This book came at the request of the author. I agreed because I love a good mystery.
Willem Gerhardt is a beloved and renowned psychologist. He was adopted around age 8 by a very wealthy, well know and well-respected family, the Gerhardts. Elizabeth Gerhardt took Willem in and from them on he was forever a Gerhardt. Willems life before Elizabeth was tumultuous. His biological mother bore him in prison and his father was absent as well.
He attends college and gets his doctorate in psychology and goes into practice. One day a young patient reveals she was the victim of sexual assault, and a local man is arrested and put through trial where he is exonerated. Days after his release, he is found dead, Dr. Gerhardt their only suspect. He is arrested and put on trial. He is put into the same prison he was born at and is forced to face his past and come to terms with the possibility he may not be leaving prison.
The story itself is very complex. It goes back and forth between the present and the past. There are a lot of unanswered questions that I found frustrating, and wish were better explored. Much of the book is a courtroom scene with lots of dialogue of what would be said in a courtroom. Overall, I really liked the story, the characters, Willem and Elizabeth seemed real and endearing. I am a mother myself and I could feel the love she had for Willem coming off the pages. The twist at the end through me for a loop and I never saw it coming. A great read, highly recommend and I look forward to more from this author.
The cover says, "cozy mystery", I would not classify this as a cozy mystery. Cozy mysteries tend to follow a formula: small intimate town, a murder and someone who is an amateur sleuth, who owns and/or runs a shop, usually a bakery, bookstore or bed and breakfast.
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