"Arany's gun is back out of its holster and in his hand, even before his mind can react. A thundering, nauseating echo fills the confined space. Figures move in the dark without practiced skill. There is nothing but bitter, hateful fighting. His last thought is to kill," these dark images troubled him when he blamed himself for the death of his partner, Carl. Dr. Celia Alessandro, the police psychologist, pieced him back together, away from the threats of suicide, quitting his job, or drowning in himself. He'd do anything for her.
The anxiety that once crowded John Arany, when confronted with using his gun, was no longer. That feeling had prevented him from rescuing his partner when the scumball they had arrested turned on them with a knife. That brief lapse when the bum came at them with a gun in the stairwell. That moment too long, caused Carl's death. Now as he searched for signs of the killer, a surety that he would shoot without thinking twice filled his mind. He even wanted to shoot the punk that monkeyed with his wiperblades. The injection for anxiety helped. Or was it the picture flickering in his head of Celia's legs calming him?
As Celia listened, she realized the violent episodes scared and exhilarated Arany. Those dizzy spells followed by aggressive behavior. What was the cause? He had no idea, but she did. She realized something else at that moment. "I was falling in love with him. When he stopped laughing and looked into my eyes, he was like a puppy dog, so open and eager for approval. And I felt insecure, upset by this new knowledge." She led Arany "around in his own, personal maze. He would either collapse or turn to fight and go down fighting."
Dr. Martin Baruch, loving husband, researcher, and genius, pulled her strings. Until death they did part - Celia loved Martin. Loved him to death. More and more, Arany became someone foreign. His thoughts centered on Celia. He sat outside her home envisioning her hair, her movements, her smiles. When Captain Ericsson handed him a throwaway gun and told him to eliminate Carl's murderer, Arany cradled the gun to himself like a lost friend and turned to complete the mission. He was becoming a lab rat, an experiment.
As Arany's police investigation on the seamy side of town turns into a quest for revenge, he must deal with a passionate affair with a woman ten years older and her devious husband bent on creating killing machines. Seduction, heat, violence, court room drama, and murder are splashed throughout POISONOUS KISS.