John H. Menkes. The Angry Puppet Syndrome (1999) 302 pp.
Publisher’s description: “From the moment Dr. Dan Lerner discovers a bizarre behavior pattern, he is plunged into a maelstrom. Patient after patient is experiencing violent outbursts for no apparent reason. And they all feel manipulated by a sinister force. As he tries to diagnose and treat ‘The Angry Puppet Syndrome,’ he is drawn along a terrifying path. He confronts not only a hit-and-run killing and anonymous threatening phone calls, but also murder and suicide. How do his patients figure in a web of deceit and lies involving a major pharmaceutical company? How could they tip the scales of justice in a legal case that is being conducted by Dan’s lover, Maureen? It is not until Dan unearths a long-hidden secret about his own past and Maureen is kidnapped that he learns the truth about a so-called genius on the staff of the university hospital and a deadly conspiracy.”
Setting: Various places, including: San Francisco; Stinson Beach