The Portrait

by Charles Atkins

The lines between reality and madness begin to blur for up-and-coming artist Chad Greene, who recently stopped taking his manic depression medication, and is being hunted both by a killer and the police

Genres: Thriller

264 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1998

About the author

Charles Atkins
Welcome to my author page. I'm a board-certified psychiatrist, author, and professional speaker.

I write both fiction and nonfiction, including the Barrett Conyors forensic thriller series, the Lil and Ada cozies and urban fantasy with LGBTQ+ protagonists under the pen name, Caleb James. I've written plain-speak books on Alzheimer's and Bipolar Disorder, and textbooks on co-occurring mental health and substance use problems, and opioid use disorders.

In addition to books I've written hundreds of articles, columns, and shorts stories for professional and popular magazines, newspapers, and journals. I've been a regular contributor to the American Medical Association's American Medical News, a consultant to the Reader's Digest Medical Breakthrough series, and my work has appeared in publications ranging from The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) to Writer's Digest Magazine. I've been twice featured in the New York Times, as well as many other publications. In 2019 I wrote a special edition for PARADE on the science of sleep.

I live in Connecticut where I split my time between clinical work, writing and family.

Reviews

[Kaitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an adequate mystery novel. It moves along, the protagonist is interesting enough, and the plot is believable. I wasn't satisfied with the ending or with the way the protagonist behaved in every situation, but this was different than other things I've read and it kept my attention. I think with a little more feedback or rereading the author could've made this stronger, especially at the end, but it was worth the quick read. The protagonist's mental illness definitely added depth to the novel because the reader must constantly question his reliability.

I don't consider this a thriller because nothing scary happens and it's not an edge-of-your-seat read, so don't expect that. This about mystery behind a death and the subsequent events.

[Kristi Nickerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was great! I loved every minute of it, I was kept on the edge of my seat.

[melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think 3 out of 5 may be high for this one. This was not the read I had hoped for. Some of the time it wasn't even interesting, let alone scary. I did keep reading, because I had it find out if he was crazy or not. There were many parts that were predictable, even if the ending was not one that you could have seen coming. Now the parts I liked. I did like seeing the world through the eyes of the character when he was on and off his meds. And the ending (climax to finish) was strong and interesting. I recently had a conversation with a writer friend, who looked at me and simply said “make it worse”. This is something Atkins did well I thought, in completely destroying the main character's life in the first few sections of the book. Will I read another by this author? Probably not. If you are at the library, and happen to see it, read the first few pages, and see if it grabs you, maybe it was just me. But I wouldn't go hunting for it.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains a lot of potential to be the next thriller film you see in the cinemas. The plot is exciting but the writing style does not have a huge amount of thrill. So, if you're looking for something that will keep you hooked, this may not be the right book for you. What I liked about the novel is its portrayal of human nature (we carry a bit of Chad in our lives.) There were scenes that were dull or dragging, but I liked reading it nonetheless.

[Justinia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mystery. Much better developed plotline and characters than in "Risk Factor."

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

psychological thriller

[Katie Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mindless entertaining cliche murder mystery that I'm not sorry I read but will pass along.

[Donna Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful!