Thursday, August 6, 2020

Book review - In Case of Emergency; E.G. Scott

Dutton - 2020

Charlotte was once a brilliant neurosurgeon but, after one surgery went terribly wrong, she now has an acupuncture practice in Long Island, NY, where she works along with her friend Rachel. Charlotte is also involved in an online support group for trauma survivors.  If things have not been bad enough for her, she also has a strained relationship with her mother and a missing boyfriend, Peter, who she met online and hasn't heard from in a while.

When she gets a call from the police asking her to come to the station to identify a body in a suspicious death case, she thinks maybe it's Peter but, it's a woman who she doesn't seem to know. The deceased woman carried an "In Case of Emergency" card that lead police to Charlotte after her name and number appeared on the card. Now Charlotte becomes a suspect in a murder investigation as the police aren't sure she's being truthful.

This was a near perfect psych thriller that kept me turning those pages. Charlotte is one hot mess; her past, her insecurities and anxiety make her an interesting character for this kind of story. There are two police detectives, Wolcott and Silvestri which were great additions to the story as well; a dynamic duo of good cop bad cop.  A great story with a surprising ending and even though I felt there were a few minor plot elements that didn't feel right, it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story.

Rating - 4.5/5 stars

25 comments:

  1. Your review makes me want to find a copy of this! I'm wondering why someone Charlotte didn't know would have her name on an "In Case of Emergency" card, and want to find out how the story undolds.

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  2. Hot mess protags are my thing during this pandemic.

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  3. That sounds really good, we may have to fetch that one.

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  4. From neurosurgeon to acupuncturist, oh boy. This sounds like a great read. I like the hot clue of the In Case of Emergency Card.

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    1. It was a great read during these difficult times...great escape.

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  5. You mentioned this one before didn't you? Or maybe someone else did. I put it on my 'to be looked at and decide if you want to try it' list. Think I'll keep it there as I like your thoughts on it. A debut novel?

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    1. I did mention it previously and, no Kay, not a debut, her second book I believe. I didn't read the first one yet.

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  6. I’m glad you enjoyed it, thanks for sharing your thoughts

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  7. Diane, I'm glad that you enjoyed this "near perfect psych thriller". :)

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  8. I see you've rated this one a 4.5 book, Diane. Just curious...what do you do with 1/2-star ratings when you rate them on a site that does not accept half-stars? I tend to round upward in all cases except for taaking a 4 1/2 star book all the way to a 5.

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    1. Sam, it depends usually a 4.5 gets a 4 star rating from me on GoodReads or Amazon (some exceptions) but, a 2.5 generally gets only a 2 star rating as it was clearly a book I probably struggled with.

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  9. This sounds really good. I do enjoy psychological thrillers but sometimes they start to get a bit repetitive so when there's one that may be "near perfect" I have to read it!

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  10. This does sound good! Another psychological thriller to add to the list!

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    1. Greg, I'm finding psych thrillers and pandemic work well together LOL

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  11. "Near perfect?" I'm in! I hadn't heard of this one before, but now I'm keen to check it out. Thanks for the heads-up!

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    1. I do love when I find something that can take my mind off the pandemic - this did that.

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  12. Oh, this does sound good! Thanks for the heads up!

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  13. I thought I had O.D'd on thrillers, but reading the description of this book and your review makes me think I am ready to read one again so thank you!

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