The Halo Effect (MIRA)

by M.J. Rose | Mystery & Thrillers |
ISBN: 0778320804 Global Overview for this book
Registered by WestofMars of Mars, Pennsylvania USA on 12/14/2010
Buy from one of these Booksellers:
Amazon.com | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Bol.com
3 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by WestofMars from Mars, Pennsylvania USA on Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Renowned sex therapist Morgan Snow is treating high-class prostitute Cleo Thane. After Cleo delivers a tell-all manuscript to Morgan, she disappears. Now Morgan and Detective Noah Jordain must use the manuscript to catch a killer.

***
I have to say, I was into this until Morgan made a decision that was so unprofessional, I couldn't stand it. That's when I put the book down and reached for another. Which is sad, since I picked it up to RABCK to Mellion108, to say thanks for sending me a RABCK. I hope she likes it more than I did.

Journal Entry 2 by mellion108 at Bloomfield Hills, Michigan USA on Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wow, thanks, WestofMars! LOL, yes, turnabout RABCKs are fair play. ;-)

I usually like Rose's books. I'll post back later once I've read this to let you know what I think.

Thanks also for the the bookmarks! You rock!
Paperback, 338 pages

From the back cover:
As one of New York's top sex therapists, Dr. Morgan Snow sees everthing from the abused to the depraved, from couples grappling with sexual boredom to twisted sociopaths with dark, erotic fetishes, and the Butterfield Insittute is the sanctuary where she helps sothe and heal these battered souls.

Cleo Thane is one of those special patients Morgan connects to immediately. A high-priced prostitute, Cleo is remarkably sensitive and unscathed, a woman desperate to reconcile her successful professioal life with her neglected personal one. And when she asks Morgan to read her unpublished tell-all book about her exclusive clientele, Morgan realizes that what she has in her hands could be explosive.

Then Cleo disappears.

Detective Noah Jordain is trying to stay one step ahead of a serial killer who has been targeting prostitutes,killing them with ritualistic precision. When a missing person's report is filed on Cleo Thane, Noah wonders if she, too, has fallen prey to the psycho's wrath. He approaches Dr. Morgan Snow for any insight on her patient, but Morgan refuses to breach patient confidentiality. Instead she begins her own investigation into Cleo's disappearance.

Certain that the answers lie in the manuscript that Cleo has entrusted her with, Morgan delves into the private confessions of a woman paid to act out the sexual fantasies of some of the city's most powerful men. But she is shocked by how much the intimate sexual details of another woman's life affect her own. Too late she relizes she's ventured into dangerous—even deadly—territory.

Journal Entry 3 by mellion108 at Bloomfield Hills, Michigan USA on Monday, July 4, 2011
Although I think I liked this more than WestofMars liked it, I can still only give it a midddle-of-the-road rating. I finished the book and found elements of it interesting, but I, too, was so put off by "Dr." Snow's actions that I doubt I'll be able to read another in this Butterfield Institute series.

I like a lot of the secondary characters much more than I liked the Snow character. She's not very complex, at least at this stage of the series. I like the killer and the plot involving the ritualistic murders was intriguing. However, this isn't a deep thinking whodunit—the reader can pretty quickly figure out where this one is going.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!! (Highlight to reveal)
I found it quite ironic that Dr. Snow was so committed to professional ethics that she would not share confidential patient information but would intrude on her patient's personal outside-of-therapy life by pretending to be another high-priced hooker getting to know some of Cleo's clients. This plot turn is so ridiculous and just seemed to be thrown in to further underscore that Dr. Snow has had a long dry spell in her own sex life. It never rang true for me and actually made me uncomfortable. Physician, heal thyself!END SPOILERS

Anyway, I didn't hate the book but I didn't love it. I've read a couple of Rose's other books and liked those so I'll give her another chance but I'll probably skip future Dr. Morgan Snow books.

pauojeda54 chose this from the First Sentences VBB from the Forums, and I should have this in the mail to Mexico in the next week or so. It will be interesting to see what future readers think of this book.

Journal Entry 4 by rem_EXY-666957 at Monterrey, Nuevo León Mexico on Thursday, July 21, 2011
Recieved this from mellion108 for the First Sentences VBB :)

Are you sure you want to delete this item? It cannot be undone.