Hallie Ephron Books In Order

Publication Order of Dr. Peter Zak Books

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Everything Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Hallie Ephron is a New York Times author of nonfiction, mystery and thrillers novels. Her novels, Night Night, Come and Find Me, Never Tell a Lie, Sleep Tight, and There Was an Old Woman were all finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award. Her book Never Tell a Lie has been adapted into a television film starring Brendan Fehr, Anastasia Griffith, and Clea Duvall.

Amnesia

Amnesia is the debut novel in Dr. Peter Zak mystery series. The book introduces a character named Sylvia, who was a headshot and thrown in a cemetery where her boyfriend was buried several yards away. Sylvia stays in a coma for about six weeks and wakes up when she can’t recall anything until after three months. She starts remembering about the crime and the person who was attempting to kill her.

She later accuses her ex-husband recalling what appears to be undeniable evidence of the suspected killer. During the investigation, Dr. Peter Zak works as a director in a psychiatric hospital. One year ago, Dr. Peter stopped working as a specialist on crime and memory in Boston after his wife was killed by someone he had attested against in court.

It’s now two years since Peter offered his services to a client; he convinced the court that he is not guilty because he does not have a sound mind. When the patient is set free, he begins stalking Peter and his wife and later murders peter’s wife and swore not to work as a public defender again.

Dr. Peter is called by his former colleagues who request to consult this peculiar incidence, which appears to be a case on amnesia. He gets interested in the case and agrees to help the colleague. Sylvia was found in the cemetery with a bullet on her head. It is up to Peter to find out whether he will rely on Sylvia’s memory, which he can later use to unveil what exactly happened in the cemetery that very night.

Sylvia can’t remember that her boyfriend was killed then left on her bed, and as days go on; she believes her former spouse murdered her boyfriend and also attempted to kill her. Peter and his team believe that the suspect is an innocent or smart psychopath.

The story has many twists and turns, keeping the reader guessing from one page to the next. The characters are believable, and you will find them likable in the course of your reading. The author does a great job in the pacing of the story, and vividly describes the scenes. There is also some suspense in the story keeping it attractive to the end.

Peter is an engaging and sympathetic character making him likable. He is a charming character with a lost soul, but he begins recovering after some time. Amnesia serves as a good start for the series with exciting medical mysteries. The book is fascinating focusing on how professionals can use both false and real memories of a weak person.

There Was an Old Woman

The book begins when Mina is reading daily eulogy news after which she looks for the name of her neighbor and includes it in her notebook. She immediately hears an ambulance and sees another neighbor carried on a stretcher. The neighbor instructs mina to call her daughter Ginger and inform her that she should not let him into the house before she is gone.

Mina is left with those ambiguous words as the neighbor is put into the ambulance. She calls Ginger who later calls Evie, her sister to inform her that it is her turn to look after alcoholic mother. Evie agrees and goes to visit her mother in hospital after which she goes to the house and finds things that leave her shocked.

The house resembles that of a hoarder, there is garbage everywhere, cat food tins, smelly food, broken window, and dirty dishes. Many questions come into her mind; did her mother have a cat? Where did the big TV mount on the wall come from?

Evie learns that her mother has been hanging around with one of the neighbors’ who seems untrustworthy. She later goes to visit Mina who informs her that some homes in the neighborhood were burned, others sold and torn down. She also tells her that a developer is trying to purchase all the property in the area at a low price.

Evie later goes to the local store and finds that the property owner’s son operates it. The son had taken over the business of his father to help the neighbors. He informs her that he started a non-profit store to save the people in the neighborhood from the developers and convinces her to join him. He is handsome and intelligent and helps Evie as she tries to clean up the mess in her mother’s house to keep it clean.

Mina’s nephew wants to take her to another home for him to have close control over her. After some days, mina begins experiencing strange things, at first she can’t find her relevant documents, then she leaves her cooker on and then she is knocked down by a car. The nephew spends most of the time with her so that Mina does not have time to talk to Evie. She doubts that her nephew might not be having good plans for her, and maybe she is not supposed to be living on her own.

Mina and Evie are eager to know what is happening to the neighborhood and the person behind it. They form a team to help them, and Evie feels terrible for not visiting her mother in the hospital again. Mina is an appealing and likable character living an independent life and misses her sister whom they spent many years together, but still, she manages to live her life.

The book has many twists and turns that keep you guessing who was behind the destruction of the neighborhood. We see how the two sisters Evie and Ginger try to forgive their mother and end up learning a bit of their past, which change the view they had on their mother. Hallie Ephron gives a good background history of New York and develops the characters nicely to making the book thrilling.