A psychological thriller with a real class. I should say the plot is run-of-the-mill - a psychotic killer on the prowl with ritualistic murders. What adds the real zing to the novel is the character of Martha Snow, the therapist. Hers is a tight rope walk, she is keen on saving her patient who has gone missing and at the same time she has to honor the doctor-patient confidentiality privilege. The narration deserves a mention too, first person narration alternates with third person narration. I look forward to reading other books in the series. ( )

This is a nice book to spend a few hours on. It is written by telling a variety of stories and experiences of how individuals have volunteered their time and uncovered their passions. The author believes that when you volunteer you are at your best, you have a passion for what you are doing, you are being gracious and pleasant to be around. As a result people gravitate to you, many times influential people recognize your leadership and unexpected opportunities arise. ( )

The Halo Effect by M. J. Rose
Dr. Morgan Snow is a sex therapist and donates her time once a week to women at the prison. She also sees private patients. one who is writing a sex book and she now has a copy.
Her boyfriend thinks something bad will happen to her once the book is published and the dr. has watched her leave one day and there is a man that follows her. Because the detective called her she rushed down the morgue to identify the woman who was now dead-one of the women who got out of prison and was to head back home to WV.
Her divorce came through also after being married 15 years.
Dr. Nina Butterfield is the owner and friend of hers.
Her daughter, Dolcie is 12 and studying the summer at drama school.
Detective Noah Jordain from the special victim unit is on the case of the woman murdered at the hotel.
They have a serial killer on their hands, same MO.
Morgan remembers her mother and her lifestyle with pain and anguish.
From this point Chloe goes missing and more murders are committed.
Things get a bit too mysterious/thriller/horror for me, this would make a great SUV for TV. ( )

A serial killer appears to be targetting prostitutes, dressing them in nun's habits and placing a rosary somewhere in their discarded bodies. Each victim bears evidence of a Catholic ritual. When Cleo Thane, patient of Dr Morgan Snow, fails to turn up for 2 therapy sessions, Dr Snow is worried she may be another victim despite the lack of evidence pointing in this direction. But Cleo is a high priced prostitute iwho has written a memoir. Could one of her clients have found out about her manuscript and is building a screen for himself by killing the other prostitutes before he kills her to prevent the book being published?

In the process of helping the police profile the serial killer, Dr Snow decides to look into the disappearance of Cleo herself with the help of Cleo's business partner, but is she putting herself in danger from a man who believes in what he's doing and who is a consummate actor? ( )

*******SPOILER ALERT*****

I bumped the rating up to 3.5 from 3 because the ending of "The Halo Effect" was quite suspenseful. Otherwise, I felt the novel was okay, but the pacing was slow, particulary in the first half of the book. I had trouble settling into the novel and even 25% of the way in, the various POV and 1st person voices chopped up the narrative for me.

This should have been a riveting tale of an amateur sleuth who is a sex therapist, going undercover as a high-class prostitute to solve the disappearance of one of her clients, a well-known madam. There is introspection, psychoanalysis, family drama and a sexy romance, in addition to a horrendous string of serial murders. But for me, except for the fast-paced ending, "The Halo Effect" fell short of its promise.

I especially found the protagonist, Dr. Morgan Snow, to be unlikeable and unbelievable. She is written with a very passive voice, perhaps echoing her icy professional demeanour. My emotional attachment to her was zero. She is unprofessionally obsessed with her missing client, Cleo Thane, and engages in a romance with the lead detective. (Nice romance, but crosses the ethics line).

The author's writing grated on me with too much dialogue, too little action (save the ending), too many olfactory descriptions, references to acting & butterflies and too many bad judgments and decisions by Dr. Snow. The entire novel felt contrived to move the plot along.

It's a fair read, but I'm not motivated to search out the other titles in this series. ( )