Liza Larkin is a pathology resident with a schizoid personality disorder that makes interacting with people very difficult. Liza’s mom, who has schizophrenia, lives in an institution. Her father, who provided her stability and unconditional love as she grew up, is dead. Now she relies on her psychiatrist, Dr. Lightfoot, to assist her in dealing with the difficulties of social relationships. Her father taught her well, but challenges to her preferred reclusiveness continually beset her. For these reasons, Liza seems like an unlikely warrior for justice; yet, she has a visceral antipathy toward injustice that compels her to help people she cares. She knowingly puts herself in danger for the sake of others.

In this second book of the series, Liza suspects that a friend’s aunt was murdered despite no evidence to support her suspicion. While sleuthing on her own, she’s challenged to keep a major research grant (and her professional future) from falling through the cracks while her preceptor copes with a family crisis. Liza also runs up against Chopper, a shady character from the previous novel, who threatens to blackmail her. She (and we) really don’t want to know how he got that nickname.

The story is told from Liza’s point-of-view so we only know what she knows, making this novel a thrilling puzzle. I felt I was right there alongside Liza, trying to figure out how her friend’s aunt might have been murdered and why. My only criticism of the novel is that Liza spends a lot of time ruminating, thinking through all the possibilities of whatever problem she’s trying to solve. There were a few moments when I wanted her to stop thinking and start doing, but those ruminations also offer a deep dive into Liza’s brain. She is highly intelligent, capable of incredible focus and memory retention. Yet, like other humans, she has her flaws and vulnerabilities. “Seeing” Liza socially mature and learn to ask for help as well as offer help is a real bonus. Rubin has a gift for character development and for keeping the reader on the edge of her seat. I am looking forward to more novels in this series.

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You can find Malignant Assumptions at Amazon (print and Kindle versions) and Bookshop (print versions). Audio versions are available at Audible, Libro.fm, and Spotify.

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