Every Fifteen Minutes

Every Fifteen Minutes (2015), a thriller by Lisa Scottoline, uses two alternating points-of-view: the first-person narration by an anonymous, self-described sociopath and a third-person narrative recounting events in the life of Dr. Eric Parrish, who has been targeted by the sociopath for destruction. The identity of the person manipulating Dr. Parrish’s life is the core mystery of the story.

The book opens with a statement from the sociopath describing how much smarter he/she is than everyone, and how no one sees him/her coming because he/she wears a mask of normalcy. The sociopath describes his/her vendetta in alternating chapters.

Dr. Eric Parrish is introduced. He is a brilliant psychiatrist, chief of the prestigious psychiatric unit at Havermeyer General Hospital, located near Philadelphia. He has a great team under him, including Sam Ward, a talented doctor who serves as a sort of second in command, and former medical school classmate Laurie Fortunato, who is one of his best friends. Eric’s life isn’t perfect; he’s struggling with a recent divorce from his attorney wife, Caitlin, which has complicated his relationship with his daughter, Hannah. Caitlin has recently changed her attitude, selling their house without informing him, making it difficult for Eric to see his daughter, and being generally combative; Eric suspects she is seeing someone new.



The psychiatric unit is named the number two such unit in the country, and Eric takes his staff out for drinks to celebrate. Kristine Malin, an attractive young medical student, has an obvious crush on Eric and makes bold overtures to him, which he rejects despite feeling a strong attraction.

Mrs. Teichner, an elderly woman dying of stage-4 lung cancer is brought into the emergency room. She is very sweet and flirts with Eric. She is accompanied by her grandson, Max Jakubowski, who suffers from OCD. He is compelled to perform little rituals—such as tapping on his head a specific number of times—every fifteen minutes in order to feel in control. Mrs. Teichner begs Eric to take Max on as a patient because she fears he will not react well to her death. Eric agrees. Max confesses to Eric in their session that he is obsessed with a young girl he tutors, Renee Bevilacqua, and fantasizes about murdering her. Eric considers reporting this, as the law allows for violations of patient-doctor confidentiality when someone is in real danger, but he doesn’t believe Max is capable of murder. He opts, instead, to find Renee at the ice cream parlor where she works and follow her home to ensure that nothing happens to her.

At the hospital, Eric is stunned to learn that Kristine has filed a sexual harassment complaint against him, as it was he who rejected her advances. He is placed on suspension until the charges can be investigated. Mrs. Teichner dies; Max calls Eric and tells him he is contemplating suicide. Eric tracks down Max’s alcoholic mother in an attempt to find him. He is horrified to learn that Renee has been murdered, and Max has gone missing. The police bring Eric in for an interview because he was seen following Renee home. During the interview, Eric refuses to talk about Max, still not believing the teenager is capable of murder. The police raid his home and offices, looking for evidence. Eric asks the IT department at the hospital to check who has accessed Mrs. Teichner’s file because he realizes someone is coordinating events and they seem centered on Max.



Eric’s friend Laurie is a great comfort to him; she connects him with her brother, Paul, who is a lawyer. At work, Eric is disappointed to find little support except from Sam. Things spiral from bad to worse, however, when Max takes a group of teenagers hostage at the King of Prussia Mall, threatening to kill one every fifteen minutes, and then detonate a bomb. Risking his life, Eric goes inside the mall to talk to Max, convincing him to come out without hurting anyone.

Assaulted at home by Sam Ward, Eric realizes that Sam has coordinated all of these events, working to destroy him. Eric gets help, and Sam confesses to the crimes, including murdering Renee. Eric is informed that Kristine has dropped her sexual harassment charges, and he is able to return to work. Caitlin calls and is more conciliatory, offering to relent on the custody battle. Everything is looking up when Eric receives a call from the hospital IT department, informing him that Dr. Sam Ward and Dr. Laurie Fortunato accessed the Teichner file. Laurie is revealed as the true sociopath; she manipulated everyone, including Sam, into doing her bidding. Eric confronts her, and she attacks herself with scissors, stating she will claim Eric attempted to rape her. The police arrive, however, as Laurie attempts to stab Eric, who manages to get the scissors away from her, and she is arrested.

Eric visits Max and finds him doing much better. Max has reconnected with his mother. Back at work, Eric, though less trusting, feels that he has a better grasp of the human psyche as the result of his experiences.