Dissociated States

by Leonard Simon

Two psychiatrists, a husband and wife, discover they are treating the same schizophrenic patient, a manipulative killer who draws the couple into a nightmare of deceit and brutality that threatens their lives. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery

Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Melissa Lee-Tammeus]

Clearly, this book was sitting on my shelf for way too long. This is a fiction book about a man with MPD (that was my first clue) and it is sensationalized to the point where anyone with DID (the new term) is dangerous and is clearly on trial for something. This book is definitely a sign of the times in which it was written - 1994 - in which MPD was all the rage and everyone and their brother had it. It is written by a psychoanalyst who is trying his hand at fiction. I was intrigued by this book but also loathed it - I find DID incredibly fascinating, but the two main characters - a husband and wife team of psychoanalysts who get caught up in a client's killing spree - are annoying and self indulgent. And the fact that the person with DID - who I am not sure we are supposed to believe he actually had it or not - gets blown away by a gun after stereotypically killing many people at the end and everyone celebrates makes me glad that we have learned much much more in the 15+ years since this book was written.

[James Nova]

I think the author did not take time to fully develop his characters, otherwise an engaging read

[Zoë]

Wow that was boring. The cover boasted "A terror to rival The Silence of The Lambs". The only terror was the misrepresentation of DID, but I guess that was to be expected from a book written in 1993.

[Leslie]

Not quite as "psychological" as I expected, but this book kept my interest and kept me turning pages. Just one more chapter! The end came very quickly and somewhat predictably.

[Kynthia]

Fun to read for the second time. Fast paced, thrilling and surprise ending.