"Phantom Limb"

Formerly a Hollywood screenwriter (My Favorite Year; Welcome Back, Kotter, etc.), Dennis Palumbo is now a licensed psychotherapist and author. His mystery fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, The Strand and elsewhere, and is collected in From Crime to Crime (Tallfellow Press). His acclaimed series of crime novels (Mirror Image, Fever Dream, Night Terrors and the latest, Phantom Limb) feature psychologist Daniel Rinaldi, a trauma expert who consults with the Pittsburgh Police.

Palumbo applied the Page 69 Test to Phantom Limb and reported the following:

In the hardcover edition of Phantom Limb, a reader perusing Page 69 would indeed find some of the elements that make up a Daniel Rinaldi thriller. It’s the chilling climax of an abortive ransom delivery, and gives a good picture of Rinaldi’s reaction when thwarted or frustrated. We also see an example of his difficult relationship with the Pittsburgh Police, as well as Rinaldi’s concern for crime victims. Lastly, there’s a foreshadowing of further trouble at the bottom of the page that helps build suspense. Since I strive for both well-rounded characterizations as well as thrills in these books, this page, as luck would have it, offers the reader both.

Learn more about the book and author at Dennis Palumbo's website.

My Book, The Movie: Night Terrors.

Writers Read: Dennis Palumbo (May 2013).

--Marshal Zeringue