Dante's Poison

March 3, 2014
Raimondo’s well-crafted second Mark Angelotti novel (after 2012’s Dante’s Wood) finds the Chicago psychiatrist taking part in a new drug trial that he hopes will reverse his recent blindness. To stay busy, Angelotti agrees to help Hallie Sanchez, a friend and potential love interest, look into the murder of a local journalist—and to testify in a lawsuit involving the suicide of a fellow psychiatrist’s patient. Just as Angelotti begins to explore the murky psychological angles in each of these cases, he and Hallie are viciously attacked. Determined to tie disparate threads together, he enlists cronies and colleagues to fight the good fight and avenge the injured Hallie. The obstinate, often angry Angelotti puts himself in harm’s way in pursuing suspects who are well aware of his weaknesses and who set a series of deadly traps. Chicago serves as the distinctive backdrop to this appealing mystery. Agent: Brooks Sherman, Bent Agency.