ACQUIRED MOTIVES

Dr. Sylvia Strange Book 2

In Sarah Lovett’s gripping psychological thriller Acquired Motives, forensic psychologist Sylvia Strange faces her most harrowing moral and professional crisis yet. When a technicality in the law forces her to provide the testimony that sets a sadistic rapist free, the consequences are swift, brutal, and deeply personal.

“When Justice Fails, Vengeance Begins”

Anthony Randall looked like an altar boy, but Sylvia knew the darkness behind his guileless blue eyes. After a botched confession allows him to walk out of a New Mexico courtroom, the community’s outrage turns into a nightmare of vigilante justice. Shortly after his release, Randall is found abducted and murdered in a manner as gruesome as his own crimes.

The horror strikes even closer to home when Sylvia is attacked and left with a grisly “trophy” from the scene—a clear message that she is being watched.

Read More...

A Convoluted Web of Deception
As Sylvia’s lover, State Police officer Matt England, takes on the murder investigation, a mysterious figure from the past emerges: AWOL FBI agent Dan Chaney. Chaney claims the killer isn’t a local vigilante, but a dangerous arms dealer the Bureau has officially declared dead.

As more offenders are targeted, Sylvia begins to question her own professional judgment. Was she a witness to the truth, or a pawn in a much larger, deadlier game?

Why Readers Love Acquired Motives:

  • High-Stakes Psychological Suspense: A chilling exploration of the blurred lines between justice and revenge.
  • Atmospheric Setting: Experience the stark beauty and hidden dangers of the New Mexico landscape.
  • Complex Characters: Follow Sylvia Strange as she navigates physical, psychological, and spiritual excess to uncover a truth no one wants to admit.
Buy On Amazon

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

“Lovett’s characterizations are faultless. Believable people inhabit her books. Although many of them have deep psychological problems, they still ring true. Scary, but true. The final pages of Acquired Motives race at break neck speed to a conclusion. I think I forgot to breathe several times.”
–Mary Ann Smyth, Bookloons

“A story for those who revel in excess: physical, psychological and spiritual… Lovett successfully pulls the story’s several strands together in the end.”
–Publishers Weekly