Do Not Go Gentle

Do Not Go Gentle by Terra Ziporyn
Do Not Go Gentle. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, 2006

For people who like psychologic thrillers, this is a must read.”

AMWA Journal

On one hand, Dr. Alvin Forman is a soft-spoken allergist, single father, and suburban homeowner. On the other hand, and to his own bafflement, he’s also a serial killer.

A former child prodigy, Alvin has struggled all his life to reconcile his desire to save humanity with his desire to destroy it. Now a respected community member, he finds himself meticulously and ruthlessly dismembering patients, loved ones, and neighbors between administering allergy shots and raising his troubled teenaged daughter. But Alvin is beyond suspicion. Even Gloria, an evangelical Christian neighbor who hopes to convert Alvin as well as see him happily remarried, is clueless about just how much his soul actually needs saving.

What would push a doctor who has sworn to protect life to kill? What demons haunt such a troubled mind? And what happens when he loses the only thing that matters to him? These are the questions explored in this tension-filled, psychological thriller. A “why done it?” (as opposed to a “who done it?), Do Not Go Gentle affirms modern forensic science’s claim that there is no typical serial murderer; indeed, even the sweetest next-door neighbor may have a heinous hidden hobby.

REVIEWS

Through the enigmatic Alvin, Ziporyn explores the relationships between creativity and destructiveness, egotism and altruism, ambition and fear. The big question is, “What makes Alvin go over the edge?” Ziporyn suggests that murderers aren’t really all that different from the rest of us; we all have irrational and shameful urges but what sets people like Alvin apart from the rest of us is his inability to control those urges…..”Do Not Go Gentle” carves out an unthinkably personal, nearly sympathetic character, a man who has committed the most heinous and reprehensible of acts. A read that is certain to fascinate and thrill all.

Irene Watson, ReaderViews

Terra Ziporyn, a Maryland freelance, former associate editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, and author of a number of science books including The New Harvard Guide to Women’s Health, uses a novel to delve into the mind of a serial murder. Ziporyn’s atypical childhood, she says, sparked her interest in mass murderers and the psychology behind their crimes. Her father was the chief psychiatrist at Cook County Jail.

ScienceWriters

Do Not Go Gentle supports the claim of modern forensic science that there is no typical serial killer. The reader has empathy for Alvin despite the horrible acts he commits. The book is well-written, with moving dialogue. For people who like psychologic thrillers, this is a must read.”

AMWA Journal

Forman is an allergist, single father, suburbanite, and serial killer. How can a doctor who has sworn to protect life kill? What demons haunt him? And what happens when he loses the only thing that matters to him? These are the questions explored in this tension-filled, psychological thriller. A “why done it?” (as opposed to a “who done it?”), Do Not Go Gentle affirms modern forensic science’s claim that there is no typical serial murderer; indeed, even the sweetest next-door neighbor may have a heinous hidden hobby. Do Not Go Gentle supports the claim of modern forensic science that there is no typical serial killer. The reader has empathy for Alvin despite the horrible acts he commits. The book is well-written, with moving dialogue. For people who like psychologic thrillers, this is a must read.

University of Chicago Magazine

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