cover image The Nature of a Woman: Through the Eyes of a Man...

The Nature of a Woman: Through the Eyes of a Man...

Sylvester Stephens. Strebor Books, $15 (405pp) ISBN 978-1-59309-233-7

Stephens (The Office Girls) brings back writer Michael Forrester in a soul-searching thriller about Michael's brother, the African American psychologist Dr. Johnny Forrester. Johnny is a former NFL star and the major player who's on a steamy quest to understand what makes women tick. He's guilty about his past erotic sins but he begins an affair with a patient, Anise, a bi-racial celebrity who is being pursued as a client by Johnny's wife Alicia's public relations firm. When Johnny tries to end the affair, Anise threatens to cancel her agreement with Alicia. When Johnny finds out that Anise is meeting with his brother Michael to collaborate on a book, he rushes to her hotel room only to find her recently deceased. Both men are arrested for the crime but Michael is released while Johnny is imprisoned. The only eyewitness who could clear him, a schizophrenic patient, has disappeared. Johnny learns his lesson the hard way, but with aid from friends, family and an agoraphobic psychologist comes to realizations regarding infidelity and both genders' frailties.