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Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER When his passionate romance with nurse Jocelyn Banks is cut short by her kidnapping and brutal murder, young psychologist Jeremy Carrier is left emotionally devastated, haunted by his lover�??s grisly demise�??and eyed warily by police still seeking a prime suspect in the slaying. �??An unnerving, highly cinematic plot . . . [Kellerman has] headed off into different terrain . . . with striking success in this . . . quick-witted outing.�?��??Janet Maslin, The New York Times To escape the pain, he buries himself in his work at City Central Hospital�??only to be drawn deeper into a walking nightmare when more women are murdered in the same gruesome fashion as Jocelyn. As the suspicion surrounding Jeremy intensifies, the only way for him to prove his innocence and put his torment to rest is to follow the deadly trail of a mode… (more)
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At first I was a bit annoyed by the book, I couldn't relate to any of the characters and didn't really liked any of them, and it all seemed
I still believe it lacks... something. But it's an enjoyable and quick read.
Dr Jeremy Carrier did not appeal to me as a character at all. The only one who did was Dr Arthur Chess. Carrier often has an inner dialogue which became quite irritating. The plot, although formulaic, did keep me reading. Basically, Carrier is given clues to a series of murders carried out in the same gruesom fashipn as his girlfriend's. I thought they must have been together for a long time but it was only a matter of months.
With characters who were difficult to bond with, I don't really know who this book would appeal to. If you want to read a book whilst on a plance then this would be it. If you're looking for something deep and meaningful look elsewhere.
I do have others of his at home to read but I'm afraid they'll be pushed to the back of my tbr pile!
Didn't care about Jeremy. The police were barely
Bleh
My biggest issue with this book, is if the dining club knew exactly who murdered Dr Carrier's partner why did they sit back and let several other women be murdered just so they could let Dr Chess travel the world and mail idiotic postcards to Dr Carrier? They were all victims of crime and are so devastated by such that they have apparently dedicated the rest of their lives to fighting such, yet stand idly by and let a serial killer roam free just so they can lead Dr Carrier along a convoluted path of clues.
Really the story is nothing great even once you get over the logic gaps it's still a rather run of the mill murder mystery, unlike most murder mysteries there's also basically no police involvement beyond a detective that pesters Dr Carrier now and again and very little in the way of 'investigation'.
If you have nothing else to read it will fill in time, but if your lawn needs mowing it'll probably be more rewarding to do that.
Plot -- 17 out of 20 points
In a killing eerily reminiscent of Jack the Ripper, a young nurse is brutally murdered by someone with specific surgical skills. When Jeremy Carrier, the psychologist hero, becomes a suspect in his girlfriend’s murder, his grief-driven
Characters -- 17 out of 20 points
Having the lovely Jocelyn Banks murdered early on tinges the tale with a sadness that doesn’t seem to leave much room for her successor in the bereaved psychologist’s bedroom. There is some rather graphic sex here and there, but Mr. Kellerman uses it to explore Jeremy’s experience with the grief process as he tries to move on and begin a new romance. Several characters seem to be so psychologically damaged they teeter on the edge of reason, in danger of crossing the fine line of sanity. The reader is left to pick out the real killer from an extensive group of “weird” people, who seem to challenge even the hardiest reader’s ability to trust as danger lurks in the shadows. One of Mr. Kellerman’s strengths is his compassion for the patients his fictional psychologist treats; cardiac patient Merilee Saunders and cancer survivor Doug Vilardi seem to bring out the best in the emotionally distant Jeremy as he goes through the motions of being a psychologist. The big drawback of the book for me was that I found the members of the Conspiracy Club hard to relate to as fictional people.
Setting -- 17 points out of 20
Jeremy, whether tucked away in the bowels of the hospital or the dreary apartment of his new girlfriend, is so overwhelmed by his loss that he appears to function on automatic pilot. City Central Hospital seems to have a dark, sinister chilliness that seems to chase away the sun. Even the meeting place for the Conspiracy Club feels unwelcoming and awkward. The too-willing Jeremy follows this storm cloud as it spreads menacing gloom in his path. (I felt like sending him away -- somewhere, anywhere -- for a long weekend, just to expose him to a little natural light and stimulate his senses in a healthier direction. “Psychologist, heal thyself!”)
Pacing -- 18 points out of 20
The story moves along like a powerful river, sweeping the reader into black, treacherous water where hidden dangers lurk. This isn’t a comfortable read -- too many characters grieving real losses and health challenges, while other characters remain stuck in their own earlier tragedies. But the action unfolds with enough chilling discoveries to keep the tale moving forward. The reader does wonder what brought all this tragedy to fruition, even as the dread builds and the finale reveals the answer.
Tone -- 16 points out of 20
Picture yourself waking up inside a dark closet. Is the closet locked from the inside or from the outside? Is it a sanctuary from the cruel outside world for you or a tomb? That’s the kind of tone this tale provides. At times, it’s hard to tell whether the growing uncertainty will end in the demise of the bad guy or take everyone else down in the process. While there is great tension, it seemed to get snagged from time to time on the subject of Death itself, as opposed to the loss of individuals. Was that deliberate on the part of the author?
This was not up to par with other Jonathan Kellerman novels that I have read. Plot holes abound in this novel, almost to the point of ridiculousness. The story line was not especially believable, and the characters left much to be desired. I wasn’t remotely impressed with this novel and I would advise skipping it.
Carl Alves – author of Blood Street