Book Talk: Scottoline, ‘Every Fifteen Minutes’

Long-time fans of Lisa Scottoline, like me, won’t be disappointed with Every Fifteen Minutes (2015, 415 pages in paperback format). Initially known for her tightly-written courtroom scenes, Scottoline has branched out to mystery thrillers. She left the practice of law after her daughter, Francesca Serritella, was born and has crafted 30 bestselling novels. They have been translated into at least 30 languages, and about 30 million are in print. At age 67, her novels are as vibrant and riveting as they were decades ago.

“Every Fifteen Minutes” revolves around the relationship between Dr. Eric Parrish, a psychiatrist, and Max Jakbowski, a 17-year-old who suffers from a catalog of emotional problems, including an obsessive-compulsive disorder that requires him to perform a certain ritual every fifteen minutes.

Eric is at a crisis in his personal life. He feels that he is losing everything except for his position at the hospital and his private practice. Facing divorce from his wife, he may be on the verge of losing his teenaged daughter, as well. “We have joint legal custody,” he tells his wife. Otherwise, “Eric felt everything slipping away. His life, his home. His wife, his daughter. Control.”

In the middle of these life problems, he is targeted by a sociopath. This person writes, “I look normal, but I’m not. I’m smarter, better, and freer, because I’m not bound by rules, law, emotion, or regard for you. I fool you. I fool everybody.”

On top of everything else, Eric is paged by Laurie, the doctor who heads the Emergency Unit. Laurie, a long-time friend of Eric’s, introduces him to Virginia Teichner (who knows that she is dying but possesses a positive attitude and sharp wit) and her grandson Max who is devoted to her. As the plot develops, we learn that Max needs the psychiatrist’s help far more than does his grandmother, and Eric decides to accept him as a private patient.

Then, just to complicate things a bit more, there’s Kristine Malin, a medical student who is on Eric’s rounds. She set her sights on him, dresses more like a “lady of the evening” than a medical student, and is not very subtle about seeking Eric’s attention.

Then Eric becomes the hero of the hospital when it is learned that U.S. News and World Report has named the hospital as #2 in the nation, mainly because of Eric’s leadership. But, almost immediately, things “go south.”

Kristine files a sexual harassment suit against Eric when he refuses her “come-ons.” Max phones Eric to tell him that his grandmother has died, and then Max disappears. But while in therapy, Max discussed his obsession with Renee Bevilacqua. Out of curiosity (and a breach of medical ethics), Eric visits the store where Renee works and then follows her home, thinking that perhaps he’ll find Max there.

Of course, when Renee turns up dead, police want to question Eric, but he’s bound by medical ethics not to reveal anything that Max may have said in therapy. Finally, because of the adverse publicity, Eric is suspended from the hospital.

Can things get any worse? Find out when Max takes five teens hostage and plans to blow up the King of Prussia mall.

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Jim Glynn may be contacted at j_glynn@att.net.