The Mask of Sanity by Jacob M. Appel

Title: The Mask of Sanity

Author: Jacob M. Appel

Published: March 16, 2017

Pages: 256

Genre: Murder/Mystery

Review: Hardback provided by author

Buy Links: Amazon, Amazon.uk 

Blurb

On the outside, Dr. Jeremy Balint is a pillar of the community--the youngest division chief at his hospital, a model son to his elderly parents, fiercely devoted to his wife and two young daughters. On the inside, Dr. Jeremy Balint is a high-functioning sociopath, a man who truly believes himself to stand above the ethical norms of society. As long as life treats him well, Balint has no cause to harm others. When life treats him poorly, he reveals the depths of his cold-blooded depravity. In contrast to fictional predecessors like Dostoyevesky's Raskolnikov and Camus's Mersault, Dr. Balint is a man who already has it all--and will do everything in his power, no matter how immoral, to keep what he has.

Review

I received this book give an honest review.

It seems that serial killers can be anyone even those who are sworn to save people. We are introduced to Dr. Balint who seems to have it all a family, house, an amazing career yet not everything is what it seems. When he finds out what is going on behind his back he makes a plan to start killing. Though will he be able to stop. It seems that Dr. Balint is able to function as though everything is normal and still do the unthinkable without thinking twice. 

A really good murder mystery and I loved the way the ending came about, makes me wonder if someone did know about his activities. The title of this book is perfect for the story line because in everyday life we wear a mask. We have no clue what mask a person is wearing and in some cases it is too late to find out.

 

About the Author

Jacob M. Appel's first novel, The Man Who Wouldn't Stand Up, won the Dundee International Book Award in 2012. His short story collection, Scouting for the Reaper, won the 2012 Hudson Prize. He has published short fiction in more than two hundred literary journals including Agni, Conjunctions, Gettysburg Review, Southwest Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, and West Branch. His work has been short listed for the O. Henry Award (2001), Best American Short Stories (2007, 2008), Best American Essays (2011, 2012), and received "special mention" for the Pushcart Prize in 2006, 2007, 2011 and 2013. 
Jacob holds a B.A. and an M.A. from Brown University, an M.A. and an M.Phil. from Columbia University, an M.S. in bioethics from the Alden March Bioethics Institute of Albany Medical College, an M.D. from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, an M.F.A. in creative writing from New York University, an M.F.A. in playwriting from Queens College, an M.P.H. from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He currently practices psychiatry in New York City.