What would a loving mother not do for her child?

Lawyer Danielle Parkman is at her wits' end. Her son Max, a whip-smart teen with high-functioning autism, has always been a handful. But lately he's shutting down, using drugs and lashing out - violently.

Desperate, Danielle brings Max to a top-flight psychiatric facility for a full assessment. But rather than reassurance, Danielle receives an agonizing diagnosis describing a deeply damaged, dangerous boy - one she's never met.

Then Danielle finds Max unconscious and bloodied at the feet of a patient who has been brutally stabbed to death. A fiercely protective mother instinct rears its head - and Danielle is arrested as an accessory to the heinous crime.

In a baffling netherworld of doubt and fear, barred from contacting her son, Danielle clings to the thought of Max's innocence. But has she, too, lost touch with reality? Is her baby boy really a killer?

With the justice system bearing down on them both, Danielle steels herself to discover the truth - no matter how horrifying. It's a path well on the wrong side of the law. But only finding the true killer will absolve her from having to choose between her son and her soul.

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Review Companies MR Review
Rating:
Reviewer: Cheryl
Review:

Danielle Parkman doesn’t know what to do with her son Max. He is going through more than just the teenager phase. Things really fell apart when Max’s girlfriend dumped him in front of the whole school. He started using drugs, lashing out at Danielle and even had thoughts of suicide. It was at this point that Danielle was desperate.

Danielle admits Max to Maitland Psychiatric Asylum. There Danielle meets Marianne and her son, Jonas. Danielle notices instantly within a few days that Max is growing more aggressive and he is not the same person as before. The doctors and nurses tell Danielle that she does not know what she is talking about. Max has grown so out of control that he has to be sedated and strapped down to the bed. The next time Danielle goes to visit Max, she finds Max holding a bloody comb, Jonas is dead and Danielle charged as an accessory to murder.

Saving Max is one of the best physiological thrillers I have read in a long time. I would say it ranks in the top three for 2010! This book is spell-binding. I literally had a hard time putting this book down for very long. I was cheering for Danielle the whole time. You never want to get between a mother and her child. Even though I knew who the killer was, I couldn’t figure the motive. I liked how this story played out. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The only thing you need to save is a spot on your bookshelf for Saving Max. Antoinette van Heugten is going on my auto buy list.

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