Mirror Image

Dennis Palumbo
Poisoned Pen Press (2010)
ISBN 9781590587508
Reviewed by S.G. Smith for Reader Views (04/10)


Dennis Palumbo starts his mystery quickly and gets right to the point: someone has killed Dr. Rinaldi’s patient who was dressed as him.  The mystery is whether the killer attacked the right victim – or was Dr. Rinaldi the intended recipient of death?  Palumbo does a fantastic job of keeping the reader guessing.  Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, Palumbo throws another curve ball.  It is almost impossible to figure out who the killer is until the very end – which is a very refreshing change from most mysteries.

Palumbo’s employment of the overused stereotypes does not detract from the story as much as it could have.  He uses the crusty detective who is getting a divorce; the quiet bespectacled psychiatrist; the politically motivated district attorney; and the attractive assistant district attorney that becomes Dr. Rinaldi’s love interest.  It seems as if Palumbo added some of his more erotic scenes with the “love interest” because he felt that it was part of writing a novel.  The scenes seemed unnecessarily gratuitous which possibly relates to Palumbo’s lack of comfort in writing them.  The story would have progressed just as well without those scenes.  Palumbo also uses a large number of characters that can be difficult to keep track of unless you are able to read the book in one sitting.  Despite the numerous characters and stereotypical leads, the story is quite engaging and fun to read.

Palumbo’s background in psychotherapy and screenwriting is a definite benefit to his writing.  His psychotherapy background enables him to discuss medical diagnoses in layman’s terms without having his reader lose interest; while his screenwriting experience keeps his story flowing with great continuity.  “Mirror Image” is a wonderful novel that has left the door open for a series of stories centering around Dr. Rinaldi.  Or maybe that is wishful thinking on this reviewer’s part….

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