Was he a convenient scapegoat, or worse? Was it possible that he was used in a set up? But everyone appears to be lying and he wants to know why. Then, he is at the center of a grand jury hearing, where he must break doctor/patient confidentiality. Suddenly, Cowper finds himself attacked and his home vandalized. His attorney decides to use the early release as part of the defence. One week later, the patient murders a man. When the patient wants to return home, the Doctor is 'encouraged' by hospital administration to release him. She fears that he is planning to harm himself.

One evening a wealthy man is brought to the hospital by his wife. The story just didn't capture my interest.ĭr. It wasn't the writing with which I had difficulty, but the plot. Hounded by a DA who’s out for blood, and haunted by the specter of a shattered career, Ben has no choice: He must delve into the hearts and minds of the people who know Harry best, uncover the secrets they’d rather die-or kill-to keep, and expose the truth behind a web of malice disguised as madness.

But with colleagues freezing Ben out, innocent circumstances conspire to incriminate him. A tragedy sets in motion an explosive chain of events that turns Ben Cowper’s life upside-down.Īs hard-nosed cops close in with harder questions, the hospital closes ranks to protect its own interests. But even more shocking is the identity of the victim. But when the headstrong financier balks at an extended stay in the hospital psych ward, Ben reluctantly releases him, bowing to political pressure from Episcopal’s chief administrator, who’s more concerned with the patient’s money than his mind.ĭays later, the shocking news breaks: There’s been a shooting death in Harry Shapiro’s Hamptons mansion. In Ben’s expert opinion, Shapiro is a suicide waiting to happen.

But a high-profile reversal of fortune has left the once powerful investment banker jobless, bitter, and possibly desperate-judging by the handgun his wife finds him clutching. This timely debut thriller by an award-winning Financial Times columnist is a gripping tale of lethal intrigue set in the high-stakes Wall Street world-where wealth and privilege are no match for jealousy and betrayal.īen Cowper, an attending psychiatrist at the prestigious New York–Episcopal Hospital, is stunned to learn the identity of the emergency patient he’s just been assigned to treat: Harry Shapiro, a Wall Street colossus and one of Episcopal’s most prominent donors.

A Fatal Debt by John Gapper