Welcome to the small town of Herrington, Mississippi, in the 1940s, where a newly married couple has recently relocated. Dr. Leonard Edwards, the Psychiatrist, and his wife Amelia will leave a legacy this town never wished for. The story of this couple spins a web of twists and turns that will take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions where dreams and reality collide in an epic climax. Why are the women suddenly disappearing in this small southern town? Can Sheriff Jones solve the crimes, or will it take an unexpected heroine to bring the truth to light? This psychological thriller is a page-turner that’s sure to keep you yearning for more!
Welcome to the small town of Herrington, Mississippi, in the 1940s, where a newly married couple has recently relocated. Dr. Leonard Edwards, the Psychiatrist, and his wife Amelia will leave a legacy this town never wished for. The story of this couple spins a web of twists and turns that will take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions where dreams and reality collide in an epic climax. Why are the women suddenly disappearing in this small southern town? Can Sheriff Jones solve the crimes, or will it take an unexpected heroine to bring the truth to light? This psychological thriller is a page-turner that’s sure to keep you yearning for more!
Amelia sits catatonic in a wooden chair with her legs chained to metal posts cemented into the dirt floor. Her glazed eyes are in a fixed stare. She has just enough room to stand but is way beyond standing up. Embraced by a straight jacket, Amelia drools, unaware. She has been under the care of her psychiatrist husband, Dr. Leonard Edwards, since 1943, when she supposedly disappeared without a trace. The detectives quickly gave up searching, closing her case as unsolved without a trace of her body to determine the truth. Amelia was twenty-four years old at the time. It’s soon approaching the first anniversary since she was officially presumed dead.
Conveniently for her husband, several other women had gone missing from the same town. A known serial killer in the area was found guilty of those murders. Amelia’s body never turned up, but most everyone naturally assumed Amelia fell prey to a possible copycat killer. Cut and dry, case-closed.
Except for Emily, Amelia’s mother, the family believes this scenario is the truth. However, questions remain in the mind of Emily, such as why Dr. Edwards was never considered a suspect and why he was deemed a devastated widower allowed to continue his flourishing practice amid Amelia’s disappearance? Furthermore, the instincts of Emily tell her Amelia is not the only one in danger.
The small town of Herrington in deep south Mississippi is quaint and quiet. Until the serial killer came on the scene in 1941, Herrington was mostly unknown. When women started showing up bound and gagged, slashed open from the trachea to pubis, with the word whore carved into their right upper thigh, word quickly spread about the crimes of this small town, from coast to coast.
Leonard and Amelia moved to Herrington in October 1941, shortly after marrying. He immediately opened his Psychiatry practice in town. Dr. Edwards’s office consists mostly of young women he often labels with psychiatric diagnoses, placing them on tranquilizers and providing unprovincial treatments at the requests of their wealthy husbands.
Briefly, after their arrival, the first slasher killing victim was found, which occurred on Christmas Eve that year. Two young boys in the woods headed to the creek to throw rocks found the first victim’s body. The location was less than a mile from Dr. and Mrs. Edwards’s property line.
Amelia was so traumatized when hearing about the murder that she threatened to leave and move back to her home in northern Maine. Her insecurity over this incident is the first time Amelia experiences Leonard’s full-fledged anger. It infuriates him that she does not trust him to keep her safe. He is not about to allow her to humiliate him by running back to her mother. He accuses her of being paranoid, the first of many symptoms he will later attribute to her schizophrenia diagnosis.
Leonard is beginning to see a regular group of patients steadily, and word is spreading in the small town about his successful treatment of mental illness. He isn’t about to have anyone cause suspicions that he doesn’t have his affairs in order.
Amelia decides to start a journal over concerns that this might be the first of many more abusive attacks. She documents the details about their argument and how Leonard accused her of being paranoid. She makes sure to include that he yelled, calling her crazy woman, and describes how he shoved her into the mantel, leaving a deep cut on her head. Leonard convinces her to let him restrain her so she won’t thrash about as he sews her wound himself to prevent local busybodies from asking questions about the incident. Once he finishes with the stitching, he leaves her tied up for three days to teach her not to cross him again. Amelia is afraid of him from that day forward. She ponders about the changes in Leonard. He isn’t the kind gentleman with whom I fell in love.
The Edwards’s home is a two-story Queen Anne with spires and a high sharp-pitched roof. It has a large front porch and sits in the middle of two-hundred-fifty acres. Magnolia trees line the long dirt driveway. Their home is the envy of all the townsfolk. At the request of Leonard, a cellar was installed, which is accessible from the library room floor. The opening is hidden, and even Amelia isn’t aware of the secret room. His sinister plans were already in the making before they ever moved to Herrington.
The cellar room has a dirt floor, is damp, and smells of mold. It is very dark as there is no opening to the outside except the hole in the floor. Flashlights or kerosene lamps are the only sources of light. Along the walls are shelves lined with jars organized alphabetically by patient name containing specimens of some sort. There is a metal table with tools and instruments which are lined up meticulously according to their length.
Dr. Edwards plans to use his secret room for unconventional research and treatments. Like most physicians, he usually starts his treatments with non-invasive methods such as herbs and medications. Still, when that doesn’t work, he resorts to more intensive treatments until his patients become more docile, suitable wives.
It was never Dr. Edwards’s intention to have his wife become one of his patients, but it seemed she never overcame her concerns about the serial killer and continually threatened to go back home. Over the first year of their marriage, he constantly reassured her that she was not in danger. Finally, with his patience wearing thin rather quickly, he determined to manage Amelia himself. His training and skills will give him everything he needs to persuade her to become a satisfactory physician’s wife.
I liked that the opening chapter unfolded everything. Amelia's isolated in captivity. Her psychiatrist husband Leonard has kept her there. She is presumed dead. Also, he has been busy murdering women and collecting some of their remains as trophies. A known serial killer was found guilty for the bodies of missing women.
No one is looking for her because the town thinks she is one of his victims. Emily, her mother has questions. Like why was Leonard never considered suspect? Dr. Edwards has a habit of labeling young women with psychiatric conditions and placing them on tranquilizers. The husbands give him control of uncommon treatments too.
When the first murder occurred, Amelia was so frightened that she wanted to move back to Maine. This is her first encounter with Leonard's anger. He says she is paranoid and humiliating him. She begins writing in a journal for fear there will be more abuse. She is right.
The cellar is the room for diabolical deeds. On the day of their arrival at their new home, they meet Marcus and his wife Annabelle. Leonard tells Amelia to serve them coffee. She is unboxing china when one of the cups slips from her hands. Leonard sees this and barks at her. While she is serving Annabelle coffee, she notices a bruise on Amelia's shoulder. She asks her if she needed to talk. But Amelia changes the subject. After their guests leave, Leonard backhands her.
I am a fan of stories that get in the head of a maniacal man. He qualifies. It was an interesting narrative and there was no room for question. The world-building was excellent. I knew Leonard would not change. I appreciated Amelia and Annabelle's part in The Psychiatrist. They were incredibly spirited ladies even if they had bad husbands. I disliked Marcus. It seemed he wanted a wife to serve his needs. As for psychology, Sandra Poindexter does a decent job.
If you are a reader who is comfortable with disturbing violence and language it is worth your time. It's a suspenseful story with secrets and lies that explores a serious topic like domestic abuse.