A heart-pounding glimpse into the world of forensic psychiatry, Kill Switch marks the powerful fiction debut of Neal Baer and Jonathan Greene—former executive producers of television's acclaimed Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Filled with breakneck suspense, vivid characters, and riveting detail, it is a mindbending thriller you'll never forget. . .
Meet Claire Waters, a young, dedicated forensic psychiatrist with unnervingly personal insights into the criminal mind. Haunted by a disturbing childhood incident—and driven by her demons—Claire has always been drawn to those rare "untreatable" patients who seem to have no conscience or fear. She has a natural ability to put people at ease, to help them face their darkest secrets. But one shocking case could make or break her career—and it's waiting for her in the psychiatric wing of New York City's Rikers Island.
His name is Quimby. A deranged inmate whose boyish good looks hide a sordid history of dysfunction and abuse, Quimby triggers something in Claire she'd rather not face. As she tries to unlock Quimby's past, she unwittingly reveals her own painful secrets—leaving herself dangerously vulnerable. For Claire, the patient's obsessions are just the beginning. When the case propels her into the mind of another killer—a homicidal maniac who's watching her every move—it could only end in madness, or murder, or both. . .
Brilliantly constructed and breathtakingly suspenseful, Kill Switch is a masterful combination of murder, mystery, and modern forensics that will keep you turning the pages to the final shocking conclusion.
Neal Baer, M. D., was Executive Producer and Showrunner of the NBC television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for eleven years. During that time the show received numerous Emmys, the Golden Globe, People's Choice, Edgar, and other awards. Previously, he was Executive Producer of ER and is presently the Executive Producer and Showrunner of the new CBS series A Gifted Man. Dr. Baer earned a degree from Harvard Medical School, a B.A. in Political Science from Colorado College, and master's degrees in Education and Sociology from Harvard. He lives in Los Angeles.
Jonathan Greene spent eleven years as writer and Co-Executive Producer on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, his nearly forty teleplays earning the show an Emmy Award and nominations for the Edgar Award and the Humanitas Prize. Previously, he was a producer and executive in television news and documentaries, and is a recipient of the duPont-Columbia Award. He is presently a writer and Co-Executive Producer on the new CBS series A Gifted Man. A native of New York, Mr. Greene earned a B.S. in Political Science and an M.S. in Telecommunications from Syracuse University. He lives with his family in Los Angeles.
The Fear Inside
Rikers Island's ten separate jails held between fifteen and eighteen thousand inmates. Three thousand of them were classified as mentally ill. That made Rikers the best place for a budding forensic psychiatrist like Claire Waters to study the criminal mind.
