Hobgoblins: A Novel

Jacob Jaffe
iUniverse (2006)
ISBN 0595384218
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (1/07)

Dr. Marty Ritter is struggling to finish up the requirements for his PhD in Psychology.  He not only has to deal with the stress of the doctorate program and the politics among the faculty, he also has to deal with his own demons from his past.  Marty has a father in a mental institution.  His mother died, most likely as a result of cancer from pollution from a plant in Marty’s home town.  Unable to deal with the loss of his wife and the politics of the small town, his father succumbs to alcoholism and mental illness.  Marty’s brother dies when he is young and he knows that somehow his father is responsible for his death.  Initially, Marty tries to avoid contact with him while he is institutionalized.  This does not allow him to confront his own demons from his past.  Marty is terribly afraid of hobgoblins.  His father used to terrify him with stories about them.

While Marty is doing his internship, he gets a patient who discloses plans to become a dictator of the United States while under the guise of running for president under the American Freedom Party.  Marty takes his disclosures very seriously, however, no one else does.  He secretly tapes some meetings.  These tapes end up being involved in the loss of life when people with the American Freedom Party try to destroy the candidates past.  People who were aware of the candidate’s treatment for mental illness either disappear or are murdered.  Marty’s life becomes endangered and so does that of one his patient’s who he had enlisted to help him gather proof of the candidate’s plans.

Interestingly enough, this candidate also has an irrational fear of hobgoblins.  Marty’s investigation into his own past leads him down a path where he finds the connection.  As he confronts the demons from his past, he also is able to develop a relationship with his father.  Seeing what his father went through gives Marty an understanding of the similarities of what he is trying to accomplish. 

“Hobgoblins” is a great, faced-paced story.  The author, Dr. Jacob Jaffe, extensively draws on his experience as a psychologist and as a former professor to write a realistic thriller.  He delves into history and compares the American Freedom Party to Hitler’s party.  The interactions and relationships between the characters, especially with Marty and his personal relationships are very well developed and add richness to the story.  I highly recommend this novel.

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