Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Psychological Thriller Delves into the Mind of a Serial Murderer

Psychological Thriller Delves into the Mind of a Serial Murderer

Terra Ziporyn's gripping, introspective novel, "Do Not Go Gentle," humanizes a killer by probing one man's mysterious motive for crime.

Austin, TX (PRWEB) March 19, 2007

With the incredible popularity of such shows as CSI and Law & Order, Americans clearly have an appetite for morbid crime drama. Now that craving can be filled through print, with Terra Ziporyn's psychological thriller, "Do Not Go Gentle" (ISBN 978-0595375394, iUniverse, 2006).

Ziporyn takes the reader beyond your average "whodunit" with a story that reveals "who" right off the bat; the mystery of "Do Not Go Gentle" focuses on "why" instead. The central character is Dr. Alvin Forman, a former child prodigy, who has struggled all his life to reconcile his desire to save humanity with his desire to destroy it. Now a single father and allergist living in the suburbs, he finds himself meticulously and ruthlessly dismembering patients, loved ones, and neighbors.

Through the enigmatic Alvin, Ziporyn explores the relationships between creativity and destructiveness, egotism and altruism, ambition and fear. The big question is, "What makes Alvin go over the edge?" Ziporyn suggests that murderers aren't really all that different from the rest of us; we all have irrational and shameful urges but what sets people like Alvin apart from the rest of us is his inability to control those urges.

Ziporyn's atypical childhood sparked her interest in mass murderers and the psychology behind their crimes. Her father was the chief psychiatrist at Cook County Jail. Ziporyn said he frequently brought home stories from work, but believed that even the worst criminals were still, ultimately, human beings with value.

"Fiction is most gripping to me when it's honest and shows you how a person not so different than you--if you're really willing to admit who you are--can end up doing something you might never do, and hope and pray never to do, but certainly could do," Ziporyn said.

"Do Not Go Gentle" carves out an unthinkably personal, nearly sympathetic character, a man who has committed the most heinous and reprehensible of acts. A read that is certain to fascinate and thrill all, "Do Not Go Gentle" shows that "even the sweetest next-door neighbor may have a heinous hidden hobby."

Terra Ziporyn resides in Maryland with her husband J. H. Snider and their three children. She earned a B. A. in history and in biology from Yale University and a Ph. D. in the history of science and medicine from the University of Chicago. The author of two previous novels, she is a former Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association and an award-winning author of numerous popular health and medical books, including The New Harvard Guide to Women's Health. "Do Not Go Gentle" (ISBN 978-0595375394, iUniverse, 2006) can be purchased at local and online bookstores, or through www. terraziporyn. com. For more information, please send all inquires to www. readerviews. com. Review copies available upon request.

###