Join us for a special in-person event with Joanna Schaffhausen, to celebrate the release of All The Way Gone!
It’s Annalisa Vega’s most baffling case yet: Can there be such a thing as a good sociopath?

Chicago detective Annalisa Vega is skeptical, but Professor Mara Delaney insists that some sociopaths are beneficial to society. Mara has even written a book, The Good Sociopath, centered around Chicago neurosurgeon Craig Canning. Dr. Canning has saved hundreds of patients so it shouldn’t matter that he doesn’t actually care about them, should it? But Mara has a more urgent problem, which is that she is now concerned that Canning might not be such a good sociopath after all. A young woman in Canning’s apartment building mysteriously plunged to her death, and Mara fears Canning could be responsible. She needs Annalisa to find the truth about Canning before the book comes out, so Annalisa has little time to get some answers.

Canning insists he didn’t do it. His charming, unflappable demeanor suggests that either he’s telling the truth, or Mara is right and he’s cold-hearted to the core. The more Annalisa probes, the more she becomes convinced it’s a fiendishly clever murder, one only a brilliant psychopath could pull off. She draws deeper into a battle of wits with Canning, so determined to prove his guilt that she forgets Mara’s most important warning—that sociopaths only care about winning at all costs. When Annalisa finally peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the horrifying truth of the girl’s death, she may be too late to save herself.

Joanna Schaffhausen wields a mean scalpel, skills she developed in her years studying neuroscience. She has a doctorate in psychology, which reflects her long-standing interest in the brain―how it develops and the many ways it can go wrong. Previously, she worked as a scientific editor in the field of drug development. Prior to that, she was an editorial producer for ABC News, writing for programs such as World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and 20/20. She lives in the Boston area with her husband, daughter, and an obstreperous basset hound named Winston.

Awards: Winner 2016, Mystery Writers of America/St. Martin’s Minotaur First Crime Novel AwardPlease register so we can set the community room up with appropriate spacing.