Steve Stahl

Stephen M. Stahl is Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. He has conducted numerous research projects awarded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Veterans Administration, and the pharmaceutical industry. Author of more than 300 articles and chapters, Dr. Stahl is an internationally recognized clinician, researcher, and teacher in psychiatry with subspecialty expertise in psychopharmacology.

BUT there's an unexpected twist to this respected physician's CV: he has now penned a riveting novel the likes of which even John Grisham might envy: SHELL SHOCK. The plot revolves around post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition of great importance to Dr. Stahl, especially as thousands of veterans return to America with PTSD.

Steve hopes his debut thriller will shine a spotlight into the dark hole of public misconceptions about PTSD, as well as keeping readers glued to the pages of his latest book, which many believe is destined to become a major motion picture.

From the shell shock of men suffering the unspeakable horrors in the trenches of World War I to the PTSD of returning troops today, comes a mystery of crimes even more heinous than war itself. SHELL SHOCK investigates the effects of war's destruction on both the battlefield and on the minds of soldiers. Famous Stanford psychiatrist, Dr. Gus Conrad, uncovers a covert military faction, The Patrons of Perseus, formed during the First World War to celebrate heroism and eliminate cowardice. The group is so far beyond the pale of humanity that Conrad must stop its evil agenda. Through flashbacks to events of 100 years ago, to the examination of soldiers returning today from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder, Conrad finds himself in a race to save his own life while trying to change the practice of psychiatry in the military.