Nate Rodriquez is a sketch artist for the NYPD. He can read
faces and draw them as accurately as if he had known the
person his whole life. With his talent, he has been asked to
join forces with Detective Terry Russo to solve a series of
murders involving another sketch artist. This particular
artist is a serial killer who is very proud of his calling
card and the fact that he can manipulate people's minds by
changing his style. But can he change it enough to frame
Nate for the murders?
With no witnesses to any of the murders, how can Nate draw a
sketch of the killer, before the hammer comes down on him?
Trying to beat the clock, Nate must make features of an
unknown killer appear on paper through only the innuendos of
people close by the scene and images that appear in his own
mind. Can he create a real life like portrait of a killer or
just build a fantasy to cover his butt? Will his talent be
able to save him in time to avoid going to prison? And more
importantly, can he get Terry to trust that he is not the
killer when all the evidence points in his direction?
Not fair -- some people get all of the talent! Jonathan
Santlofer is the perfect example. Here is an exceptional
author of thriller mysteries, and an equally brilliant
artist to boot. I was not sure what to be more impressed
with, his sizzling story telling or his magnificent
depictions of the characters in the book! It was the first
book of multiplicity for the senses I have ever had the
pleasure to experience. More than just a great book -- it was
an impressive encounter with a multitalented person.
NYPD sketch artist Nate Rodriguez possesses a remarkable
gift. From the smallest clues—an off-hand comment, a brief
flash of fear in a victim's eyes—he is able to create an
uncanny likeness of the assailant. Now Detective Terri Russo
needs his help to solve a particularly shocking series of
murders, perpetrated by a psychopath who enjoys drawing
pictures of his crimes before committing them. Nate is being
asked to enter the dark, twisted mind of a monster—to
re-create a face that no one has lived to identify. But as a
portrait slowly begins taking shape in Nate's mind and on
the page, an electrifying game of cat and mouse reaches an
unexpected new level—as a brilliant killer uses his own
unique talents to turn the investigation in a terrifying new
direction...
A breathtakingly original novel of
suspense, Jonathan Santlofer's Anatomy of Fear mixes
prose and pictures to create a story that burns its way into
the brain and brilliantly revitalizes the crime fiction
genre.