Once A Liar by A.F. Brady

 

Peter Caine was determined to become a success.  He had grown up desperately poor in New England, the unwanted child taken in by his aunt and uncle who already had four of their own.  Luckily, Peter was bright and as soon as he could, he got away, changed his name and became a lawyer.  He ended up in New York and was taken under the wing of the best defense lawyer in the city.  He also married his daughter and had a child, a son.

But Peter is a sociopath and has no feelings for others.  It doesn't bother him to set free the worst of the worst, murderers and pedophiles.  It doesn't bother him to cheat on his wife or to ignore his son.  He uses people to achieve his goals, then drops them.  Eventually his wife divorces him.

Two things happen to change Peter's life.  His ex-wife dies and his son, now sixteen, comes to live with him and his new partner Claire.  In the same time period, his long time mistress, the daughter of Manhattan's D.A., is murdered and Peter is suspected.  Peter is a prime suspect and as he tries to extricate himself he starts to realize that his life is all wrong.  Is it too late to change it?

A.F. Brady is a thriller writer and a practicing psychotherapist.  The action and pace in this book are very fast as the reader moves through these fateful weeks with the principal character.  I had two issues with the character.  First, although described as charming there was little evidence of it, rather he came across as condescending and impatient.  Secondly, Caine was given every bad characteristic of someone who has his diagnosis and it starts to feel like overkill.  There is a big twist at the end that the reader won't see coming.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.