I really enjoyed The Fifth Reflection. Ellen Kirschmans writing is easy to read but powerful enough to pull me in. I found myself thinking about this book when I was doing other things and I couldn't wait to pick it up!

An excellent mystery filled with atmosphere and suspense. I would recommend this for mystery fans and people new to the genre. This story has its own unique flavour and does not feel formulaic.

Doctor Dot Meyerhoff, police psychologist is facing her most difficult case yet. A photographer, her fiance’s mentor is suspected in the disappearance of her own daughter, partially because of photographer takes provocative pictures of children. The case is made more difficult by Dot’s strained and contentious relationship with the chief of police and the obsessive young detective assigned to the case. This story kept me guessing, and I really enjoyed the way Dot’s relationships with the other characters in the story were developed

“The Fifth Reflection” is the third book in Ellen Kirschman’s Dot Meyerhoff Series. It is not necessary to have read the previous books to enjoy this one. This is a “police procedure” book from a different viewpoint. Dr. Dot Meyerhoff is a psychologist and a paid consultant for the Kenilworth Police Department, a moderately sized agency located in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley. The book is written as Dot’s first person narrative as she works to support police officers and their families as they struggle with the day-to-day stresses of solving crimes.

Be advised, this book deals with a complex social problem and illegal activities involving children. This not only takes a toll on the officers working on these cases, but on the reader as well. The cases do not always end the way one might want.

Dot Meyerhoff and her fiancé Frank Hollis are having a typical Thanksgiving gathering with family in Iowa. “The sky is as gray as the stubble in the fields, obliterating the horizon. Without a line to show where earth and sky meet as though I’m floating in space.” Unfortunately, this is the last idyllic time they have because the phone rings; a friend calls; the unthinkable has happened; a child is missing, Dot and Frank rush back to California.

Frank is a photography student and Chrissy, the daughter of his teacher, is missing. Complicating the search is the underlying fear that the abduction might be part of a child pornography ring since Chrissy’s mother recently exhibited multiple photographs of unclothed young children, including Chrissy.

And then the body of a young child is found. Now it is time for Dot to do her job, but what does she say to someone whose child has been murdered? As the department goes to work, personal relationships become more and more entangled, lovers and ex-lovers, spouses and ex-spouses. Who is lying, and who is telling the truth? Stress mounts, “Nobody calls a cop or a therapist when they are having a good day.” and all are in peril, “Be careful, Dot. A person who would murder a child wouldn’t hesitate to murder you.”

I received a copy of “The Fifth Reflection” from Ellen Kirschman, Oceanview Publishing, and NetGalley in exchange for my review. I had not read previous books in this series, but background information about the characters was included as part of the ongoing narrative. There was no unneeded summarizing of the previous books. This book kept me glued to the pages. It was not an easy book to read because of the subject matter, but it was not sensational, graphic or explicit. The crimes against children were handled in a sensitive and appropriate manner while emphasizing the toll that these crimes take on everyone involved. I will definitely add Ellen Kirschman to my “must read” list.

A scary scary possibility in today's day and age... Internet and crimes against kids are horrible and to read about it in such a raw, in y ou r face book makes you deal with these possible atrocities and truly heart wrenching... a great book... well written, plot and characters well developed and just real enough to bring deep emotions to the surface...

When two-year-old Chrissy disappears from her bed overnight, the Kenilworth Police Department mobilized all its resources to catch her kidnapper, including a newly implemented Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. And the police have a lot to consider, especially after Chrissy's own mother featured her in an art exhibited that was criticized as bordering on pornographic days before her disappearance. The Department and the Task Force, particularly Officer Manny Ochoa, have a lot to consider in the case. In addition to the art show, there is a nanny who flees the country, a commune home where dozens of unknowns have access to the child, and a father angry and jealous not to have the child as his own.

"I am the owner of my actions, heir of my actions. Whatever actions I do, good or evil, of these I shall become heir"--Buddha's Fifth Reflection

The Fifth Reflection is the third novel by Ellen Kirschman featuring police psychologist Dot Meyerhoff, a middle-aged divorcee who works hard to deal with the emotions of her own failed marriage and the baggage it has brought to her new relationship while she tries to help the men and women of the Kenilworth Police Department, a group who, by their nature, are averse to taking help for anything, let alone from a shrink.
But Dr. Meyerhoff isn't your ordinary shrink. She has a knack for getting herself into situations that could get her into trouble, both with her job and real danger. While the police chief calls it meddling or butting into official police business, she prefers to think of it as doing The Right Wrong Thing. However, Dr. Meyerhoff finds herself caught in the middle of a police investigation, her motives are always to help; a grieving family, a cop in trouble, or a crime that needs solving.

Dr. Kirschman writes what she knows. She has a successful career as a police psychologist and wrote the book I Love a Cop to help families get through the unique challenges that accompany loving and living with a police officer, and Counseling Cops, to offer advice to therapists with police clients. (She also wrote I Love a Firefighter, which I just don't understand...) Her experience in psychology and police work is evident in her Dot Meyerhoff series. As Dr. Meyerhoff feels some stress in her relationship with her fiancé Frank, she thinks,

"He doesn't have trouble sharing his opinion about what he calls the important things of life, religion and politics, but the closer we get, the harder it is to talk about our differences because we have so much more to lose."

And as she is talking with one of the police officers she serves, she proves she knows the business, writing something similar to what I've found myself saying and thinking over my career,

"This is the typical progression. In the beginning of their careers cops are so overwhelmed with novelty and new found power they would work for free. Give them a few years and boredom sets in. They start looking around for ways to re-stimulate the feeling of excitement and passion."

I had the pleasure of meeting and spending some time with Dr. Kirschman at Bouchercon last year when she was on a panel I moderated. She is an expert in her field and it is quickly apparent to anyone who meets her how dedicated she is to her career, the law enforcement community, and the myriad issues facing them now. The Dot Meyerhoff books are fun and entertaining crime fiction novels, each one better than the last. Perhaps they can also bring attention to some of those important issues in a way and to an audience that nonfiction can’t.

"Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth."
Albert Camus

George Lichman
TheThirtyYearItch.com

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an early release copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Fifth Reflection was a well thought out novel with a bit of a touchy subject. Well that's what the blurb led me to believe anyway. This book starts off with us getting to know the main character, Dot Meyerhoff - an aging psychologist, moving on with a new fiancé after her husband left her for someone younger. Her fiancé's photography mentor has reported her daughter missing and here is the part I referred to early - the blurb makes it seem like this is all about child porn. Thankfully not - I think this was just a clever diversion to mask the real story/ kidnapping.

I quite enjoyed this book and would look forward to reading more from Ellen Kirschman.

3 and 1 / 2 Stars

Dot Meyerhoff is a single 50-something psychologist who works with the Kenilworth Police Department of about 70 officers. She has a boss, Pence, who pushes some major buttons of hers, and a boyfriend, Frank, who figures large in this book.

While I would give the writing in this book a solid “B,” the storyline is great. I didn't care much for Frank. His total devotion to JJ and his insensitivity to Dot's feelings bothered me. Also Dot seemed a little immature for a psychologist. She apparently didn't know herself very well. She must have taken different classes in graduate school than I did when I got my clinical degree.

This book is certainly a different take on the average kidnapping story. A photographer, the mother of a two year old little girl, takes photos of naked and near-naked children and calls it art. While many people admire her work, many more find it detestable and pornographic. This latter group includes the cops who investigate her daughter’s kidnapping.

While the cops chase down clues and interview witnesses and suspects, Dr. Dot Meyerhoff follows her heart – much to the furious dismay of her boss, Pence. At the same time, she is trying to help Manny Ochoa, a cop who has been assigned to the sex crimes team. He has a young daughter the same age as Chrissie, the kidnapped girl and it is tearing him apart to see the internet pornography he sees daily. It begins to affect his marriage and his job. Dot is desperate to help him, but Spence doesn’t see it – or perhaps doesn’t care to see it.

The kidnappers turn out to be a surprise and the instigator of the kidnapping is an even bigger surprise.

I want to thank Netgalley and Oceanview Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this interesting book to read.

Review posted to my blog - http://www.premeditatedfiction.com/book-recommendation-the-fifth-reflection/

Police psychologist Dr. Dot Meyerhoff and her fiancee Frank have to cut short their Thanksgiving holiday with his family to return home when Frank gets a frantic phone call from his photography teacher JJ. JJ's toddler daughter Chrissy has gone missing and her disappearance may be linked to JJ's recent gallery showing of her latest evocative images of nude children. When Chrissy is found dead, the small Kenilworth police force goes into overdrive to find her killer. Dot is concerned that officer Manny Ochoa's obsession with his new post on the children sex crimes task force and finding Chrissy's killer is tearing his own family apart. Trapped between her friendship and allegiance to Manny, her complicated connections to JJ and Frank, as well as her rocky relationship with Kenilworth police chief Pence, Dot must find a way to help everyone involved.

This was a strong, gripping read and highlights the human toll of police investigating Internet crimes against children, pedophilia and complex family relationships. The author was a police psychologist and this background is used well in creating this story.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Oceanview Publishing with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.