The Confession (Domenic Stansberry, 2004)

I'm not entirely sure about this one, to be honest. It's about this forensic psychologist asshole, ex-playboy now richly married, who gets framed for the murder of his mistress and tries to prove his innocence. No, wait a minute! Things may not be so simple and straightforward. Maybe he wasn't framed after all, maybe his confession is just a deliberate mind fuck used to convince the jury (=readers). But can they (we) trust/believe him since he suffers from some amnesia, causing mental sickness?!? I think not, mainly because his previous wife had also died in suspicious circumstances, and besides that, there are some other similar and unsolved crimes mentioned.

And you too did see it coming, didn't you? It's not immediately apparent at first. But the whole thing just doesn't move anywhere, and soon you realise that the entire point of this novel is (will be) the shocking (?) final twist. Don't get me wrong - it's interesting enough and not boring at all as there's a bunch of interesting characters ranging from shady private investigators and gamblers to not-so-straight district attorney and defence lawyer. However, the trouble is that they don't really contribute to the story, and as a result, the suspense doesn't build up sufficiently. It takes a bit too long to really take off the ground (part 3 - titled Murder - starts on page 80!) and then too soon loses its sharpness. The second half contains much too much psychological crap, and the narration could surely use more dialogue.

It does have a few cool things I'll remember this by. It's written exceptionally well and manages to create a very sinister and unsettling atmosphere. Also succeeds in describing police and court procedures in great detail, so the author sure did his homework in the research department! What I liked the most was that all the characters are, more or less, unsympathetic assholes. Brave decision, and somehow I don't think Mr Stansberry will get many offers from Hollywood for adapting this one to the big screen. Our main protagonist cheats his wife (and - for fuck's sake - wears a pony tail!), his wife cheats him (bitch even tries to shoot him!), and his mistress cheats her fiancé. P.I. involved is willing to bend the rules, and let's not even start about that blackmailing gambler snake. But the best character (unfortunately also the most underused in my opinion) is his defence lawyer, Jamie. Manipulating bitch is a living proof why people hate layers!

All in all, it's an interesting read. Perhaps a bit too ambitious and occasionally a little pretentious, striving too hard to be original.

3.5/5

Facts:

Hero:
Jake Danser, forensic psychologist

Location:
California Hills

Body count: 
3 + another one in an unrelated (?) case

Dames: 
Elizabeth, the wife. Sara, the mistress. Jamie, the lawyer. The latter one is not really a dame in the right sense of the word, but is mentioned nevertheless because she's the best character in the book.

Blackouts: 
Our hero suffers from Hayes Syndrome. Or Blackout Syndrome, as it is more commonly known. But although this is supposed to be one of the significant plot vehicles, he doesn't really blackout that often.

Title: 
Spot on, as the whole book is written as a confession.

Cover:
Sara is strangled with a necktie, so no objects there. However, the illustration is somewhat sloppy. The victim's face does not appear terrified enough, and the colours are off. Especially its purple/orange background and blue hands holding a necktie.

Cool lines:  
I could guess what he was thinking. My background matched the FBI profile for certain kinds of criminals. So did that of a lot of other people though. President Clinton, for example. Martin Luther King.