A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi
published 6/09
352 pages
Synopsis from publisher:
The sleepy town of Newbury, Connecticut, is shocked when a little girl is found brutally murdered. With the murderer on the loose, the police desperately look for any clues to lead to his identy. Meanwhile, a psychiatrist in a nearby hospital is also in a desperate search to find the cause of seven-year-old Naya Hastings' devastating nightmares. Afraid that she might hurt herself in the midst of a torturous episode, Naya's parents have turned to the bright young doctor as their only hope. When these two situations converge, they set off an alarming chain of events. In this stunning psychological thriller, innocence gives way to evil, and trust lies forgotten in a web of deceit, fear, and murder.
My thoughts:
This was a fairly entertaining debut novel. I was in the mood for a good suspense novel, and this book really hit the spot. It didn't immediately grab me - I think because the first few chapters jump fairly rapidly from one perspective to another - but I was interested enough in the premise to keep reading. Before long, I found myself immersed in the story, and found the remainder of the novel to be a very quick read.
The author is a child psychiatrist himself, and his knowledge of the inner workings of the children's psychiatric unit of a hospital was apparent. The scenes with Dr. Gram and Naya in the hospital were especially poignant, and it is apparent that the author cares deeply for the children he treats. He gives readers some very interesting insights into the medical and psychiatric professions, and explains medical policies and procedures in a way that the average reader can understand. Personally, I could completely understand and sympathize with Dr. Gram's irritation and frustration with insurance companies, and found myself chuckling several times as he described that ordeal - I have been there!
If the novel has a weakness, it would be in a lack of character development. His two main characters, Peter Gram and Leia Bines, could have a lot of depth, and I don't think they were fully fleshed out in all the ways they could be. However, I can see the potential for a series with these characters, and think they would definitely be protagonists I would be interested in reading lots of stories about.
In general, I enjoyed this novel. It kept me entertained on a rainy afternoon, and I would like to see a second novel by this author.
Finished: 10/01/09
Source: the author - thank you!
Rating: 7/10
8 comments:
This book does look good, but I can't decide if it is for me or not.
Elizabeth....This book is hoping it gets read by me in October, but the month is almost half over, so 50/50 chance now. I like a good thriller, and enjoyed your review. Others have seemed to enjoy it as well.
It sounds like this is an author to watch out for in the future. Great review!
I started reading this one, but couldn't get into it and so set it aside until I felt more in the mood. Not sure when that will be, but I'm impressed it only took you an afternoon to get through it! I will pick it up eventually, I am sure :-)
I have this book on my TBR list and read some reviews about it several months as well as I looked at the author's website.
It definitely sounds like an intriguing suspense novel and a good story. I really liked your review and you confirmed for me that this is a book I'd like to read. I'm also interested in this author's future books.
Thanks!
I like your characterization as a "rainy day book." Always good to have one of them around the house.
I liked this book and agree with most of what you said. I did think it was a good debut.
I hadn't yet heard much about this book, and I don't read a lot of suspense novels, but this one sounds kind of compelling to me. I am glad you liked it and will be considering it for a future read.
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