THE VENUS FIX

Author: M.J. Rose ISBN: 077832317X 7/2006 THRILLER Publisher: MIRA

As one of New York's top sex therapists, Dr. Morgan Snow sees everything from the abused to the depraved. From high-profile clients with twisted obsessions to courageous survivors, the Butterfield Institute is the sanctuary to real battered souls. Morgan Snow's newest patient is a powerful, influential man—secretly addicted to watching Internet Web cam pornography. He's not alone in his desires. She's also working with a group of high school teenagers equally and dangerously obsessed with these real-time fantasies. Fantasies that are all too accessible. Then women start dying online, right in front of their eyes. Now it's all about murder.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

M.J. Rose is back with her latest erotic thriller, and I'm happy to report that it is just as engrossing as the previous book in the series, THE DELILAH COMPLEX. Dr. Morgan Snow is a New York sex therapist, and this time her adventures are focused around the world of on-line porn. For some, it is a titillating pleasure, for others it is an addiction that needs therapy to break, with potential damage in all areas of their lives. For the women who want addicted men to pay attention to them, it is a frustrating, emotionally damaging battle to get noticed. And for those who judge the women who perform in online porn, another sort of unhealthy obsession can be released.

As always, Rose is accepting of sexuality, but does make the point of questioning what happens to the relationships of boys whose first contact with the opposite sex is online porn. When they can get sexual satisfaction with virtual strangers, will they ever have normal relationships with girls? How can an average girl compete with an online temptress? Why does a boy think it is okay to let a girl he's never even kissed give him a blow job, and why would a girl give so much and get so little? What can desperation bring a young person to do?

All very interesting stuff, wrapped into a taut, sexy thriller. If you are already a fan, you'll be happy to know that all the main characters are back from earlier in the series, with Morgan still conflicted about her relationships with her daughter and lover. The saga continues.

Heather Hiestand