Nine North

By Art Smukler

November 14, 2022

Reviewed by Angie Mangino, freelance journalist & book reviewer

Rating: 5 stars

“Two years and one day after Nelson Bennett died, he rose from the dead.”

What a powerful way to immerse readers into the story!

The author goes on to introduce Jake.

“… ‘Nelson!’ Jake yelled. ‘Nelson!’ The man was about fifty feet away – close enough for Jake to clearly make out his features; far enough to provoke enough doubt to make Jake wonder if he was hallucinating. There was no way Jake could ever forget or mistake Nelson’s face. It was the face of his older brother, his only brother and only sibling.

The man turned, stared straight at Jake, his blue eyes locking onto Jake’s blue eyes. Abruptly, he glanced over his shoulder, a startled look transforming his gaunt, clean-shaven face, and he placed his index finger in front of his lips. Then he pivoted, and like a snowflake landing on a hot windshield, melted away.”

As readers learn of Jake Bennett’s life in the present with insights into his brother, Jake’s writing aspirations, his job as a waiter, and his tangled relationship with Gina Carlton, the story engages them.

They next meet Dr. Todd Horowitz, senior psychiatric resident at New County Medical Center. Learning some of his back story and relationship with his fiancé Tanya Roth, efficiently develops the setting for the intersection of their lives beginning with Jake’s confinement in Nine North.

An intriguing faster pace rapidly develops with intrigue and danger that navigates psychiatry in action, the Hassidic Judaism community, and the financial world seamlessly.

The dialogue is authentic, with characters both believable and endearing, which makes it easy for readers to care about them throughout the story to its satisfying conclusion. The last chapter further rewards readers with a glimpse into the lives of the four protagonists seven years later.

Nine North is a book that will stay with readers after their enjoyable journey with it.

#mystery #suspense #psychiatrists