ELLEN KIRSCHMAN - BURYING BEN

Synopsis/blurb…..

Dot Meyerhoff has barely settled into her new job as a psychologist for the Kenilworth Police Department when Ben Gomez, a troubled young rookie that she tries to counsel, commits suicide without any warning and leaves a note blaming her. Overnight, her promising new start becomes a nightmare. At stake is her job, her reputation, her license to practice, and her already battered sense of self-worth.

Dot resolves to find out not just what led Ben to kill himself, but why her psychologist ex-husband, the man she most wants to avoid, recommended that Ben be hired in the first place. Ben’s surviving family and everyone else connected to him are determined to keep Ben’s story a secret, by any means necessary. Even Ben, from the grave, has secrets to keep.

Right from the start, Dot’s investigation efforts get her into trouble. First she alienates Ben’s training officer, who is barely managing to hold onto his own job. With the police chief watching over her shoulder, she tries to help the officer with disastrous consequences. After reaching out to console Ben’s pregnant—and slightly sociopathic—widow, Dot winds up embroiled in the affairs of her incredibly dysfunctional family. Dot’s troubles are compounded by a post-divorce romance, the ex who still has a hold over her, and an unwelcome visit from his new wife. By the time she uncovers the real reasons behind Ben’s suicide and brings the people responsible to justice, Dot has not only resurrected belief in herself, she has also acquired some surprisingly useful new skills: impersonating a public official, burglary, and assault with a deadly weapon.

Another day, another new author, another debut novel, and another belter. Last year, I was fortunate enough to discover books by the likes of Terry Shames, Barry Lancet and John Florio to mention a few and I’m happy to say 2014 seems to have started off in a similarly promising vein. Dan O’Shea, Les Edgerton, John Ball and now Ellen Kirschman.

Ellen Kirschman

Not hard-boiled, hard-core or hard work, Burying Ben at 240 pages long was read in the space of about 3 or 4 hours last Sunday. It’s a mystery, but the author has put a fresh twist on things. We encounter cops and police work within the narrative, but our main lady is a slightly insecure, psychologist who lands a counselling role with her local PD; a sop lobbed to her by her ex-husband as an appeasement for throwing Dot over for a younger, fresher model.

Dot encounters the usual macho posturing from a cynical PD staff, in particular Eddie Rimbauer, a jaundiced, long-serving officer. Her first input is to interview and assess a probationer, Ben Gomez. Gomez is struggling to satisfy his training officer Rimbauer’s expectations. Eddie feels Ben is ill-suited to police work. Ben feels there should be scope within the role to allow him to not automatically assume the worst of the public he encounters. Dot tries to broker a peace between the two.

Ben’s issues are more far-reaching than merely work-related…….he’s newly-wed with a horror-show of a pregnant wife, complete with accompanying extended family.  Gomez commits suicide and Dot is held to account for her professional conduct, when our rookie blames her in an e-mailed suicide note.

Kirschman writes a compelling story as Dot tries to salvage her reputation and career. We get closer to understanding, Eddie Rimbauer – our veteran officer failing to cope with his own issues and we get more personal involvement with Dot’s ex-husband and new partner. An interesting investigation unfolds as we discover more about all our cast of characters; cops young and old, ex-husbands and love rivals, police chiefs, colleagues and friends within the psychology profession, as well as the disciplinary side of the business, a potential love interest, the victim’s own family and his unsympathetic in-laws.

A fantastic story, well-written and effectively told, with great characters, pace and plot and a satisfying outcome.

4 from 5.

Hopefully there will be more Dot Meyerhoff books to follow in the future.

Author Ellen Kirshman is an award winning police psychologist. In addition to her first novel she has penned several non-fiction books. You can find out more about her at her website here.

She was kind enough to send me a copy of this for review.