The Midnight Shrink

The first few sentence of this grabbed my attention immediately:
It was three o'clock in the morning in downtown Los Angeles when the officers got a glimpse of outstretched legs protruding from the shadows. Naked Legs. If it weren't for the buzzing, blinking street lamp catching their attention, the patrol cops would have driven right by.

This follows Dr. David Edminson, an unconventional “street psychologist” who keeps night shift hours, and works from the back of a van in an attempt to help individuals who otherwise wouldn't seek the mental help they need. His clientele ranges from poverty stricken drug addicts to the upper crust, wealthy. The author is a Doctor of Psychology and the book greatly benefits from this, there are none of those overdone “seeing the shrink” scenes that I have often encountered in other books.

David ends up searching for a serial killer who is targeting prostitutes and strippers. His own life is jolted by some of the things he discovers.

This is well written, and kept my attention throughout. I do feel it important to add that after a month between reading parts of this that the story stayed fresh in my head and I was able to continue where I left off without having to backtrack. The author does an especially amazing job of conveying the setting of the story. There is an obvious familiarity there. I love the gritty feel that this story has. If my life hadn't gotten in the way I could have very easily finished this in a couple of hours, but I read fast.