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Risk Factor
The body count keeps growing in the psychiatric unit for adolescents where Dr. Molly Katz works, leading to a threat on the lives of Molly and her children as she tries to find the source of an apparently pure evil.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 13, 1999
1 person is currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Charles Atkins
26 books49 followersCharles 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 15, 2012
Well. Here's the thing.
I picked this up because it's a psychological thriller. I went ahead to buy and read it because it was written by practicing psychiatrist. I almost didn't make it past the first chapter because it was in a first person female narrative that was obviously written by a man.
But he got better. He got to where he was writing a person, instead of a man writing a woman's POV---which is the trick, by the way, of writing the POV of the opposite sex; write a person, not a gender.
The coolest thing about this book, to me, were the discussions about psychiatry and trends. The exact things I was hoping would "leak" into this book were featured in more than one dialogue. That is, they did more than "leak" and that was awesome.
I wouldn't call this a "thriller," though. Or suspense. I spent the first fifty or sixty pages thinking, "AhmahGod, dooooooo somethiiiiiiiing." I mean it's cool to get to know a character's routine and all, but when the prologue and a few clues so far let you know there's going to be action, then "shopping with the fam" is torture, not a nice little characterization scene.
And none of that would have been bad if it weren't in a cover, with comments, and with a set-up that all say, "Suspense/thriller."
Bah, anyway. There is enough here, in the end, that makes me want to give the author another shot---someday. If I remember. It's not something I'm writing down to do or anything.
Yagetme?
I picked this up because it's a psychological thriller. I went ahead to buy and read it because it was written by practicing psychiatrist. I almost didn't make it past the first chapter because it was in a first person female narrative that was obviously written by a man.
But he got better. He got to where he was writing a person, instead of a man writing a woman's POV---which is the trick, by the way, of writing the POV of the opposite sex; write a person, not a gender.
The coolest thing about this book, to me, were the discussions about psychiatry and trends. The exact things I was hoping would "leak" into this book were featured in more than one dialogue. That is, they did more than "leak" and that was awesome.
I wouldn't call this a "thriller," though. Or suspense. I spent the first fifty or sixty pages thinking, "AhmahGod, dooooooo somethiiiiiiiing." I mean it's cool to get to know a character's routine and all, but when the prologue and a few clues so far let you know there's going to be action, then "shopping with the fam" is torture, not a nice little characterization scene.
And none of that would have been bad if it weren't in a cover, with comments, and with a set-up that all say, "Suspense/thriller."
Bah, anyway. There is enough here, in the end, that makes me want to give the author another shot---someday. If I remember. It's not something I'm writing down to do or anything.
Yagetme?
February 27, 2009
It was a good mystery kept you wondering who was the killer till the very end.
March 12, 2009
This was actually a rather good book. I loved the setting, and something about the criminaly insane that makes me smile! I will surely pick up another novel by this author!
February 11, 2010
Absolutely loved it. Had a lot of twists and turns, and kept you guessing.
March 18, 2011
Written by a psychiatrist, so there's lot of details about psychiatric care that appealed to me. I'll look for this author again.
January 23, 2014
For my complete and honest review check it out on my blog http://jazminjade.wordpress.com/2014/...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews