Mefisto in Onyx, by Harlan Ellison (sci-fi novella, 1993)

[lb_lee]

"Slip into the thoughts of the best person who ever lived, even Saint Thomas Aquinas, for instance, just to pick an absolutely terrific person you'd think had a mind so clean you could eat off it (to paraphrase my mother), and when you come out--take my word for it--you'd want to take a long, intense shower in Lysol."

Blurb: An assistant DA asks her telepathic friend to look into the mind of a serial killer she swears is innocent. He's not sure he believes her, but the case takes a turn he truly doesn't expect.

Why is it worth your time?: This is a story where telling too much would ruin the experience. Suffice to say, it has breathtaking twists and a trickster hero who's not necessarily always pleasant, but magnificent to watch. We started this story not sure if we would like it, and by the time we finished, we felt humbled by how satisfying we found the climax.

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse intermediate focus, bodyhopping, closeting, setting-specific type, switching

Content Warnings: contain SPOILERS; see comments. It is not spoilers, though, to say that HEINOUS crimes are a major plot point in this book, and they are touched upon just enough to be evocative and unclean to hear about.

Accessibility Notes: Harlan Ellison is EXTREMELY famous and this novella got nominated for a bunch of awards, so this is a comparatively easy work to find. Available in... well, all of these collections, in hardback, paperback, ebook, audiobook, German, Serbian, and French.