Fear Itself : A Novel

FBI Agent Ed Pender is onthe brink of retirement when he receives Dorie Bell's letter claiming a madman is targeting attendees of a phobics conviction and killing them with their worst fears. From Jonathan Nasaw, whose heart-stopping debut was hailed as "a superior thriller" ( The Washington Post ) and "wickedly compelling" ( The Oregonian ), comes a new novel that takes readers into the depths of Fear Itself Is it possible to be scared to death? FBI Special Agent E. L. Pender thinks so — when a man afraid of heights falls nineteen stories to his death and a woman terrified of blood is found with her wrists slashed. Could it be that the apparent suicides are actually the work of a twisted psychopath? To stop him, Pender joins forces with Investigative Specialist Linda Abruzzi, and before long they find themselves facing their own worst terrors — and a madman who is as immune to fear as he is fascinated by it. On his last day with the FBI, special agent E.L. Pender is drawn into the case of phobia disorder patient Dorie Bell, whose fellow attendees at a Las Vegas phobia convention have died in manners inconsistent with their fears