Dr. Hannah Bryers, a professor of forensic anthropology is very good at what she does. She is in her element when examining human remains. However, her social skills are a bit lacking. Actually, they are almost non-existent. World-renowned and famous for solving cases, she attracts many students. She is on track for tenure when her orderly life begins to implode. Murders and a horrific lab accident force her to take matters into her own hands. She is a woman who deals with facts. Will this help her to find out who has the motive to bring chaos into her life?
THE PROTÉGÉ by Jody Gehrman is told in two voices: Hannah's and Winter Jones's, her teaching assistant. Gehrman has crafted a well-paced psychological thriller with intriguing characters whose end games are very different. Among the eclectic secondary characters, there are several suspects and some surprising relationships develop. Revenge and vengeance come into play as the story reaches a surprising conclusion.
Engrossing from start to finish, THE PROTÉGÉ is well worth reading. Highly recommended.
Jody Gehrman pits the drive for revenge against the equally vital will to survive, in this chilling psychological suspense novel in the vein of Samantha Downing and Layne Fargo.
Dr. Hannah Bryers, anthropology professor and forensics expert at the prestigious Mad River University, takes pleasure in examining corpses, but small talk and living people fill her with dread. When she’s not teaching, she analyzes the decomposing flesh of murder victims around the globe.
Winter Jones is Hannah’s most promising graduate student. She’s smart, cunning, and dedicated, but she’s got her own agenda for coming to Mad River: to bring Hannah Bryers down. She’ll stop at nothing to make her life implode. In alternating narratives, Winter systematically robs Hannah of the things she values most: her reputation, her job, and—ultimately—her safety.
When dangerous mistakes are made in her lab, Hannah has no idea who would have it out for her and would be willing to risk students’ lives. As the incidents become deadly, many suspects come to light. Hannah won’t go down without a fight. She has to figure out who is sabotaging her career and killing people; her life depends on finding answers.