works as they were rendered in the film media, but it is my understanding that Janek was quite popular and enjoyed a large fan base. It is my intent to purchase the DVDs but only after reading all of the Janek mysteries (including PEREGRINE which introduced Janek but was written by Bayer as a standalone novel).
Finally, I highly recommend that every crime fiction buff out there take advantage of the truly outstanding crime fiction novel WALLFLOWER. It is available in Kindle (and reasonably priced as well). I have made no attempt to write a synopsis of the story line, or to potentially include spoilers. Let it suffice to say that this imaginative work by Bayer works as purely a psychological thriller---I was utterly perplexed...transfixed is actually more accurate---puzzled, intrigued, and excited as the plot unfolded. Yet the suspense laden intensity only built as the story line progressed. WALLFLOWER works splendidly as a fine example of a police procedural as well, and its slick deviance from strictly serial killer fare is a stroke of genius by the author. The plot is original, well crafted, and brilliantly executed. A few readers may take exception to the separate story lines that were injected, but I feel that they were necessary, both to help explain the killer's motivations and to allow the reader to view the murderer as a human being. To be fair, I wasn't expecting the surprise ending, and the climax was a bit unsettling. I might add that this novel is graphic in that the subject matter was often sexualized. The author "pulls no punches" and if a reader is squeamish about graphically depicted violence, sexually charged language, or an all out visceral blow to your senses, then it may not be a good choice.
April 17, 2016
AUTHOR..
William Bayer..
CHARACTERS..
Frank Janek, Jessica Foy, Beverly Archer, Monika, Aaron, Diana Proctor and others..
LOCATION..
New York and Cleveland (USA)..
GENRE..
Suspense...
ABOUT THE BOOK.
" WALLFLOWER ...means a southern European plant with fragrant yellow, orange-red, dark red, or brown flowers that bloom in early spring.
"WALLFLOWER ...also mean, a shy or excluded person, miserable, unhappy women who became a monster, like our heroine "BEVERLY ARCHER.."
PLOT...
THE KILLINGS // MURDERS...!!!
Jessica Foy was murdered with an ice pick, while she went out jogging alone in the dark.Her body found not far from her room at Columbia. No witnesses, no body saw nothing. The ice pick was left embedded, and the strange thing is, the killer after she was dead, pumped glue into her, into an intimate area, as if he was trying to close off part of her.
Jessica was honors student, beautiful girl full of life, popular, ace student and a competitive athlete, interested in fencing, had an odd hobby of collecting weapons such as fencing foils, rapiers, swords, daggers, knives, bows and arrows,which spoke Jess's obsession for weaponry collections.
Frank Janek , a middle aged detective in NYPD, investigates the case. He was called back to New York, while he was vacationing at Venice, with his new found lover Monika, when the shocking news about Jess's murder was intimated to him by Chief of Detectives . Jess's father Tim Foy and Janek were partners in NYPD for five years. Tim was transferred to narcotics afterwards and worked as under cover, unfortunately he was assassinated in a car bomb while leaving home. Little Jess who was only five at that time was watching this tragedy from the kitchen window. From then on Frank Janek was like a godfather to Jess, doing everything to comfort her, console her by baby sitting, assisting her home work, telling stories and making her an full fledged fencing athlete.
Interviews with her college friends, cursory inspection at her dorm , proved the complicated sex life of Jessica had before her murder. Her blindfolded sex with the group of students narrated in her dairy, her half naked Polaroid photos taken during fencing practice, and the last message left by Jess in Janek's answering machine wanting urgently to call her, makes him fell that Jess seemed to have been at a crises point at the time she was killed. Janek also learns that she was undergoing psychological therapy with an reputed doctor, named Dr.Beverly Archer for a short period of time.
As requested by the Chief of Detectives, Janek meets the FBI director Harry Sullivan, a specialist in serial murder cases and learns that Jess Foy homicide fitted the pattern of the serial killer code named "Happy families" killer, so named because several of the victims were apparently happy families killed together at home.
Frank Janek was shown detailed color slides of five Happy families crime scenes along with the names , with details of abuses each had suffered. The names included 1. Miss Bertha Parce an elderly school teacher 2. Cynthia Morse a wealthy divorce killed with her daughters 3. James and Staurt MacDonald two aging play boy type brothers 4.The Robert Wexler family (husband, wife three children) and 5. The Anthony Scotto family (husband,wife and two teenage sons)., in addition to homeless man and Jess.
The Happy Family killer's pattern fitted perfectly with Jess Foy murder, his selection of difficult victims, gluing up the genitals of men, women.,children and even family dog and cat and finally leaving a wallflower near every victim's corpse. Jack hated the killer more than any killer because he not only took the life of his beloved person but also, the killings were done with such a dehumanizing scorn.
After successive interviews with Jess's therapist Dr.Beverly Archer, and also from the clue left by Jessica in her weaponry collections..(( The name DIANA scribbled in the bow's handle in blue grease pencil and the same name written interior of quiver...Diana the huntress usually depicted holding a bow. It was the word connection between Jess's possessing a bow and arrow and the name of her Therapist :THE ARCHER..)) Janek starts suspecting Beverly and kept her under constant surveillance. Assisted by his deputy Aaron, he plans an illegal entry into the therapist's apartment to know the background of the Doctor.
Entering Dr.Archer's apartment, at the bedroom Janek noticed a life size portrait of a woman,and upon an odd piece of furniture he saw a number of anomalous objects he could not make out clearly, kept as offerings to the woman in the painting. Before he could move closer to the portrait, he was assaulted by short, slim, baldheaded figure, dressed top to bottom in black, with an ice pick in hand. With an injured shoulder and bloody throat, he kills the figure and in the split second , he learns that the figure was a woman and passed out.
When he woke up at a hospital, every body including his Chief of detectives and FBI director Sullivan congratulates Janek for finding and killing the Happy Families killer and thereby solving the case.
BUT.....Janek was not satisfied, he had his own doubts ...!!! Who was the woman in the painting in the bedroom of Dr.Beverly?...what were the anomalous things kept under it..?? By whom..???
WALLFLOWER..!!!
The facts were simple enough. The woman Janek killed in Dr.Archer's weird apartment was named Diana Proctor. She was a librarian who paid a nominal rent to inhabit the basement in Beverly Archer's house. She had murdered three members of her family with an ax, some years back. Having been declared mentally incompetent, she had been committed to Carlisle Hospital for the Criminally insane, and was given five years of intensive treatment by Beverly Archer.
Beverly Archer was a specialist in curing patients trauma caused by shaming events in their past. Because, she herself was a victim of those incidents happened to her in the past. Because of these incidents Beverly had become a Wallflower... a loaner with grudge and rage . To rid of her obsession and trauma, she recruited Diana from the Carlisle mental Hospital, created a dependency, then arranged for Diana's release, and converted her as Beverly's killing tool, and sent her out on missions of revenge.
With Diana, as the ruthless killing machine, Beverly being a clever collaborator, she had killed those who were responsible for the shaming incidents happened to her in the past. Starting with, Martha Parce.. her English Teacher, for insulting Beverly's mother in the open classroom, as a nightclub singer. Cynthia Morse.... her one and only friend, for betraying her (lesbian ) love, for recording their intimate moments and showing them to her friends. James and Stuart,... the playboy brothers for raping and degrading her after a late night party and dumping her afterwords. Robert Wexler..for seeing both mother and daughter and making fun out of it. Diana killed Jess, possibly she became jealous of her because of her being a superior athlete and martial artist and who she may have believed was a favorite person of their therapist. The killing of the homeless man was a practise shot for the later homicides.
After every murder, Diana brought Beverly, trophies from victim's houses. A hair curler for Bertha Parce. A small book for the Wexler family. An oversize book for Cynthia Morse. A pair of neatly arranged toothbrushes for MacDonalds . an eggbeater for Scottos and a switch blade for Jess. These trophies were placed under her mother's portrait in her bedroom, sort of offering to her mother.
CLIMAX..
Because it was Diana who murdered the Happy Families victims and Jess, there was no proof to prosecute Dr.Beverly Archer who was the real planner for these killings . Beverly had carefully laid down a paper tail at the hospital that would throw the police suspicions off, then she laid down a second paper tail in Diana's room in the basement, that would confirm the story that Diana was acting on her own.
Frank Janek flew to Cleveland with Deputy Aaron, to discover Beverly's past, where her mother Victoria Archer lived as a night club singer and died an untimely death. Janek's interviews with Beverly's sister Mildred Archer and her mother's friend Melissa Walters , confirmed Beverly's sick way of worship towards her mother, and at the end how Beverly got as crazy as her mother.
A painter named Peter Aretzsky, who was loved, seduced and later dumped by Victoria, had drawn a portrait, extremely opposite to the one in Beverly's bedroom showing the cruel side of her as his revenge. It was a portrait of her mother Beverly needed to remember her, who ruined Beverly's life. A woman who could make a wallflower of her own daughter.
Janek bought the portrait from Peter's sister for a huge amount and presents it to Beverly. He a narrates the role played by her mother in making her a wallflower, so that Beverly could not become an competition to her mother's beauty. He spoke about her mother's role in setting the Play boy brothers Jimmy and Stu for making her a real loner.. a wallflower, and leaves the portrait at Beverly's doorsteps.
At last, Beverly commits suicide by slitting her wrists, glued herself to her mother's portrait.
MY COMMENT...
WALLFLOWER...RICH IN FRAGRANCE...!!!
William Bayer..
CHARACTERS..
Frank Janek, Jessica Foy, Beverly Archer, Monika, Aaron, Diana Proctor and others..
LOCATION..
New York and Cleveland (USA)..
GENRE..
Suspense...
ABOUT THE BOOK.
" WALLFLOWER ...means a southern European plant with fragrant yellow, orange-red, dark red, or brown flowers that bloom in early spring.
"WALLFLOWER ...also mean, a shy or excluded person, miserable, unhappy women who became a monster, like our heroine "BEVERLY ARCHER.."
PLOT...
THE KILLINGS // MURDERS...!!!
Jessica Foy was murdered with an ice pick, while she went out jogging alone in the dark.Her body found not far from her room at Columbia. No witnesses, no body saw nothing. The ice pick was left embedded, and the strange thing is, the killer after she was dead, pumped glue into her, into an intimate area, as if he was trying to close off part of her.
Jessica was honors student, beautiful girl full of life, popular, ace student and a competitive athlete, interested in fencing, had an odd hobby of collecting weapons such as fencing foils, rapiers, swords, daggers, knives, bows and arrows,which spoke Jess's obsession for weaponry collections.
Frank Janek , a middle aged detective in NYPD, investigates the case. He was called back to New York, while he was vacationing at Venice, with his new found lover Monika, when the shocking news about Jess's murder was intimated to him by Chief of Detectives . Jess's father Tim Foy and Janek were partners in NYPD for five years. Tim was transferred to narcotics afterwards and worked as under cover, unfortunately he was assassinated in a car bomb while leaving home. Little Jess who was only five at that time was watching this tragedy from the kitchen window. From then on Frank Janek was like a godfather to Jess, doing everything to comfort her, console her by baby sitting, assisting her home work, telling stories and making her an full fledged fencing athlete.
Interviews with her college friends, cursory inspection at her dorm , proved the complicated sex life of Jessica had before her murder. Her blindfolded sex with the group of students narrated in her dairy, her half naked Polaroid photos taken during fencing practice, and the last message left by Jess in Janek's answering machine wanting urgently to call her, makes him fell that Jess seemed to have been at a crises point at the time she was killed. Janek also learns that she was undergoing psychological therapy with an reputed doctor, named Dr.Beverly Archer for a short period of time.
As requested by the Chief of Detectives, Janek meets the FBI director Harry Sullivan, a specialist in serial murder cases and learns that Jess Foy homicide fitted the pattern of the serial killer code named "Happy families" killer, so named because several of the victims were apparently happy families killed together at home.
Frank Janek was shown detailed color slides of five Happy families crime scenes along with the names , with details of abuses each had suffered. The names included 1. Miss Bertha Parce an elderly school teacher 2. Cynthia Morse a wealthy divorce killed with her daughters 3. James and Staurt MacDonald two aging play boy type brothers 4.The Robert Wexler family (husband, wife three children) and 5. The Anthony Scotto family (husband,wife and two teenage sons)., in addition to homeless man and Jess.
The Happy Family killer's pattern fitted perfectly with Jess Foy murder, his selection of difficult victims, gluing up the genitals of men, women.,children and even family dog and cat and finally leaving a wallflower near every victim's corpse. Jack hated the killer more than any killer because he not only took the life of his beloved person but also, the killings were done with such a dehumanizing scorn.
After successive interviews with Jess's therapist Dr.Beverly Archer, and also from the clue left by Jessica in her weaponry collections..(( The name DIANA scribbled in the bow's handle in blue grease pencil and the same name written interior of quiver...Diana the huntress usually depicted holding a bow. It was the word connection between Jess's possessing a bow and arrow and the name of her Therapist :THE ARCHER..)) Janek starts suspecting Beverly and kept her under constant surveillance. Assisted by his deputy Aaron, he plans an illegal entry into the therapist's apartment to know the background of the Doctor.
Entering Dr.Archer's apartment, at the bedroom Janek noticed a life size portrait of a woman,and upon an odd piece of furniture he saw a number of anomalous objects he could not make out clearly, kept as offerings to the woman in the painting. Before he could move closer to the portrait, he was assaulted by short, slim, baldheaded figure, dressed top to bottom in black, with an ice pick in hand. With an injured shoulder and bloody throat, he kills the figure and in the split second , he learns that the figure was a woman and passed out.
When he woke up at a hospital, every body including his Chief of detectives and FBI director Sullivan congratulates Janek for finding and killing the Happy Families killer and thereby solving the case.
BUT.....Janek was not satisfied, he had his own doubts ...!!! Who was the woman in the painting in the bedroom of Dr.Beverly?...what were the anomalous things kept under it..?? By whom..???
WALLFLOWER..!!!
The facts were simple enough. The woman Janek killed in Dr.Archer's weird apartment was named Diana Proctor. She was a librarian who paid a nominal rent to inhabit the basement in Beverly Archer's house. She had murdered three members of her family with an ax, some years back. Having been declared mentally incompetent, she had been committed to Carlisle Hospital for the Criminally insane, and was given five years of intensive treatment by Beverly Archer.
Beverly Archer was a specialist in curing patients trauma caused by shaming events in their past. Because, she herself was a victim of those incidents happened to her in the past. Because of these incidents Beverly had become a Wallflower... a loaner with grudge and rage . To rid of her obsession and trauma, she recruited Diana from the Carlisle mental Hospital, created a dependency, then arranged for Diana's release, and converted her as Beverly's killing tool, and sent her out on missions of revenge.
With Diana, as the ruthless killing machine, Beverly being a clever collaborator, she had killed those who were responsible for the shaming incidents happened to her in the past. Starting with, Martha Parce.. her English Teacher, for insulting Beverly's mother in the open classroom, as a nightclub singer. Cynthia Morse.... her one and only friend, for betraying her (lesbian ) love, for recording their intimate moments and showing them to her friends. James and Stuart,... the playboy brothers for raping and degrading her after a late night party and dumping her afterwords. Robert Wexler..for seeing both mother and daughter and making fun out of it. Diana killed Jess, possibly she became jealous of her because of her being a superior athlete and martial artist and who she may have believed was a favorite person of their therapist. The killing of the homeless man was a practise shot for the later homicides.
After every murder, Diana brought Beverly, trophies from victim's houses. A hair curler for Bertha Parce. A small book for the Wexler family. An oversize book for Cynthia Morse. A pair of neatly arranged toothbrushes for MacDonalds . an eggbeater for Scottos and a switch blade for Jess. These trophies were placed under her mother's portrait in her bedroom, sort of offering to her mother.
CLIMAX..
Because it was Diana who murdered the Happy Families victims and Jess, there was no proof to prosecute Dr.Beverly Archer who was the real planner for these killings . Beverly had carefully laid down a paper tail at the hospital that would throw the police suspicions off, then she laid down a second paper tail in Diana's room in the basement, that would confirm the story that Diana was acting on her own.
Frank Janek flew to Cleveland with Deputy Aaron, to discover Beverly's past, where her mother Victoria Archer lived as a night club singer and died an untimely death. Janek's interviews with Beverly's sister Mildred Archer and her mother's friend Melissa Walters , confirmed Beverly's sick way of worship towards her mother, and at the end how Beverly got as crazy as her mother.
A painter named Peter Aretzsky, who was loved, seduced and later dumped by Victoria, had drawn a portrait, extremely opposite to the one in Beverly's bedroom showing the cruel side of her as his revenge. It was a portrait of her mother Beverly needed to remember her, who ruined Beverly's life. A woman who could make a wallflower of her own daughter.
Janek bought the portrait from Peter's sister for a huge amount and presents it to Beverly. He a narrates the role played by her mother in making her a wallflower, so that Beverly could not become an competition to her mother's beauty. He spoke about her mother's role in setting the Play boy brothers Jimmy and Stu for making her a real loner.. a wallflower, and leaves the portrait at Beverly's doorsteps.
At last, Beverly commits suicide by slitting her wrists, glued herself to her mother's portrait.
MY COMMENT...
WALLFLOWER...RICH IN FRAGRANCE...!!!
December 21, 2021
One day a week or so ago I was in my favorite bookshop just wandering around and chatting with the owner when I asked what was new.... He said that William Bayer had just dropped into the shop with his wife and they had had a lovely visit. I'd never heard of William Bayer and made the shop owner tell all (nosey??? not me!). He's long been a Bayer fan so I got the full scoop and walked out with Wallflower. It finally surfaced on my 'read me next pile' and ... wow. It's a GREAT story. New York Police Detective Janek is just off his latest case - a landmark one that and resting on vacation when he gets a call that his goddaughter has been killed. And killed in what looks to be the latest in one of the most bizarre string of murders. She was stabbed with an ice pick and, like the other victims, then had her genitals glued shut. Like most other of my favorite mystery books, I do NOT want to see this movie, but the book is great! Now I need to go back and get more Bayers!
June 19, 2017
This book is part of a series. It's not the first one, but it's the one I read. Some of the books in the Frank Janek series were turned into television films in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Janek was played by Richard Crenna. They were pretty good films.
Wallflower eludes to these films, talking about how Janek's investigations got turned into a mini series. Wallflower was adapted into a film called The Forget-Me-Not Murders. There are a few changes but mostly kept the same tone.
The book reminded me of Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. Same kind of tension but different investigators and methods.
Wallflower eludes to these films, talking about how Janek's investigations got turned into a mini series. Wallflower was adapted into a film called The Forget-Me-Not Murders. There are a few changes but mostly kept the same tone.
The book reminded me of Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. Same kind of tension but different investigators and methods.
March 10, 2023
When notified that his goddaughter has been murdered, Frank Janek wants on the case and no one is going to stop him. Good book, that is split into three parts; the first follows Janek in his investigation, the second from the suspects view and finally Janek's pursuit of justice and a confession.
November 25, 2022
tbh I couldn’t finish it - I found it hard to follow. interesting concept for a serial killer but ugh
September 14, 2023
Honestly I really loved this one. I haven’t read anything like it in a while.
October 16, 2022
"Wie Juwelen hinter kalten Lidern
Harte Augen, selten satt;
Dein Körper, weiß und schwer, und grausam
Der Mund wie eine giftige Blume."
Das Buch habe ich von einer Kollegin bekommen, ohne den Rest der Reihe zu kennen. Was auch nicht nötig ist, ich habe nicht das Gefühl irgendetwas nicht verstanden zu haben. Der Hauptcharakter erfüllt alle Klischees: Männlich, schlecht gelaunt weil blöden Fall gehabt, das mit den Frauen ist bisher auch nicht so einfach. Der Schreibstil ist gut, auch wenn es noch etwas spannender hätte sein können. Gute Urlaubslektüre.
Harte Augen, selten satt;
Dein Körper, weiß und schwer, und grausam
Der Mund wie eine giftige Blume."
Das Buch habe ich von einer Kollegin bekommen, ohne den Rest der Reihe zu kennen. Was auch nicht nötig ist, ich habe nicht das Gefühl irgendetwas nicht verstanden zu haben. Der Hauptcharakter erfüllt alle Klischees: Männlich, schlecht gelaunt weil blöden Fall gehabt, das mit den Frauen ist bisher auch nicht so einfach. Der Schreibstil ist gut, auch wenn es noch etwas spannender hätte sein können. Gute Urlaubslektüre.
July 18, 2010
L'intrigue a -je trouve- du mal à démarrer. Tout l'épisode de Venise ne m'a pas vraiment interpelée. En revanche, le reste du livre avec cette histoire criminelle hautement malsaine est -je dois le reconnaître- assez intéressante à lire.
May 9, 2011
the plot/story was good, since i like psychological mysteries, but i dont feel satisfied with the ending.
i did learn more about how humans behaviours work, and exciting to read.
i did learn more about how humans behaviours work, and exciting to read.
September 29, 2011
Great Character... good series, i need to go back and read the first book and i look forward to the rest of the series. Too bad i can't seem to find the TV movies anywhere.
May 28, 2014
Awesome book.Liked it so much.Hadn't had any expectation but was surprised.Very very good book and looking forward to read bayer's switch.
December 29, 2012
Whoa! Quite the plot. Likable main character too, in an unusual homicide det.
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