Brilliant Prey by Brenda Wallace

Book Blurb:

Even a genius can be played for a pawn by a cunning and deadly manipulator.

Lauren James is a former psychiatrist, still reeling from her husband's suicide and the subsequent miscarriage that swept away her tidy life the year before. On the anniversary of his death, she opens what she 

hopes to be a "Welcome to Mensa" envelope and pulls out a threatening puzzle along with the identical suicide note she had burned the previous year.

Unraveling the twisted clues, Lauren embarks on a harrowing journey drawn in by a child's neglected grave, a professor from the island of St. Croix, and a U.S. Supreme Court nominee.

When Lauren discovers the reason behind her husband's shocking death, she must struggle with her deepest convictions and whether killing is acceptable if it saves more lives.

My review:

Warning. This is a very disturbing novel, with heavy emphasis on sexual abuse of children. That can be a tough subject for many readers so I just wanted to put that out there first.

This is a psychological thriller in every sense of the term. Lauren James lost her husband to suicide a year ago and miscarriage her much wanted child shortly after that. Still attempting to come to grips with her grief and why she didn't see his suicide coming, she decides to take the MENSA test. When she passes she begins receiving strange puzzles in the mail, indicating someone else will die soon.

She then begins a journey of horrific discoveries that threaten her own sanity as she works to solve the puzzles in time. Along the way she meets two men, both of whom rouse feelings of attraction which she thought would be forever dormant.

Although this book felt just a little choppy in parts, and there was no way I'd ever figure out any of the puzzles (and don't quite understand how she solved the majority of them), this was a book that left me thinking about it long after I finished it. To me, that is a great book.

Do you like psychological thrillers? What are some of your favorites?

About the author - Brenda says:

Welcome. You probably came here to look at books. I am also a voracious reader and the author of the mystery thriller Brilliant Prey and two more books coming soon. I have scrutinized thousands of psychiatric and psychological case studies in my work as a staff attorney and draw from those mental patterns and a former private practice for plot twists and character quirks.

I am happy to be a member of the Oklahoma Outlaws writing group, Sisters in Crime, Mensa, and the National Romance Writers of America. Brilliant Prey is available to read on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and almost every conceivable electronic reading device at Smashwords. Amazon also has free applications which allows you to use your iPhone as an electronic reader or you can easily download the book onto your computer by just clicking the Kindle to PC button on Amazon. 

If you'd like to know more, or contact Brenda, you can check out Brenda's website.