Dante's Dilemma: A Mark Angelotti Novel

Blind psychiatrist Mark Angelotti is faced with his most troubling case yet when he is asked to evaluate Rachel Lazarus, the estranged wife of a slain University of Chicago professor.

 

Months earlier, the professor’s body was found stuffed into one of the exhibits at “Scav,” the school’s world-famous annual scavenger hunt, and – in a feast for the press – missing a vital piece of its anatomy. Though she’s confessed to her husband’s murder, Rachel is mounting a battered woman’s defense.

 

Forced into helping the prosecution, Mark becomes unsure of his objectivity when his investigation uncovers uncomfortable parallels between Rachel’s history and his own. That concern proves well-founded when his damaging admission at trial all but convicts Rachel. Then a tip connects the case to another suspected murder and evidence that Rachel may not be guilty after all. As he plows ahead during a brutal Chicago winter, Mark soon learns he has far more to worry about than treacherous snow and ice:  someone will do anything to guarantee that Rachel takes the fall. 

Blind psychiatrist Mark Angelotti is forced to take on his most troubling case ever. Working for the prosecution in a murder case, he must conduct a psychological evaluation of Rachel Lazarus, the former wife and confessed murderer of a controversial University of Chicago professor. Months earlier the professor’s castrated body was discovered stuffed into one of the exhibits at a public scavenger hunt. Though clearly guilty, Rachel is claiming a battered-woman defense.

When his interview of Lazarus reveals a history that bears uncomfortable parallels to his own, Mark becomes unsure of his own objectivity. Then, during the trial, he is tricked into taking the stand and forced into making a compromising admission about his past 

Though the prosecution wins a conviction against Lazarus, Mark is despondent over his role in the case. Then a tip reveals another possible murder connected with the Lazarus affair, a long-hidden secret, and a new motive for killing the professor. As he investigates further, Mark senses that  he is delving into increasingly dangerous territory.

Lynne Raimondo is a full-time writer and the author of Dante’s Wood and Dante’s Poison, the first two Mark Angelotti novels. She formerly worked as the general counsel for Arthur Andersen LLP and later as the general counsel of the Illinois Department of Revenue.