Read and Reviewed for Frontstreet Reviews
Dr. Morgan Snow, sex therapist at the well known Butterfield Institute in New York City, has a new patient. He is an extremely influential and powerful man that she only knows as “Bob.” His problem is an extremely strong addiction to watching internet porn of the web-cam variety. He is not the only patient that Dr. Snow has. She is also running a group session for a small group of teenagers, at a prestigious high school, who are all obsessed with the same type of internet fed sexual fantasies.
Then the women creating these fantasies start to die while performing. Suddenly, The N.Y.P.D. is fielding hundreds of phone calls from across the country. Phone calls made by the men who were watching as these women became sick and died. Dr. Snow’s work becomes entangled with detective Noah Jordain’s investigation as he tries to unravel the riddle behind the murders. All the victims are purveyors of the web cam porn industry. Also, all the victims are employed by the same company. What other connections tie the victims together?
The clues point towards Dr Snow’s new patient. However, new evidence comes from an unexpected source and changes the focus of the hunt. Can they find the real killer in time, or will more women die?
The Venus Fix is M.J. Roses third book in the Butterfield Institute series. As a newcomer to this series, I found it easy to fall into Dr. Snow's world and sensibilities. M.J. Rose has crafted a story that pulls its elements from seedier aspects of society and combines them with well crafted events to make a quick, enjoyable, thrill-filled story. Being fairly new to the mystery/thriller world, I was unaware of M.J. Rose’s reputation for writing that is a bit sexual, raw and underground. In fact I stumbled across her due to a self promotional contest online for this title. M.J. Rose is one of those authors that you hear a lot about. She self published her first novel, due to increased frustration with having her book turned down by several publishing houses, and put all her effort into using the internet to market her writing. As a result, her books have been picked up by the mainstream publishing industry. She still keeps a web blog called Buzz, Balls & Hype which she uses as an outlet to help publishers and authors reach a larger audience about their books. I’ve never been much of a reader of thrillers, however I found The Venus Fix a fantastic introduction to the genre and am looking forwards to reading more works by the author.
Author's web site: http://www.mjrose.com/
Author's Blog: : http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/buzz_balls_hype/
ISBN: 077832317X
ISBN-13: 9780778323174
Publisher: Mira
Publication Date: July 2006
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
1 comment:
Great review! I've read both of M.J. Rose's earlier books and enjoyed them. I hope to get to The Venus Fix in the next few months.
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