Cold Judgment

by Joanne Fluke

Original cover for 978-0440113119


Prescription DEATH. Eight attractive talented people, each tottering on the razor’s edge of sanity. Now their psychiatrist, Dr Elias, is dying from a ravaging cancer, and he has made his cold final judgment. Those he can’t cure, he must kill.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Suspense

Paperback

First published February 1, 1985

About the author

Like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke grew up in a small town in rural Minnesota where her neighbors were friendly, the winters were fierce, and the biggest scandal was the spotting of unidentified male undergarments on a young widow's clothesline. She insists that there really are 10,000 lakes and the mosquito is NOT the state bird.

While pursuing her writing career, Joanne has worked as: a public school teacher, a psychologist, a musician, a private detective's assistant, a corporate, legal, and pharmaceutical secretary, a short order cook, a florist's assistant, a caterer and party planner, a computer consultant on a now-defunct operating system, a production assistant on a TV quiz show, half of a screenwriting team with her husband, and a mother, wife, and homemaker.

She now lives in Southern California with her husband, her kids, his kids, their three dogs, one elderly tabby, and several noisy rats in the attic.

Series:
* Hannah Swensen

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cold Judgment is a psychological thriller about egos and mental illness. At first, when psychiatrist Dr. Elias found out he had cancer he referred his six patients to other psychiatrists. However, his six patients were not happy with their new psychiatrists Dr. Elias starts to believe he must kill them before other people get hurt and set up a plan to achieve his aim. The readers of Cold Judgment will continue to follow Dr. Elias to see if he completed killing is ex-clients.

Cold Judgment is the second book I have read of Joanne Fluke, and I did enjoy it. Joanne Fluke does a great job in writing a psychological thriller that ensures that I set at the end of my chair. I like Joanne Fluke portrayal of her characters and the way they intertwine with each other. Reading Cold Judgment, I did know who the killer was and why they were doing it. However, I was still surprised with the identity of the hero.

The readers of Cold Judgment will learn about mental illness and how it affects everyone. Also, readers of Cold Judgment see that sometimes love and friendship can help people to achieve their goals.

I recommend this book.

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read and I enjoyed it. I wonder why she changed from writing these suspense novels to just the cozy mystery series - I guess that market must be more lucrative.

[mmjg1940 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t get very far. A character was involved in child molestation. Not my interest at all.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick Info
Standalone/Cliffhanger?: Standalone
Part of a Series?: No
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Meeting the Characters
Dr. Elias
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What happens?
Dr Elias finds out he has terminal cancer and so starts to refer his patients to other psychiatrists. However 6 of his patients are not happy with his referrals so Elias believes he has to kill them to remove them as threats to other people.
Final thoughts
I think this isn't the book for me. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this. Elias is an interesting character and the author has done a very good job in showing that just because you work in helping people with mental health it doesn't mean it can't affect you too.
Would I read again?: No
Would I read this author again?: Possible

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only books Joanne Fluke books I had read previously were the Hannah Swenson books. This is an earlier and a darker mystery, but I enjoyed it. Dr. Elias, a renowned psychiatrist, is dying, and he is worried about the fate of eight of his most potentially dangerous patients. As the patients start being killed one by one, the remaining patients must band together to discover the identity of the killer.
This book reminded me a bit of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.

[Amy Phelps · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read. Not a lot of mystery because you know who the killer is & why he thinks he has to do what he’s doing. I did like the characters. Yes the ending is a little sappy but not overboard. I was expecting a certain ending & I am happy to say it didn’t happen.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Found it a dark book. Not what I expected from the author.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Until now, I have only read the Hannah Swenson novels. I have to say, this book was excellent! I look forward to reading her other thrillers.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book!

[Marianne Potter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too predictable. Enjoyable main characters and very different from her Hannah Swenson cooking series.

[Pam Starr · Rating 5 out of 5]

End of the road.

All seems lost. Their mentor no longer available. Where do they turn? Who can they trust? Things are happening.
Where is the voice of reason?

[Monisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

the book was well written and I loved the premise of the story. I liked the different characters and it was quite thrilling.

[Lena]

No.....

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and entertaining. Not spectacular, but pleasant.

[Marilyn Loudenburg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a slow start. But it does pick up.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting premise. The doctor was wrong though he thought he was saving people. I like the ending though.

[Jennifer Hoey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this story!

Even though you knew who did it, It kept me on the edge of my seat! I couldn't put it down! You will not be disappointed!

[Peg]

Another side if author Joanne Fluke

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intense storyline that keeps you on your toes with many twists and turns.

[Eileen Mahoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great thriller that keeps you reading faster.

[Addison Grewe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the book it made me uncomfortable with the one guy being a pedo so I had to take a break but after that everything else was so good!

[Kelsea Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would this book boring and just wasn’t as captivating as I had hoped it would be.

[Keanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book kept me on my toes and had my audibly gasping at moments. Great thriller/mystery!

[Sue Ouellet-Cofsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a prompt of an author everyone has read. I wish I had read her sooner. While not super suspenseful (since who you know the who and the why from the get go), wondering how it would all pan out kept me reading.

[Debbie Oxier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book if you're in the mood for a simple mystery that requires little concentration. You don't have to worry and wonder who the bad guy is because you know from the start. While some people might not like that, I enjoyed it as a pleasant change of pace. Plus, the plot intrigued me as the killer deemed his victims dangerous, hence his reasoning behind their murders. You see, he was their psychiatrist and he was dying of cancer. Certain none of his other colleagues is as gifted as he, rather than let them revert to their former selves and once again become potential hazards to the general public, he feels he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. These special patients, seven of them, decide to keep meeting together on their own when Dr. Elias retires. They try to support one another, none of them convinced their new doctor can help them. Then the first one dies in what appears to be a suicide. They mourn his death but no one is aware of any foul play at this point. Then the next one dies. Now they're suspicious but not necessarily alarmed. As time passes, however, it becomes obvious someone is targeting their group. But who? During the course of the story, two of the characters become involved with one another and a nice romance ensues. One of them is a police officer and he begins to investigate the deaths on the side. I really enjoyed the book. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

The blurb on the back was intriguing enough and I read the 1st few pages before I decided to read the whole book. A page turner for me. I wanted to find out if the patients would eventually figure out who the killer was.

There were a few twists here and there that kept my interest going; Dr Elias was rather meticulous in his killing methods and varied it so that he would not be caught.

In order to understand the mental disease, there were efforts made to help us who may not really understand what goes in the minds of those suffering from paranoia and others.

Mental disorder is not easy to understand and depression is something that is often brought up because it is more common. Perhaps, this book was meant to be a small insight on what people suffer from mental illness really go through, even if it's a partial insight.

[Ceilidh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent and definitely not obvious that it was written 30 years ago (other than the references to a few places that don't exist anymore). However, it got a bit too involved in the internal thoughts and actions of the characters and it felt unnecessary to got into that much depth. Made it a bit boring for me; but I find Stephen King boring for the same reason, so if you like reading his books, you will probably not be bothered by this.

[Sandye Fakan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really enjoy books where you know the killer from the beginning of the book until the end. The plot was not fully developed, and you pretty much knew who was going to survive from the middle on. Joanne Fluke is an outstanding author, but I think she might want to stick to the Hannah Swenson books.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's always fun to read books that are from local authors writing about MN places I'm familiar with. This one was in the Twin Cities and the author had been recommended. Well, won't be reading any more of this author I hate to say. This one you knew who did it from the get go and not even much suspense as he takes out one person after another.

[H.R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
Good story, but kind of predictable. Really good characters. Loved the beginning, but the ending was a huge letdown because it became a stereotype for what it is. Worth a read if you like this type of book. I will still recommend it.