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BookBrowse Reviews Death of a Thousand Cuts by Barbara D'Amato

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Death of a Thousand Cuts by Barbara D'Amato

Death of a Thousand Cuts

by Barbara D'Amato
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  • First Published:
  • Jun 1, 2004, 336 pages
  • Paperback:
  • May 2006, 400 pages
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An ingenious suspense procedural

From the book jacket: The former residents of The Hawthorne House School for the Treatment of Autistic Children attend the first-ever reunion 15 years after the school closes, but events turn into a bloody nightmare when the school's founder, Dr Schermerhorn, is found tortured to death in the basement.

Comment: Set in Chicago during the heatwave of 1995, D'Amato's new stand-alone thriller draws the reader into the world of autistic children and adults. 

In essence this is a fairly standard police procedural but, to my mind, the setting, complex characters and issues that the book raises set it way above the average, although the mystery of who committed the murder is fairly easy to detect.

"Wry humor and characters with real depth help propel the plot to its poignant conclusion. As the further reading list in her author's note suggests, D'Amato has thoroughly researched her subject, raising some strong arguments against Freudian theory and practice that reflect the current debate over Freud in the psychiatric community." - Publishers Weekly.

This review first ran in the May 3, 2006 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.

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