Happy fifty third birthday, Doctor. Welcome to the first day of your death. Dr. Frederick Starks, a New York psychoanalyst, has just received a mysterious, threatening letter. Now he finds himself in the middle of a horrific game designed by a man who calls himself Rumplestiltskin. The rules: in two weeks, Starks must guess his tormentor’s identity. If Starks succeeds, he goes free. If he fails, Rumplestiltskin will destroy, one by one, fifty-two of Dr. Starks’ loved ones—unless the good doctor agrees to kill himself. In a blistering race against time, Starks’ is at the mercy of a psychopath’s devious game of vengeance. He must find a way to stop the madman—before he himself is driven mad. . . .
Jean-Charles Provost Boeken
Twenty years after the closure of Western State Hospital, Francis Petrel, committed as a teenager due to erratic behavior, lives a solitary life in a cheap apartment, medicated to silence the voices in his head. A reunion at the abandoned institution awakens buried memories of the grim events that led to its downfall. In 1979, Francis, then twenty-one, enters a chaotic Massachusetts mental hospital, filled with patients and staff who navigate a harrowing environment. He forms bonds with a diverse group of fellow inmates, including a would-be Napoleon and a wise ex-firefighter. However, the atmosphere darkens when a young nurse is found sexually assaulted and murdered, leading to suspicion among the patients and a mysterious prosecuting attorney who links the crime to a series of unsolved killings. As Francis grapples with his haunting past, he feels compelled to recount the nightmarish days of his youth. But with the crime unresolved, his story remains unfinished—until the killer resurfaces, forcing Francis to confront the chilling truth. This gripping narrative delves into the unpredictable mind of an unusual hero, keeping readers on edge with its suspenseful twists and turns.