From Publishers Weekly
Things have never been easy for Molly Burke: the trauma nurse and part-time death investigator who previously appeared in Dreyer's Bad Medicine suffered through a loveless childhood and post-traumatic stress from a tour as a nurse in Vietnam. She married twice, but despite four pregnancies she has no living children. At Grace Hospital, "the primary gun and knife club in St. Louis," she often must treat children who have sustained suspicious injuries; though she always spots the child abuse hidden in these cases, she's frequently helpless to save the child. Her dog is her best friend, while her human associates include the handsome and smarmy lawyer who filed a lawsuit that cost Molly a job; a sweet but slightly needy elderly neighbor; and a coterie of colleagues who often voice their affection for Molly through insults. Then there's Molly's 16-year-old rich-kid nephew, whom she hasn't seen for years. He moves in with her after dropping by to steal some priceless works of art from the Burke family estate, where the disinherited Molly is "allowed to live... on sufferance." Against this dreary backdrop, Molly begins receiving threatening notes and special deliveries of human body parts, such as a thigh bone inscribed in gold. The reader learns that these creepy gifts are likely totems of a serial killer's affection, and now Molly must figure out who he is. Dreyer makes her heroine put up with far too much, but Molly perseveres in a chilling chase to find the killer before he strikes again. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Book Description
Molly Burke is a death investigator and trauma nurse for the city of St. Louis who has seen every type of atrocity and more than her share of heartbreak. And she knows that no good deed goes unpunished. For years she tried to save the abused children who came through her ER. She's learned that she can save some kids, but others will be lost to their horrific families. Now, a child she once tried to save is all grown up. His life has been unspeakable. His deeds are now unfathomable. And he wants Molly's attention. A killer has been created and he will stop at nothing to make sure Molly Burke won't ignore him now. To make matters even more complicated, Molly's brother asks her to watch his sixteen-year-old son, who seems to have left a string of "incidents" in his wake, forcing her to face the fact that no family is without its secrets. Breathtaking, tightly plotted, and compelling, Head Games is a tour-de-force thriller that looks into the depths of the human heart and mind.
From the Inside Flap
Eileen Dreyer takes you into the dark corners and intense moments of the worlds she knows best: the ER and the Office of the Medical Examiner in St. Louis.
Eileen Dreyer is...
"Smart, provocative." ---Tami Hoag
"Turbocharged...Top-drawer." ---Kirkus Reviews
"The next big thing in crime fiction." ---Keith Ablow
From the Back Cover
Praise for Eileen Dreyer and With a Vengeance
"Fast plotting, thorough research, and a swaggering-cop¿a complex, conflicted heroine, defiantly macho and yet so scarred by family violence that she refuses to use a gun even when doing so could save the lives of those she loves."
---Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Retribution, fear, and betrayal are at the heart of this intriguing novel. The hospital emergency room is drawn with frightening reality, and the ease with which a staff member can move unseen through trauma rooms to deliver fatal doses to chosen victims may instill deep fear in readers. Brightly written and with a smart but vulnerable heroine, this first appearance of Maggie O'Brien is surely not the last."
---Dallas Morning News
"Turbocharged thriller¿nonstop action and a tough babe with a heart. Top-drawer."
---Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Fans of Tess Gerritsen will enjoy."
---Library Journal
"A first-rate action-packed¿thriller."
---Midwest Book Review
"Dreyer fashions unique and memorable characters, which is her greatest strength¿will offer something to every reader. As with all of Eileen Dreyer's books, this is another keeper."
---The Mystery Reader
"With a Vengeance is replete with ambivalent characters, St. Louis's landmarks, and a challenging, intricate plot. Dreyer describes O'Brien's travails with relentless intensity, seldom pausing between assorted shootouts, violent interludes, and hostage stalemates. She ratchets up the drama to an impossibly high level, then ends with a remarkable flourish."
---St. Louis Post Dispatch
About the Author
Eileen Dreyer spent sixteen years as a trauma nurse before she turned to writing. Having worked in two of the busiest ERs in St. Louis County, she is also trained in medico/legal death investigation, forensic nursing, and Tactical EMS for SWAT teams.An Anthony Award nominee, she lives in St. Louis with her husband and two children.
Head Games FROM THE PUBLISHER
Molly Burke is a death investigator and trauma nurse for the city of St. Louis who has seen every type of atrocity and more than her share of heartbreak. And she knows that no good deed goes unpunished. For years she tried to save the abused children who came through her ER. She's learned that she can save some kids, but others will be lost to their horrific families. Now a child she once tried to save is all grown up. His life has been unspeakable. His deeds are now unfathomable. And he wants Molly's attention. A killer has been created and he will stop at nothing to make sure Molly Burke won't ignore him now. To make matters even more complicated, Molly's brother asks her to watch his sixteen-year-old son, who seems to have left a string of "incidents" in his wake, forcing her to face the fact that no family is without its secrets.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Things have never been easy for Molly Burke: the trauma nurse and part-time death investigator who previously appeared in Dreyer's Bad Medicine suffered through a loveless childhood and post-traumatic stress from a tour as a nurse in Vietnam. She married twice, but despite four pregnancies she has no living children. At Grace Hospital, "the primary gun and knife club in St. Louis," she often must treat children who have sustained suspicious injuries; though she always spots the child abuse hidden in these cases, she's frequently helpless to save the child. Her dog is her best friend, while her human associates include the handsome and smarmy lawyer who filed a lawsuit that cost Molly a job; a sweet but slightly needy elderly neighbor; and a coterie of colleagues who often voice their affection for Molly through insults. Then there's Molly's 16-year-old rich-kid nephew, whom she hasn't seen for years. He moves in with her after dropping by to steal some priceless works of art from the Burke family estate, where the disinherited Molly is "allowed to live... on sufferance." Against this dreary backdrop, Molly begins receiving threatening notes and special deliveries of human body parts, such as a thigh bone inscribed in gold. The reader learns that these creepy gifts are likely totems of a serial killer's affection, and now Molly must figure out who he is. Dreyer makes her heroine put up with far too much, but Molly perseveres in a chilling chase to find the killer before he strikes again. Four-city author tour. (Mar.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Nurse versus psycho, in a third hardcover by Dreyer (a.k.a. Kathleen Korbel). Molly Burke isn't just any nurse: she's an ER trauma nurse and a death investigator for the city of St. Louis. Single, disowned by her patrician parents after her long-ago stint in Vietnam, she talks tough, has a heart of gold, and never sleeps through a Code Blue. Homicides, flatliners, abused kids, even a knife-wielding schizophrenic hiding a premature newborn in her raincoat pocket are all in a day's work for hyperactive, Mylanta-swigging Molly, who has a quip for every horror and a culturally diverse assortment of pals to help her out, drawing on their carefully varied ethnic backgrounds for quips of their own. (Most of the dialogue consists of side-of-the-mouth, hardboiled one-liners, and Dreyer relies all too often on the prose equivalent of a television cliche: the adrenalin-pumped tracking shot through institutional corridors, complete with inert victim amid shouting cops and docs, weary and cynical but giving their all for justice, truth, and honor.) Gee whiz, Molly is just trying to make a living-but tell that to her stuck-up, successful brother and his ice-queen wife, who are off in China doing something of global importance while their sullen teenage son tries to steal priceless knickknacks. Molly lets the kid stay with her, warning him to mend his ways, but does she ever have other problems. Somebody's throwing gift-boxed body parts (bones, eyeballs) into her yard. Who? Not the love interest, a handsome, wisecracking lawyer. He sends roses. Ah, hell-the sleazy local news station is going public with the story, and the evidence-including notes from an anonymous sicko between chapters-seems to pointto a serial killer with a long, sad history of vicious childhood abuse. Did busy Molly lose track of a battered kid-and did he grow up to be St. Louis's answer to Jeffrey Dahmer? Film at eleven. Way too many jokes and not enough suspense in an otherwise solid thriller with a twist, though With a Vengeance (2002) was better.
Art & Photography
Book Info
