PLOT OR PREMISE:
John Cuddy gets asked by a friend to look into what appears to be an open-and-shut case -- a young impoverished black man tries to get ahead at university, dates a white co-ed, and then after she turns up dead, he confesses to the crime while holding the murder weapon. Everyone thinks he's guilty, including him. But Cuddy finds a strange group of people involved -- a whacked psychiatrist with strange ideas, an elderly fitness nut, a sports fan, seductive patients, and asundry lovers.
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WHAT I LIKED:
The main people were all well-characterized, although a few of them were a bit one-dimensional. Cuddy does a good job of detecting, pulling at a variety of strings until they unravel. Good back-stories for some of the other series characters.
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Some old characters show up, kind of predictable.
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BOTTOM-LINE:
You'll stay up late if you start reading this!
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DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I was not personal friends with the author, but I did follow him on social media. ( )

William Daniels is a Black college student who, under hypnosis has confessed to his therapy group that he just killed his white girlfriend. He has the gun to prove it. While two members restrained him, the therapist and two other group members go to the basement of the building and find the body.

Daniels' mother, of course, doesn't believe that her son could kill anyone. A smart student who is attending a top university, he is trying to extricate himself from his lower/middle class origins. Lt. Murphy, a friend of Ms. Daniels enlists John Cuddy, private investigator and friend, to either convince Ms. Daniels of her son's guilt or prove him innocent. Since Cuddy owes Murphy a favor, he takes the case, probing into the hypnosis, the therapy group members and the therapist's background.

I've always liked Jeremiah Healy's writing. It's easy going but not like a cozy mystery. It keeps you interested. There's action and thought. Cuddy is a person. He lost his wife to cancer but goes to her gravesite to talk to her. He seems like a really nice guy. Healy points out Boston landmarks and those of us who have been there can visualize them.

I highly recommend Healy to any mystery and/or Boston buff. His books are a great way to spend some time. ( )

Okay. But the ending a little implausible. ( )