Saving Max Book

Max Parkman—autistic and whip-smart, emotionally fragile and aggressive—is perfect in his mother's eyes. Until he's accused of murder.

Attorney Danielle Parkman knows her teenage son Max's behavior has been getting worse—using drugs and lashing out. But she can't accept the diagnosis she receives at a top-notch adolescent psychiatric facility that her son is deeply disturbed. Dangerous.

Until she finds Max, unconscious and bloodied, beside a patient who has been brutally stabbed to death.

Trapped in a world of doubt and fear, barred from contacting Max, Danielle clings to the belief that her son is innocent. But has she, too, lost touch with reality? Is her son really a killer?

With the justice system bearing down on them, Danielle steels herself to discover the truth, no matter what it is. She'll do whatever it takes to find the killer and to save her son from being destroyed by a system that's all too eager to convict him.

Publishers Weekly

Parents of children with serious behavior problems will find their worst nightmares come alive in Texas attorney van Heugten's debut, a murder thriller. The worries of single mother and Manhattan attorney Danielle Parkman about her son, Max, a high-functioning 16-year-old with Asperger's, escalate when she discovers he's using drugs and keeps a journal filled with violent suicidal writings and drawings. Max's outbursts have also left Danielle with more than a few bruises and scrapes. When the boy's doctor recommends Maitland Psychiatric Asylum in Plano, Iowa, Danielle reluctantly agrees. Danielle soon has her doubts about Maitland, especially after staff members diagnose Max with "an extreme form of psychosis" and refuse to let her be a part of her son's care. Her misgivings intensify after Max is accused of killing a fellow patient and she's arrested as an accessory. More than one harrowing twist toward the end compensate for the "stiffened spines" and "horrified glances." (Oct.)