The Analyst
Penzler Pick,February 2002:This thriller from the author ofHart's Waris addictive.  Analyst Dr. Frederick Starks has just turned 53 and, on his birthday, receives a  letter informing him that he has ruined the letter-writer's life and now his own  life is about to be ruined.Starks must solve a riddle, he is told. He must find out whose life he ruined  within two weeks. If he does not, he must kill himself. If he does not kill  himself, then those nearest and dearest to him will be killed. The letter is  signed, Rumpelstiltskin. At first Starks is dismissive--but he does call  relatives to see that they are all right. Not all of them are. In fact Starks is  convinced that the letter writer is deadly serious when he discovers how the  birthday of his 14-year-old great-niece was ruined. He must now engage in the  game or be responsible for the lives of others.While he works frantically to try and unlock the past and find whose life he  could possibly have ruined, Rumpelstiltskin is also busy. Within hours of  receiving that first shattering letter, one of Dr. Starks's patients throws  himself under a subway train, though Starks knows the patient was not suicidal.When the police tell him that a couple and a homeless woman saw the man jump,  Starks tries to find them. He finds only the homeless woman, who tells him that  she was given money by the couple to tell what she witnessed. Starks is certain  that Rumpelstiltskin must be one of the couple, but he's wrong. It's even more  sinister than that, and when he meets the accomplices, he realizes that his  adversary has been planning his revenge for years.Soon, Starks's life is spiraling downward. There is nothing hidden from  Rumpelstiltskin. His credit cards, his bank accounts, his patients, his homes in  Manhattan and in Massachusetts, his reputation--nothing and no one is safe as  Starks races against time as his world shrinks and his options run out. The  clock is ticking as he hunts a ruthless psychopath who always seems to be one  step ahead of him. As Starks tries to figure out what to do besides react to his  life spinning out of control, he uses his training, his dwindling resources, and  every weapon available to him to combat this relentless and deadly foe.--Otto Penzler--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.