Psychopath

One of the best books that I've read in a while! You can see why Keith Ablow is such a famous Forensic Psychiatrist. The way he depicts his main character, Dr. Jonah Wrens. can only be described as creative genious. Imagine a serial killer who possesses as much evil, as he possesses goodness. A man who is as brutally violent as he is compassionate. A man who must feel the emotional pain of others in order to satisfy a need so deep inside him. I found myself wanting desperately to get to the climax, but at the same time, not wanting to finish the book. I would definitely recommend this book, especially for those of you who are psychologically inclined.

As a psychologist myself who has researched this particular personality disorder for 30 years, I have to say that this book is far superior to the cut and dried approaches of the textbooks in the field that address the topic of Psychopathology. Ablow is clearly a master in his understanding and portrayal of the content, knowledge, experience in the field of Forensic Psychology, and he has the superior ability to tell a story about a terrifying psychological disorder in the clearest and most instructive manner without being a bit boring. The deterioration and collapse of the psychological boundaries of the criminal mind of Jonah Wrens and the devious plotting, verbal manipulation and emotional decompensation he portrays is scary beyond words because this is truly the way that psychopaths react and act. I have archived this book with my other texts on psychopathology and will recommend it to professional and non professionals as the best work on this topic in the field right now. Get it and you will learn more than you ever imagined. Brilliant book. Brilliant author. "Two thumbs way up!", borrowing the words of Roger Ebert. Kathleen Nelson, RN, PhD Clinical Psychologist (Ret.)

Keith Ablow is a surprise in my life. I was unfamiliar with this author, and I thought I would not like his writing--after all, the subject matter is not certainly appealing at all. However, I found myself highly impressed with his writing. The sensitivity to his mentally ill character is amazing. I found myself truly understanding the motive, the emotion and the obsession of this villain. I also found myself admiring the detective and his love for his son--both so flawed yet so skillfully handled. I went on to read Murder Suicide by Mr. Ablow. It too continues this fine series. I recommend if you have not read this author to definitely put him on your list. He is amazing in his ability to carry you along through his characters lives and make you feel their pain, their obsessions and their capacity for love.

Serial killers are nothing new in mystery fiction. But Keith Ablow gives the title character of his novel a chilling spin, and lets the readers see through a window into the killer's twisted, fragmented mind. It's a freaky rollercoaster ride, and one that readers won't forget in a hurry.The Highway Killer (also called Jonah) roams from one seemingly random town to another, choosing victims seemingly at random. He's attractive, intelligent, cultured, religious, a nurturing psychologist who travels from hospital to hospital -- and is overwhelmed by a dark urge to kill, to absorb the life of his victims into himself. There's no way to track him and no way to tell who he will attack next. The FBI calls in Frank Clevenger, a famous forensic psychiatrist who is also trying to balance out his life with a troubled adopted son, who has been expelled for dealing drugs at his school. But he becomes enmeshed in the investigation, and soon a newspaper starts publishing front-page letters from the Highway Killer to Frank. He must use his own past, the letters, and the victims to delve into the Highway Killer's mind -- and what is driving him to murder.They say you should write what you know, and Keith Ablow is a prime example of this. Like Frank, he is a forensic psychiatrist, and so he's ideal to bring us the tormented Jonah, a serial killer who is both good and evil, and who is so conflicted that he's blotted out part of his past that holds the key to his psychosis. Most mystery novels can't balance out the personal and the professional -- or, better yet, tie them together. Ablow does both. Frank's personal life is tied in to why Jonah wants him to help. The writing is taut, but the best parts are when he gets inside the characters' heads, giving us a vivid picture of what they think and why.Frank is an excellent protagonist; he's almost as psychologically complex as the Highway Killer. One outstanding scene is when Frank reveals the similarities between his adopted son Billy's abusive childhood and his own youth. It's a wonderful scene, and shows Ablow's tight focus on how people's minds work. Jonah is a crazy quilt of good and bad, and probably the best fictional "psychopath" I've ever read about. And Billy, who is struggling with his own past abuse, helps give a human edge to the aspects of Frank that are necessary to the plot. "Psychopath" is the sort of book that can scare you stiff -- the only demons and monsters it has are the kind that really exist inside the human mind. Tightly-written, intriguing, and it'll keep you riveted up to the end.

He travels the highways of America killing when the compulsion becomes unbearable but he always gets his victims to trust him and talk to him so he can get inside their defenses before he delivers the fatal blow. He is known as the Highway Killer and the FBI credit him with at least fourteen known homicides even though he believes he killed sevnteen people, men and women, young and old with no discernible pattern.The FBI is getting desperate so they call in forensic psychiatrist Frank Clevenger as consultant. This resonates with the Highway Killer and he engages Clevenger in a dialog played out in the New York Times for the world to see. It is an interesting but potentially deadly cat and mouse game these two individuals play because they were both victims of parental abuse as children and they are both practicing psychiatrists.Keith Ablow does the impossible by making the audience feel genuine sympathy for a serial killer tormented by his demons and his inability to stop from killing even though he knows it is wrong. As a doctor he has saved the lives of many children in crises but he can not heal himself. PSYCHOPATH is a fascinating and exciting medical thriller about a tormented person who wears the mask of sanity on the outside, but inside is a tortured soul who wants to be stopped.Harriet Klausner