Alienation of Affection [2010]

This psychological mystery goes to the heart of alienation. When seasoned forensic psychologist Dr. Calder Miro agreed to help his friend, homicide detective Kenilworth Brown, investigate the apparent murder of another psychologist, he didn t expect to find himself confronting a past high conflict divorce case. It was a case that still troubled him, one in which the murder victim had been on the opposing side. Alienation of Affection takes Calder, a white male, and Worth, a black male, both raised in the South, through an examination of their friendship as they probe into a maelstrom of madness and murder. The body of child psychologist Mildred Hughes is found floating in the waters of Ocracoke island, just off the North Carolina coast. While investigating multiple suspects, Calder and Worth are confronted with another brutal murder committed with grisly sophistication in New Bern, North Carolina. This novel is a complex tale of Southern family dysfunction and the unintentional destruction of two children’s psyches. The story examines the ripple effect of anger-driven family law litigation, denial of a father’s presence in his children’s lives for a decade, the vengeance agenda of a disordered, Bible-pounding mother, and the pathos of disturbed adolescence.