From the former Executive Producers of Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit
Kill Switch
Kill Again
X
Introduction

Claire Waters, a brilliant forensic psychiatrist haunted by a childhood tragedy, has always been able to unlock her patients' darkest secrets. But has she met her match in deranged Rikers Island inmate, Todd Quimby? Drawn into his twisted life and obsessions, Claire must face her own demons to save her life in this taut, visceral, fast-paced story of murder, mystery and medicine.


A heart-pounding glimpse into the world of forensic psychiatry, Kill Switch marks the powerful fiction debut of Neal Baer and Jonathan Greene – former executive producers of television's acclaimed Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

HOW KILL SWITCH CAME TO LIFE
Eight years ago, Baer and Greene decided to combine their mutual love of film noir, murder mysteries and psychological thrillers into a story fueled by two people determined to unravel the dark inner workings of the criminal mind. Drawing inspiration from the betrayal and obsession of Hitchcock's classic Vertigo and the hardened cop narrative of Fritz Lang's The Big Heat, the team started on a detailed outline for a feature film that sat in Baer's desk drawer until one fateful day last year. In 2010, Baer and Greene's mutual agent at Paradigm asked if the duo had anything in the works, and Kill Switch was reborn as the first in a book series of medical thrillers.


Moving from TV to the novel allowed Baer and Greene to explore ways of creating rich, compelling characters beyond the constraints of dialogue. The result? A tightly wound cliffhanger that pays homage to the titans of spine-chilling film.


Backstory
Inspiration

Think you're a movie buff? Test your knowledge on what inspired Kill Switch.
Take the Quiz >

Authors
About the Authors

Neal BaerNeal Baer is probably most well known as the Executive Producer behind a stream of television hits including ER, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and most recently, A Gifted Man.

Today, in addition to his "day job" on A Gifted Man, Baer focuses his efforts using his gift of storytelling to change the world. In 2012 he will be launching a new social network called actionlab.org, which connects people with similar interests so they can help their communities together. He has also signed on to serve as screenwriter for the upcoming movie version of Kill Switch.

Baer graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science from Colorado College. He holds master's degrees from Harvard in Education and Sociology, as well as an MD from Harvard Medical School. Before working in television, he spent a year at the American Film Institute as a directing fellow. In 2000, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Colorado College.

In addition to awards from the Writers Guild of America, Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Feminist Majority Foundation, Baer has also received seven Emmy Award nominations; five for producing and two for writing, along with two Writers Guild nominations for best television drama writing. Dr. Baer currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Gerrie Smith, and his son Caleb.

Jonathan GreeneJonathan Greene spent eleven years as writer and Co-Executive Producer on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, his nearly forty teleplays earning the show an Emmy Award and nominations for the Edgar Award and the Humanitas Prize. Previously, he was a producer and executive in television news and documentaries, and is a recipient of the duPont-Columbia Award. He is presently a writer and Co-Executive Producer on the new CBS series A Gifted Man. A native of New York, Mr. Greene earned a B.S. in Political Science and an M.S. in Telecommunications from Syracuse University. He lives with his family in Los Angeles.

Upcoming Appearances
  • February 22, 2012
    7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
    Book Plates Literary Event
    475 S. Curson Avenue
    Los Angeles, CA 90036
    http://bookplates3.eventbrite.com/
Interactive
Coming soon
Download
the App
Coming soon

Take a look inside the lives and minds of Kill Switch's main characters.

OPEN >
What Others Are Saying
Praise
Press & News

 "A startling, intense suspense novel...the characters are real, the scenes are brutal, and the relationship of the protagonists will have readers staying up at night– with the light on– to see how this one turns out....Readers may just have found the next 'Preston & Child' team!" – Suspense Magazine

 "Fans of high-octane, intricate thrillers will welcome TV producers Baer and Greene's fiction debut...delivered with skill." – Publishers Weekly

"Baer and Greene were producers on Law & Order SVU, which shows in this book’s tight plotting and carefully built suspense." – Romantic Times Book Reviews

 "An exciting police procedural, fast-paced and filled with twists." – The Mystery Gazette

 "Fans of psychological thrillers will look forward to more adventures with Claire Waters." – Library Journal

 "A brilliant young forensic psychiatrist tries to outwit a serial killer." – Kirkus Reviews

 "An extremely impressive debut... keeps the reader engrossed and guessing." – Bookreporter.com

 "Deadly risk, a suspenseful conclusion... Characters and dialogue ring true." – Booklist

 "A prime-time thriller . . . suspense on the order of Silence of the Lambs." – Denver Post

 "Plenty of misdirection and some surprising twists make this a fast read." – Book Loons

 "Entertaining... the story unfolds at the speed of a high speed train." – The Mystery Reader

Seeing Terror Risk, U.S. Asks Journals to Cut Flu Study Facts
Researchers have designed a form of avian flu that is highly contagious and lethal to humans. KILL SWITCH poses the question: How far should we take biological research before there's no turning back? Should some boundaries never be crossed? – The New York Times

Contact

Paradigm 360 North Crescent Drive, North Building, Beverly Hills, CA 90201
Phone: (310) 288-8000
Contact: Valarie Phillips, vphillips@paradigmagency.com

For publicity requests: Contact Vida Engstrand, vengstrand@kensingtonbooks.com

Send a message to the authors:
First Name
Last Name
Email Address
Your Message
Buy the book
Kensington
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Books-A-Million
IndieBound
Kill Again