Mar 25, 2013 03:23 PM
8031 Views
The Naked Face was Sidney Sheldon's first novel (1970). It was nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel by an American Author.
Dr. Judd Stevens, M.D., is a caring and successful Manhattan psychoanalyst who must face a horrific prospect; someone is trying to kill him. First, John Hanson, a patient trying overcome his homosexuality, is brutally murdered, perhaps because he was mistaken for Stevens. Not long after, Carol Roberts, Steven's secretary, is also found murdered.
The police, partly due to anger with Stevens testimony in a previous case, are quick to treat Stevens as the prime suspect. To prove his innocence and track down the real killer, Stevens hires a private investigator by the name of Norman Z. Moody. Before the case is done, Stevens will have to risk life and limb, psychoanalyze possible suspects and fall in love with a mysterious patient named Annie DeMarco.
The surprise elements and the unexpected twists in this book showed his potential as one of the most brilliant story-tellers of all times.
