Nate Rodriquez is a sketch artist for the NYPD. He can read faces and draw them as accurately as if he had known the person his whole life. With his talent, he has been asked to join forces with Detective Terry Russo to solve a series of murders involving another sketch artist. This particular artist is a serial killer who is very proud of his calling card and the fact that he can manipulate people's minds by changing his style. But can he change it enough to frame Nate for the murders?

With no witnesses to any of the murders, how can Nate draw a sketch of the killer, before the hammer comes down on him? Trying to beat the clock, Nate must make features of an unknown killer appear on paper through only the innuendos of people close by the scene and images that appear in his own mind. Can he create a real life like portrait of a killer or just build a fantasy to cover his butt? Will his talent be able to save him in time to avoid going to prison? And more importantly, can he get Terry to trust that he is not the killer when all the evidence points in his direction?

Not fair -- some people get all of the talent! Jonathan Santlofer is the perfect example. Here is an exceptional author of thriller mysteries, and an equally brilliant artist to boot. I was not sure what to be more impressed with, his sizzling story telling or his magnificent depictions of the characters in the book! It was the first book of multiplicity for the senses I have ever had the pleasure to experience. More than just a great book -- it was an impressive encounter with a multitalented person.

Book Summary

NYPD sketch artist Nate Rodriguez possesses a remarkable gift. From the smallest clues—an off-hand comment, a brief flash of fear in a victim's eyes—he is able to create an uncanny likeness of the assailant. Now Detective Terri Russo needs his help to solve a particularly shocking series of murders, perpetrated by a psychopath who enjoys drawing pictures of his crimes before committing them. Nate is being asked to enter the dark, twisted mind of a monster—to re-create a face that no one has lived to identify. But as a portrait slowly begins taking shape in Nate's mind and on the page, an electrifying game of cat and mouse reaches an unexpected new level—as a brilliant killer uses his own unique talents to turn the investigation in a terrifying new direction...

A breathtakingly original novel of suspense, Jonathan Santlofer's Anatomy of Fear mixes prose and pictures to create a story that burns its way into the brain and brilliantly revitalizes the crime fiction genre.