A Perfect Life

A PERFECT PLAN... Scott Thomas doesn’t know it, but he has been chosen. Not because he’s handsome, smart, or on the verge of a brilliant career as a clinical psychologist trained at Harvard. No, Scott has been chosen because he has the perfect life–for someone who needs a life to destroy.… A PERFECT LIE... It starts with a bizarre carjacking, followed by an apparent burglary in his Cambridge apartment. Then a woman is murdered at the hospital where he works, and evidence of Scott’s guilt is all around him–on his computer, in his apartment, in the dead woman’s room. With police hunting for him and a bizarre stranger watching his every move, Scott must take a chance on trusting a beautiful woman and searching through a shadow world of computer hackers and unclosed chapters of his own past. Because with the perfect frame closing around him and a killer growing more violent, Scott has only one choice now: to take back his life–or die trying…. From the Paperback edition.From Publishers WeeklyHandsome, smart, Harvard-educated Scott Thomas makes the mistake of picking up two hitchhikers who then hijack his car at the start of this compelling mystery thriller from Stewart (A Clean Kill). Soon after, Thomas is rescued by Cannonball Walker, a mysterious and weathered African-American bluesman driving an ancient black Cadillac, and embarks on a journey that may destroy his life. Recently trained as a clinical psychologist, Thomas appears to have the "perfect life," but he falls prey to a complicated and impenetrable plot to frame him for the murder of Patricia Hunter, a high-profile socialite in his care at Boston Hospital. Evidence of Thomas's guilt is everywhere, and with the police on the prowl and a stranger following him, Thomas must discover who he can and cannot trust while trying to clear his name. By teaming with Walker and a spunky information technician at the hospital, he plunges into the underworld of computer hackers and his own dark past. Laced with page-turning tension and memorable scenes that are as poignant as they are vital, the book also follows numerous subplots that prove to be equally intriguing. Rich details and smart use of dialogue help make this a near-perfect ride. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review"Compelling ... Laced with page-turning tension and memorable scenes that are as poignant as they are vital.... Rich details and smart use of dialogue help make this a near-perfect ride."--Publishers Weekly “Stewart shows a gift for economy of language and plot that is rare these days, and a talent for evoking atmosphere that has all but vanished from thriller novels.…” –Washington Post “Stewart evokes taste, smell, sight and touch to put the reader right in the middle of the scene.” –Charlotte Observer From the Paperback edition.