Portrait of the Psychopath as a Young Woman

Rating:
Summary: A bloody addition to the perils of casual niteclub liaisons
Review: "Portrait" has many things going for it; deep and likeable characterizations, intense suspense, unfathomable torture, unbearable suffering, unspeakable acts of mutilation, bloody kisses and homicidal mania.....and buried in all of this is a rather beautiful love story.

Kathleen Shade is a writer, producing an "Answers" column for a modern woman's magazine, mostly consisting of women writing in with their love woes and misadventures. While her writing is tough and no-nonsense, Kathleen is a scarred and insecure soul, fixed into a daily ritual that both calms and annoys her. Until the day she opens her mail and finds a grisly morsel within, along with a fan letter asking her "Would you like to write my story?"

Kathleen goes to the police with the ghastly evidence and macabre letter, and her case is assigned to Lt. Jeffrey Spence, a man hardened and insensate from his own inability to love not only those who have cared for him, but also himself. In his questioning of Kathleen, he is predatory and ruthless, peeling away all of her layers of privacy and exposing her painful past while attacking her fragile sense of self-worth. He uncovers the scars left on her psyche from years of sexual abuse from her own uncle, loosening her tenuous hold on her own lucidity.

Though Kathleen is a virtual well of emotions, and Spence a virtual void; veritably opposite poles of empty souls, I found myself liking each character immediately, so well fleshed out were they at the very beginning of this story. After tossing empty threats at each other during her interview, Spence gives Kathleen a dire warning to notify him immediately if she receives any more mail, either letters or body parts, from her newest fan.

When Kathleen appears for a speaking engagement, she meets a poet named Maxwell Platt, who was the speaker before her. Her mind is in a whirl after another confrontation with Spence, and they go out for drinks where she proceeds to get drunk. Finding herself at Platt's apartment, she decides to up the level of intimacy with him and sleeps with him.

Platt came across as a man who was overly mellow and a mild push-over; a man too placid to be of interest under normal circumstances. But with Lee & Steffen's amazing ability to flesh out the characters in this book, I actually found myself caring deeply for a person who in real life I would normally overlook. His easy going manner against Kathleen's often harsh behavior, his acceptance of her nervous and tactless mannerisms, only made him a more likeable character rather than sinking him into the role of pansy. Lee & Steffen managed to make this character strong in his gentleness.

Our killer, meanwhile, is very busy. She has more letters to write to Kathleen, and needs the subjects in which to tell her tales. She finds her victims by cruising the bars, and picking up the most hateful men you can imagine. I'm not talking bad looking or anything like that, I am talking about men who are truly hateful human beings. The authors delve into these personalities also, despicable men with callous and brutal thoughts that under normal circumstances you would love to see tortured. It is almost unimaginable that you will find yourself feeling sorry for these pathetic excuses for men; but trust me, you will.

So brutal is our psychopath, so thorough and devoid of empathy as she literally tears the men apart, making sure that they remain conscious as long as possible in order that they feel the punishment she metes out to them, you will actually pity the monsters being tortured. Of course, there is also a great deal of empathy for our lovely psychopath herself as she unwinds her story in the letters to Kathleen Shade; commentaries on the most brutal, horrific sexual and physical abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of both strangers and her own parents.

Life is a snake pit, especially when you can find yourself feeling compassion towards the sickest of the human collective. Pay particular attention to the psychopath's letter to Kathleen entitled "Manburger", where one of the most vile of men meets an extensively gruesome ending at under the tender administrations of an authentic, veritable psychopath.

This book has many fine points to it, amongst which is the ability to immediately identify with and like the characters despite their obvious behavior flaws; not to mention the blood and the guts and the mindless torture. And don't be afraid if you find a tender spot in your own heart for the blooming relationship between Kathleen and Platt, as I did. I found it to be a warm and human thread in an otherwise brutal story.

Do not miss out on this book! I cannot stress that enough. Lee and Steffen have truly created a monster of unfathomable proportions here, and I guarantee that your own twisted need to read the bloodiest of scenes will be utterly satisfied here; finger lickin good even. If you are not an aficionado of horror and grotesqueries, don't pick it up or you will find yourself barfing out your lunch.

Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: This horror novel is a work of art
Review: Besides from the brilliant writing, captivating plot and extremely well-written characters, this book's best feature is the amazing amount of detail and forensics knowledge displayed throughout its pages. The authors obviously have a very strong grasp of the most current investigative techniques and medical information, and the crisp clarity that knowledge lends the book makes it stand out head-and-shoulders above the rest.

However, men should be warned that they may find this book extremely uncomfortable to read. The authors spare nothing in their descriptions of the violence, and several male friends of mine refused to read it on the basis of just a one-page excerpt I read to them.

Be that as it may, I still cannot recommend this book highly enough -- it belongs on the shelf of any horror or thriller fan's library. Buy it; read it; tell someone else about it.

Rating:
Summary: Another Ed Lee shocker
Review: I am an Edward Lee fan. Although I have only read a few of his novels, the smorgasbord of unsettling violence, intense erotica, and whiplash prose make his writings enormous fun for a dedicated horror fan. The biggest problem facing a potential reader is how to acquire many of his books and short stories. Nearly all of his old mass-market efforts are out of print, many other novels and collections are available only through wallet crushing small press editions, and the subject matter of a majority of his tales virtually insures much of his work will remain in obscurity. In other words, I am an Ed Lee fan insofar as my meager funds allow. It does appear a ray of hope is about to break on the horizon: Lee now writes novels for mass market Leisure press, and a few of his earlier works are starting to reappear in slightly more affordable trade paperbacks. "Portrait of the Psychopath as a Young Woman" is one of these cheaper trade copies. You will still pay a nice chunk of change if you want to read this book, but at least you don't need to take out a second mortgage on the homestead to do so.

Written in conjunction with crime expert Elizabeth Steffen, "Portrait" tells the chilling tale of an abused woman lashing out at society. Men frequenting bars in our nation's capitol are disappearing, with their bodies turning up later in the most awful of conditions. A madman--or madwoman, as the case may be--is performing dreadful mutilations on the victims before disposing of their bodies. The only thing detectives know for sure is that the criminal has an immense knowledge of medical procedures and access to surgical equipment. A potential break in the case comes when the killer contacts a columnist for a feminist magazine by the name of Kathleen Shade. Shade, who has her own devastating history of sexual abuse at the hands of an uncle to deal with, begins receiving packages in the mail containing written accounts of the crimes committed by this murderer. These accounts--the most appalling descriptions of torture and murder imaginable--lead the tortured columnist to report her findings to the police. It is here that Shade meets the rude Lieutenant Jeffrey Spence, a beefy cop in charge of the unfolding investigation. Complicating matters is Kathleen's burgeoning relationship with Maxwell Platt, a poet she meets at a lecture hall, and the release of her abusive uncle from prison. More murders described in intricate detail and big twists and turns at the conclusion of the story bring "Portrait" to its shocking close.

It is difficult to label one Ed Lee book as more shocking and violent than any other, but "Portrait" manages to wallow in descriptions of the most taboo of human behaviors. Child abuse of the worst types, torture, and murder all appear with grotesque frequency in the pages of this book. Elizabeth Steffen must have contributed all of the psychological jargon and theories seen throughout the story since every character bears some type of mental scar from some area of their life. Shade often listens to one of those obnoxious radio psychologists in an effort to cope with her own problems. Lieutenant Spence has issues with his deceased mother and his sexuality. The killer, obviously, is a seething mass of psychopathologies who would probably benefit from two or three thousand years of intensive therapy if she wasn't so busy killing off all the male bar hoppers in a three state area. The only major character that doesn't seem bothered by his deficiencies but who probably should seek immediate help is Uncle Sammy, Kathleen's depraved abuser. I'm not going to go into specifics about what this guy does for a living, but he wasn't bothered by his crimes in the least. Sammy erases any hint of conscience by simply believing what he did in the outside world was a case of "supply and demand." Sickening.

There are a few problems with "Portrait." The authors outline Lieutenant Spence's psychological issues without really giving them any resolution. A reader soon wonders why we need to know anything at all about the man because it never fits into the larger story. Moreover, while I enjoyed the twist conclusion and never saw it coming, I thought the authors copped out with the happy fate of one of the principal characters. More problematic is the killer and her victims. On two occasions we get a chapter or two describing in depth the dregs the killer will soon dispatch. It is difficult in the extreme to feel any sort of compassion for these men. One guy in particular is such a monster that seeing him bow out of this mortal coil becomes a pleasure. It really shouldn't be this way, though, because the killer is far from an admirable person. No matter the depth of abuse faced by the killer when she was a child or how despicable her victims are, I resented empathizing with her actions.

"Portrait of the Psychopath as a Young Woman" will give you everything you expect from an Ed Lee extravaganza, but it isn't his best effort. Look instead to "The Bighead," "Teratologist," or his short story collection "The Ushers" for the best that Ed can be. Fans of the man will want to eventually read this story, but all others should start somewhere else and work their way to this place in increments. In fact, start with "City Infernal." That novel is a more restrained, more accessible work targeted at a mass audience. Once you get through that one, then you might be ready to dive into the depths of despair found here and in his darker works.

Rating:
Summary: More Frustrating Than Terrifying
Review: I bought this book as a guilty pleasure hoping that I would expose my mind to images and ideas so unsettling and shocking that the memory of the story would stay with me like a stain on my soul. That's what the other reviews suggested would happen, as well as the back of the book. Indeed, the first account of the young lady torturing and killing her helpless male victim was slightly unsettling, and I revised my expectations for the book from a soul stainer to more of an opportunity to dig that cellar in my mind I have always wanted. What really began to derail the story, however, was when I met the other characters in the book who are drawn into the world of the killer.

In addition to the characters being dull and unbelievable, the dialog was laughable and ridiculous. For example, Kathleen, one of three "good guy" characters in the book is having a drink with Platt, another good guy, who is also a poet, and the conversation includes the following exchange: "'I've written better,' Platt said, 'and I've written worse, a lot worse. Poetry's weird; it never succeeds unless the poet realizes its utter failure.'[to which Kathleen replies]'That sounds like something a poet would say.' [...] 'I guess none of us succeed as real people,' she theorized, 'unless we realize all our own failures.'" Others may like this kind of stuff; I didn't. Unfortunately, it is these three characters' experiences (the third character is the obligatory hard boiled cop who is on the trail of the killer) that take up almost all of the book. Of the book's 287 pages, only 53 of them contain descriptions of the actual tortures and murders.

The killer thankfully doesn't have much to say other than her internal monologue describing how she feels as she tortures and dismembers her victims. One recurrent device in the book is the detailed description of the instruments being used to torture and kill her victims. It's like Tom Clancy writing about torture and murder. It's okay at first, but after hearing about "Bruns serrated plaster shears" several times, it would be no less scary to just describe them as "the shears". Don't get me wrong, there are a couple of scenes that are disturbing, but it is basically the same scene over and over: she captures an idiot male who deserves to die, she tortures him while he is awake by sewing his lips shut, gluing his eyes closed, sticking needles in his ears and other places, then cutting off body parts. Pretty disturbing, but only the first couple of times. After that, I felt like I had already read that part of the book and wanted something different. Not necessarily something worse, but just something to keep my interest and move the story forward.

There were a few misspellings in the book. There were many grammatical errors. There was information about the characters that didn't seem relevant. For example, the cop's homosexuality added nothing to the story, but the way it was presented suggested that it was relevant to something that would happen later in the story. It wasn't.

This book cost about $20, and I was hoping to obtain for myself a twisted and sick literary jewel that I could enjoy from time to time when I wanted to really offend my sense of decency. What I got was a poorly edited book with dull characters and a clunky plot. I may check out another of Lee's work to see if he is any better when he works alone rather than with Elizabeth Steffen.

If I were asked for constructive criticism, I would say to make the characters either truly hip and cool, or make them completely outside of society, but somewhere in between is boring. Focus less on the hardware used to torture and kill people, and focus more on other details that are just as morbidly fascinating such as the sounds of bones breaking, the smells in the air, and just paint a little more detailed picture in general of these gruesome episodes. Find an editor who can help with the dialog, or use a lot less of it. Spell and grammar check thoroughly. Read and re-read to make sure that it is technically sound. The outline of this story is good, and parts of the execution are good, but I am not a professional and I could go through this book with a red pen and in about 12 hours I could improve it tremendously by correcting the spelling and grammar problems, and tweaking the dialog to make it a little less dumb. I'm surprised that someone didn't do this before the book got to me. I gave the book two stars because, as another reviewer noted, writing is hard, and I appreciate writers who are exploring such taboo and twisted subject matter. But if the gory subject matter were removed, the glaring flaws with this book would be very obvious. The fact that it deals with torture and murder serves to hide many of these flaws because the book is so shocking to some people. As I read the book, however, I became more and more exhausted trying to maintain the illusion of the story while trying to overlook problem after problem in the way the book was put together. This old saying crossed my mind often as I read the book: easy to write, hard to read.


Rating:
Summary: This book did not shock me, but the writing was poor.
Review: I know since everyone else gave this book 5 stars and I'm given it 1, I'm going to get a lot of unhelpful votes, but be that as it may, I feel like I should offer my opinion on this book. By the way, this book did not shock or "horrify" me.

The back cover of it sounding pretty good, but upon reading and completing the book I was extremely disappointed. This book is filled with ridiculously trite cliches, and the writing is simply abominable. I think this book is trying to make a hero of the killer, because all the men she kills and tortures are complete and utter slime. I find it interesting that she never once happened to take home a genuinely nice guy, that all the charming men she picks up in the bars all happen to turn out to be scum-of-the-world evil.

Aside from that, we have our usual cast of idiots. The flaky poet type is lampooned, the feminist woman who's the victim of a child molester who is typically paint-by-numbers, another atypical molestation victim who calls out for "Daddy" every two seconds, and a tough, gritty cop. Why is it that every book that has a girl molested by her father must repeat the phrase "Daddy" incessantly? It's a cheap, mawkish, and maudlin way to underscore the idea of innocence lost.

The book tries to put a spin on the tough-as-nails cop by making him gay, but this seems more like an afterthought than anything. And nothing can save the plot, which is predictable.

The writing is the worst part. Not to be mean, because I know writing is difficult, the way this book is put out and paced reminds me of an R. L. Stine book. It's a pretty immature work.

On the upside, the best character is a pimp whose character may throw you a curveball.

My recommendation is to not read this book.

Rating:
Summary: This book did not shock me, but the writing was poor.
Review: I know since everyone else gave this book 5 stars and I'm given it 1, I'm going to get a lot of unhelpful votes, but be that as it may, I feel like I should offer my opinion on this book. By the way, this book did not shock or "horrify" me.

The back cover of it sounding pretty good, but upon reading and completing the book I was extremely disappointed. This book is filled with ridiculously trite cliches, and the writing is simply abominable. I think this book is trying to make a hero of the killer, because all the men she kills and tortures are complete and utter slime. I find it interesting that she never once happened to take home a genuinely nice guy, that all the charming men she picks up in the bars all happen to turn out to be scum-of-the-world evil.

Aside from that, we have our usual cast of idiots. The flaky poet type is lampooned, the feminist woman who's the victim of a child molester who is typically paint-by-numbers, another atypical molestation victim who calls out for "Daddy" every two seconds, and a tough, gritty cop. Why is it that every book that has a girl molested by her father must repeat the phrase "Daddy" incessantly? It's a cheap, mawkish, and maudlin way to underscore the idea of innocence lost.

The book tries to put a spin on the tough-as-nails cop by making him gay, but this seems more like an afterthought than anything. And nothing can save the plot, which is predictable.

The writing is the worst part. Not to be mean, because I know writing is difficult, the way this book is put out and paced reminds me of an R. L. Stine book. It's a pretty immature work.

On the upside, the best character is a pimp whose character may throw you a curveball.

My recommendation is to not read this book.

Rating:
Summary: How Women Suceed Where Men Fail
Review: Kathleen, contributing self-help columnist of '90s Woman magazine and admired voice speaking to women everywhere, finds that life hasn't quite been what she expected. Visions of her Uncle Sammy's exploitation of her from the tender age of 9 until she was 18 have taken their toll on her psyche, and the scars, though dulled by coping mechanisms, still nest within her mind. Now, however, she feels that she has purpose, that the mail is some sort of lifeline to the outside and that she is actually accomplishing something, and that her degree in sociology is being put to good use. So, in a sense, she is happy. So what if she has a low self-image, finding herself too overweight to be loved, and so what if she's never truly experienced what she would call being enamored. Her column, it gives her something to be, something meaning, and so she has a reason to want to do something. One day, however, an event changes the way she perceives things, making Kathleen contemplate a route filled with communion with a voice that is, amongst other things, a psychopath. Yes, amongst the other mailings she's received she finds a 6 x 9 manila envelope with a letter asking her if she'd 'like to write my story' and another article, one all too human.

Haled by many to be an American Psycho without the cosmetics of apparel nametags and one that is more direct to the punchline, this book was something I looked forward to and I found intoxicating as I delved deeper and deeper into it. The book, it was exclaimed to be shocking, and some of the use of description, of crafting a character that had motivation and yet went past that to inflict oceans of pain, it was indeed that. Still, after finishing it, I found some problems in the way it had been showcased. While I do agree with the fact that this read is indeed a disturbing reach into a mind where medical utensils touch base with human organs and where revenge is a dish served by vengeful hands, I do not agree with this being another American Psycho. This isn't because I think one book is more valuable than the other, or that I found this to be lacking in some right. Instead, I say this because the work stands on its own and the book understands more of the symptomology of the affliction and not the monster itself. It looks outside the mind of the beast and addresses what the thing with the need to kill means to other people.

In Portrait of the Psychopath as a Young Woman, shock/ rather talented gore creator Edward Lee and storehouse of serial killer expertise Elizabeth Steffen team up and craft a tale of horrific deeds that focus, as the name implies, upon an attract yet insane young woman. Through expert use of description and an impressive knowledge of medical utensils, this rather attractive young woman is given a gift that speaks through tomes of blood and that wants to be heard, that needs to be heard. Still, she isn't the only persona explored within this experience. Enter our other 'main' character, Kathleen, and yet more impressively crafted characterization, her poet boyfriend and his reasons to be, the police officer that seeks to end this, and a drove of other voices that don't just 'appear' and speak. Herein is one of the main reasons I found this adventure into terror interesting because it goes past the gore and the terror and it seeks to make people out of simply notions. This, by and far, goes a long way in the progression of a tale, making people that feel like people and not like hollow things going through the prospective rounds.

Before recommending this, I feel I need to stress that this tale is a graphic piece and not one to be taken lightly. The things that the killer does with medical sheers, needles, bonesaws, and other random articles that sound painful without even being used that are quite terrible and quite wonderful to those looking for more. Here, many people would find themselves disturbed, and rightfully so. This is one of Edward Lee's talents, to make something that seethes and that seeks to maim, and Steffen is worthy of collaboration and her hands on the story can be felt. So, it has a voice and a hammer that impacts the senses. For fans of Edward's work, people looking to see what is lurks in the realms of pain, or someone simply wanting an object lesson into the motivations of a psychopath, this would be something easily recommended and highly praised. Me, I've read many things but few make me cringe and some of this one did just that. Honestly, that is commendable and most deserving of my horror-laden five stars.

Rating:
Summary: How Women Suceed Where Men Fail
Review: Kathleen, contributing self-help columnist of ???90s Woman magazine and admired voice speaking to women everywhere, finds that life hasn???t quite been what she expected. Visions of her Uncle Sammy???s exploitation of her from the tender age of 9 until she was 18 have taken their toll on her psyche, and the scars, though dulled by coping mechanisms, still nest within her mind. Now, however, she feels that she has purpose, that the mail is some sort of lifeline to the outside and that she is actually accomplishing something, and that her degree in sociology is being put to good use. So, in a sense, she is happy. So what if she has a low self-image, finding herself too overweight to be loved, and so what if she???s never truly experienced what she would call being enamored. Her column, it gives her something to be, something meaning, and so she has a reason to want to do something. One day, however, an event changes the way she perceives things, making Kathleen contemplate a route filled with communion with a voice that is, amongst other things, a psychopath. Yes, amongst the other mailings she???s received she finds a 6 x 9 manila envelope with a letter asking her if she???d ???like to write my story??? and another article, one all too human.

Haled by many to be an American Psycho without the cosmetics of apparel nametags and one that is more direct to the punchline, this book was something I looked forward to and I found intoxicating as I delved deeper and deeper into it. The book, it was exclaimed to be shocking, and some of the use of description, of crafting a character that had motivation and yet went past that to inflict oceans of pain, it was indeed that. Still, after finishing it, I found some problems in the way it had been showcased. While I do agree with the fact that this read is indeed a disturbing reach into a mind where medical utensils touch base with human organs and where revenge is a dish served by vengeful hands, I do not agree with this being another American Psycho. This isn???t because I think one book is more valuable than the other, or that I found this to be lacking in some right. Instead, I say this because the work stands on its own and the book understands more of the symptomology of the affliction and not the monster itself. It looks outside the mind of the beast and addresses what the thing with the need to kill means to other people.

In Portrait of the Psychopath as a Young Woman, shock/ rather talented gore creator Edward Lee and storehouse of serial killer expertise Elizabeth Steffen team up and craft a tale of horrific deeds that focus, as the name implies, upon an attract yet insane young woman. Through expert use of description and an impressive knowledge of medical utensils, this rather attractive young woman is given a gift that speaks through tomes of blood and that wants to be heard, that needs to be heard. Still, she isn???t the only persona explored within this experience. Enter our other ???main??? character, Kathleen, and yet more impressively crafted characterization, her poet boyfriend and his reasons to be, the police officer that seeks to end this, and a drove of other voices that don???t just ???appear??? and speak. Herein is one of the main reasons I found this adventure into terror interesting because it goes past the gore and the terror and it seeks to make people out of simply notions. This, by and far, goes a long way in the progression of a tale, making people that feel like people and not like hollow things going through the prospective rounds.

Before recommending this, I feel I need to stress that this tale is a graphic piece and not one to be taken lightly. The things that the killer does with medical sheers, needles, bonesaws, and other random articles that sound painful without even being used that are quite terrible and quite wonderful to those looking for more. Here, many people would find themselves disturbed, and rightfully so. This is one of Edward Lee???s talents, to make something that seethes and that seeks to maim, and Steffen is worthy of collaboration and her hands on the story can be felt. So, it has a voice and a hammer that impacts the senses. For fans of Edward???s work, people looking to see what is lurks in the realms of pain, or someone simply wanting an object lesson into the motivations of a psychopath, this would be something easily recommended and highly praised. Me, I???ve read many things but few make me cringe and some of this one did just that. Honestly, that is commendable and most deserving of my horror-laden five stars.

Rating:
Summary: A horror classic!!!
Review: PORTRAIT is about, ultimately, 2 women dealing (in very different ways) w/ childhood sex abuse. One becomes the psycho the title refers to; the other is a feminist advice column writer. But what both have in common will join them together in infamy.

After she receives a "fan letter" and gift from an admirer, Kathleen Shade is thrown into a hunt for a serial killer. Also investigating the case is officer Jeffrey Spence, a self proclaimed "solipsist and celibate gay". These 2 opposites don't exactly attract as magnify the tenseness in the story. Eventually that stress is turned into Spence using Shade as bait for the killer.

The killer sews the mouths shut, punctures the ear drums, glues their eyes closed and cuffs them to the a bed before torturing them in ways never dreamed of...except by Lee & Steffen, and you know how that is...stomach churning.

Along the way we meet Sammy Shade, Kathleen's uncle and molester, who just got paroled from jail. After turning stool pigeon on his mob bosses for a lesser term on trafficking child porn, he's out and looking to get out of the country before Vinchetti, the mob boss from Lee's novella "The Pig", caps him. Also thrown into the insaneness is Maxwell Platt, a poet and Kathleen's love interest.

All of these characters are well fleshed-out and the dialogue, specifically between Kathleen and Spence, is hilarious and edged with sarcasm and bitter wit.

Lee has written his best novel to date. The moral questions his characters raise, Sam Shade in particular, will have you challenging your own rules of life. This novel has important topics that question your beliefs in many things. Not to be forgotten, a late '90's classic horror novel w/ much more going on then the sum of its parts. It's as thought-provoking as it is gut-wrenching. Most highest recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: AN EXCELLENT COMPANION PIECE
Review: THIS BOOK IS AN EXCELLENT COMPANION PIECE TO AMERICAN PSYCHO BY BRET EASTON ELLIS. HAVING SAID THAT, LET ME POINT OUT THAT THIS IS THE BETTER WRITTEN OF THE TWO. YOU DON'T GET BOGGED DOWN HERE WITH NAME DROPPING AND PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS (MINIMAL MEDICAL EQUIPMENT INFO). IT'S REFRESHING TO HAVE TWO OF THE THREE MAIN CHARACTERS WOMEN (AND ONE AS THE KILLER, NO LESS, INSTEAD OF AS THE USUAL VICTIM). THE SQUIRM FACTOR IS ABOUT THE SAME, IF NOT BETTER (THE DAUGHTER OF MR. TORSO?). I REALLY ENJOYED THE SETTING OF BOOK. LIVING IN MARYLAND AND BEING BORN IN D.C., IT WAS EASY TO PICTURE MOST OF THE LOCALES (THERE IS LIFE OUTSIDE OF L.A. OR N.Y.). READING THIS RIGHT AFTER THE USHERS (ALSO BY LEE) WAS A REAL TREAT. I ANXIOUSLY AWAIT THE BIGHEAD (DITTO) ARRIVING IN THE MAIL. FIND THIS OR ANY OTHER BOOK (OR SHORT STORY) BY LEE. YOU'LL BE GLAD THAT YOU DID. AND I'M NOT JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE HE'S FROM HERE (CROFTON) OR A YANKEES FAN. HONEST.