Serial Murder Books

After a few weeks I can't really remember what it was exactly about. It was interested at the time but I didn't love it. I was just ok.

This book was phenomenal, and highly reccommended to to readers over the age of thirteen for some adult themes in the book. Hooper kept me guessing til the very end, and I enjoyed the supernatural theme that held throughout the entire book.

Excellent book, suspenseful, a definite page turner. This is another one of the series of "Evil" books by Kay Hooper. This book draws you into the world of the paranormal, delivers mystery, and a bit of romance. I certainly didn't guess who the culprit was, and I'm usually good at doing so. Highly recommend her books. Received in perfect condition, and quick and easy transaction.

I read this book and it was kind of interesting, however the more I read the more it seemed as if this author was having difficulty putting a real plot together. Instead of giving the reader clues to the killer's identity and having the characters solve the mystery, she just endowed her characters with more and more super powers to give them the ability to get to the next situation. The psychic angle was kind of fun for a bit but it got to the point of being silly. Also, the book was 392 pages long and close to 200 of those pages probably dealt with Nell explaining to Max why it wasn't his fault she left town and why they couldn't be together. That became tiresome. Also "Nell chose her words carefully" was used soooo many times. Okay, I got the point. Shelby and Justin seemed to be a story line that had some potential, but nothing ever developed as far as importance to the plot was concerned. They got together as a couple. Great, but once Shelby took the picture with the aura looming over Nell, the rest of her time in the book was just filing pages. And what kind of a sheriff's office was Ethan running? Undercover FBI agents get hired as deputies using faked backgrounds from police offcers who are off duty and private investigators get hired without the sheriff knowing they are private investigators hired to investigate him. How convenient. And do they really hire deputies with just a paper application, not an extensive background check, no face to face interviews, no verification of identity and without some kind of training in the ways of the local department for more than say an hour or so? There was also the sense of impending danger. I guess in the last few pages, Nell was in a dangerous situation but at no time did any of the main characters seem to actually be in danger. In fact, the identity of the killer is kept a total secret until right up to the very end of the book and there is not a single clue in the book that points to his identity. In fact, the killer turns out to be a very minor character in the plot who is hardly mentioned in the first 300 pages. I was very disapointed in this book, yet I did kind of enjoy the writing and I believe I will read more by this author. This is the first book I have read by Kay Hooper. I was hoping for more of a Tami Hoag or Lisa Gardner type work here but, sorry to say, this is absolutely not a thriller.

This is the 7th Kay Hooper book I have read. I enjoyed this book as much as any of the others.

When I picked up this book I did not know what to expect, perhaps a mystery book, well I did not get a real mystery but nevertheless I got a good book, so as already mentioned elsewhere, if you are mystery freak this is not for you, if you are a neutral person this is definitely good read. What I also found interesting in this book, is the picture of how in the last 60 or so years the "correctness" - referring to the treatment of minorities etc. by police - have changed, that is if the author is to be trusted with the description of the real life back in the late 30s.

A truly different type of mystery in which the characters are richly drawn and unforgettable. Mr. White "seems" to be a rather pitiful fellow, but all is not what it seems to be. In this novel, the good guys can turn out bad and vice versa. Told from each character's perspective, the story weaves not so much a mystery thriller, but rather an insight on personal pains, demons, and redemption.

Herbert White lives a strange life in Saint Paul in 1939. He's a very lonely man, has no friends, is profoundly attached to his daily routines and is an amateur photographer. He particularly likes taking pictures of taxi dancers working at the Aragon Ballroom where Herbert occasionally goes. And so he met Charlie Mortensen - also called Carla Marie LaBreque - and Ruby Fahey. Due to Herbert's eccentric way of life as a recluse, he doesn't feel very comfortable in the presence of women. All the photography sessions taking place at his apartment, Herbert's behaviour is always uneasy whenever a woman comes for posing. When Charlie Mortensen is found dead by strangulation on 30 Sptember 1939 and Ruby Fahey (killed in the same manner) on 22 October, the police suspect Herbert White and arrest him. Slowly White will be drawn into signing a confession stating that he killed the two women. But Lieutenant Wesley Horner becomes suspicious: why did Hebert White state in his confession that he killed the women "by battery to the head" when both of them died from strangulation?
Truth vs. fiction, past vs. present, love vs. hatred, faith and memory are the themes illuminated masterfully by Robert Clark. This is not a mystery story in the classic sense but rather a complex, intriguing and fascinating journey into the human psyche. A beautiful book.

What a marvelous novel: a searching exploration of memory, love, beauty, good/evil, and the hideously mistreated victim, who endures life and takes himself to a higher spiritual plateau. This novel is soaked in mystery, albeit most of it not of the superficial kind that litters most mysteries by, for example, Sandford, Grafton, Patterson, E. George. Readers enjoy a speed read through the kinds of novels written by most mystery authors. I have no quarrel with them. But I would argue vehemently that one Mr. White's Confession is worth more than all the "speed read" novels put together. I am of course making a value judgment, a rather absolute one, but the depth and beauty of this novel demands praise and the most heartfelt entreaty that if you are reading this commentary that you read this novel--your life will be enriched. This novel almost broke my heart at several points. But what it really did is stir into my consciousness the memories of love and beauty in my own life; it made me take stock of where I have been and how important it is that my future create memories that are full of love and beauty. Read this book and be the wiser for having read it.

I have read several Edgar Allen Poe Award books and the authors, without fail, have captivated me with their imaginative and mesmerizing storytelling talent. Robert Clark's `Mr White's Confession' remains a noteworthy exception. Although the book claims to be a period piece of the 30's, its only historical revelation is its repetitive use of bigotry. On this point, I must say the author's range is quite impressive -he has something to say on everything from mental retardation to being Jewish and Black. On the whole, Clark's writing is tedious, dry, and at times borders on simple-minded. Additionally, his characters are overtly clichéd-cookie-cut-outs of something possibly mistaken (in the best possible light) for a Dick Tracey cartoon. Forgive me, for muddying the work of author Chester Gould! By p.82 of the 341 page book, I understood the entire plot, and humoured myself (and the author) by doggedly weathering it to the end. I do not pretend to understand the selection criteria for the esteemable Edgar Allen Poe Award. However, in their defense, all I can say is that being human, even Mystery Writers of America are prone to make mistakes.
`Mr. White's Confession: A Novel' is one such mistake.

In DARK HABOR, David Hosp's writing style is very much like James Grippando. His main character, Scott Finn, rising star at a Boston law firm, has worked hard to pull himself out of the Charleston projects where he grew up.

When the body of his co-worker and old flame, Natalie Caldwell, is discovered floating in the Boston Harbor, Finn is looking to be the likely suspect. Though the police don't have enough for an arrest, police lieutenant Linda Flaherty and her partner have Finn at the top of their suspect list. With the evidence mounting, Finn is left to solve the mystery of Nat's murder. Finn uses his firm's resources which put him and the people helping him in danger. What Finn uncovers connect political officials with organized crime.

What I loved best about this book? The author's writing style. I loved his portrayal of the characters as well.

What I like least? The beginning was a bit slow. I wanted to see more action.

Listened to the audio book and for the past 1.5 years, I've listened to one a week. And this one is at or near the top of my list. Very well done. Great characters and dialogue. Hard to put down. I'm looking forward to listening to Hosp's next book. Dark Harbor was excellent!!

Maybe the worst "thriller" I've read in years. The dialogue, characters and plot are at best soap opera material and that's giving it a positive spin. I hope Mr. Hosp is a good lawyer....and we all know what Wm. Shakespeare said about that profession.

I was pleased to find a great new author when I read David Hosp's book The Betrayed. In my opinion Dark Harbor, his second book, wasn't quite as good, but definitely worth reading!

When John Grisham introduced us to Bendini, Lambert & Locke, a Memphis tax boutique controlled by the Mafia, the idea of an in-house firm for the mob was hilarious. These days no one, least of all our hero Scott Finn, is particularly sure that organized crime doesn't just control the firm, but also the governor's office, the US Attorneys Office and the Boston PD.

Finn, who worked and fought his way out of the streets of Southie to the thick-pile carpets of Boston's Brahmin legal establishment, finds himself back among the thugs and characters of the world he thought he left behind. When a fellow associate and friend with benefits is killed by a copycat killer seeking to emulate "Little Jack" who was terrorizing the city Finn is drawn into the fray, where he acquits himself brilliantly while maintaining his place on the partnership track.

Finn even finds a new love interest in the cop who is trying, though not very hard, to put him away. And a childhood friend proves an invaluable ally as Finn attempts to clear himself and clean up the city in the process.

If it seems over the top, it is. But it is good fun too.

This book would have been very well written, if it were a work of fiction. I really didn't sense that the events depicted in this book actually occurred.

But I will say that the author went into great detail in all aspects, including the investigation leading up to the arrest of John Gacy, the search of his property (the most shocking and vividly described part of the book), right down to the nitty-gritty details of the jury selection, defense, and prosecution.

I have read Killer Clown and some other books on the John Wayne Gacy serial murders, and can unequivocally tell you that the book by Terry Sullivan is the most accurate. I should know. I was the Assistant State's Attorney to whom John Wayne Gacy made several confessions, and I testified for the State of Illinois in the trial. Additionally, I spent several hours with the authors as the book was being prepared. If you are looking for a true chronicle of the events leading up to the arrest, trial and conviction of that animal, this book is what you want.

I read (and still have!) the very first paperback version of this book way back in the autumn of 1985. I am old enough to have watched the initial TV news broadcasts of this case from back in December of 1978! This book is a very interesting and entertaining read about the subtle (and sometimes NOT so subtle)surveillance,tracking, taunting and eventual arrest of this man who had been raping,murdering (and sodomizing AFTER they were dead) boys throughout the seventies. While the book does NOT go into very much detail at all about Gacy's private life (other than a few brief glimpses into his marriage and some scattered observations from a neighbor, co-worker, employee and such)it is still a very good book on Gacy, the man and the monster. I am an AVID collector of all things Gacy and will be putting some of my very valuable collection on display up on YOUTUBE very soon.

Very informative, thorough, factual, and fast-paced. Covers the period from Gacy's last victim through his trial, written from the law enforcement perspective in engrossing detail.

this book was about one of americas most well known serial killer, john wayne gacey. as far as the book goes.. it was well written with some nice photo pages. i didnt know to much about these crimes and i did learn alot from reading the book.. there are some parts that are pretty graphic (like the part about finding his fecal encrusted dildo.... yea.. gross i know..) but over all it was fun to read .. sort of get inside his head

Miami attorney Jack Swyteck is emotionally devastated when he learns that Mia Salazar, his girlfriend of the past three months, is a married woman. Mia's husband, Ernesto, a wealthy businessman, finds out about the affair shortly before Mia is kidnapped. The kidnapper's ransom notes demands payment for what Mia is worth, and the betrayed Salazar decides his wandering wife is worth nothing. FBI agent Andie Henning has been tracking this serial kidnapper and contacts Jack after being (facetiously) told by Salazar that he is his attorney. When Jack learns that Salazar is refusing to make payment, he is initially reluctant to become involved but eventually does and negotiates with the kidnapper for Mia's release. Andie, Jack and his good friend Theo Knight begin to unravel Mia's past in hopes of discovering the identity of the kidnapper and learn that she may possibly be connected to a controversial trial several years before. Meanwhile, the kidnapper is sending videos of Mia being tortured, which makes for a frantic effort to find her before the kidnapper kills her.

Got the Look is by far not the best of the Jack Swyteck series. Theo is an engaging character and offers humorous relief among a cast of unlikeable characters. Andie Henning is interesting and looks to play a part in future books in the series. The identity of the kidnapper and his reason for kidnapping Mia were not very plausible and hard to grasp. Of concern is Swyteck's propensity for allowing murderers to, well, get away with murder.

This is a riveting page-turner with lots of twists, great dialogue, and some excellent action pieces. The Jack Swyteck series is an underrated one, but one that usually delivers solid entertainment, just like this entry does.

Suffice it to say that like all thrillers, there are a few too many coincidences to believe, but that is a common fault of the genre.

Recommended.

This is not the best "Jack Swyteck" book I have read, and I have read them all. BUt I would definitely give it a read, although it is a bit slow at times, it does end with a bang. If you like Grippando's writing you will still like this book.

I read the first 75 pages and just gave up - nothing was happening! This was my first Grippando and I'll never waste time on him again. I cannot believe the five star ratings for this book! There are so many good mysteries out there, why waste your time on this one? It it NOT GOOD!

Hot shot Miami attorney, Jack Swyteck, is stunned when he discovers that his latest girlfriend, Mia, has not been honest with him. Not only has she been vague about her past, but she is also married. And when she is kidnapped and her wealthy husband decides that his unfaithful wife is worth nothing the kidnapper requests Jack to pay the ransom. Jack is not one to sit still and take orders from the FBI, and so he takes matters into his own hands as Mia's fate rests on his head. In a race against time and the kidnapper's demand to pay what she is worth, Jack uncovers Mia's secret past as he tries to negotiate with a kidnapper who killed his previous victim when he was not paid what she was worth.

***** Awesome read with nonstop action and suspense from the first page to the last! James Grippando has created a cast of interesting characters in this book and there is never a dull moment. Got the Look has got me hooked. I cannot wait to read the rest of Grippando's Jack Swyteck stories. *****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore, Freelance Reviewer.

I read another reviewer point out that the title of the book should be
"How I tried to outwit Bundy, and lost". in my opinion, there couldn't be a better title. There are so many logical fallacies in the book that it really makes Keppel look quite unprofessional. He makes assertions and states as fact, information that is nothing more than suspicion speculation. Some of the information in this book has been proven completely inaccurate since its publishing date. All I ask is that a non-fiction writer present me with a review of the FACTS...NOT long winded, delusional, self promotion. One of the last things Robert Keppel writes is something about Ted being a truly insignicant creature. Well, the fact that you've written books about the guy would indicate otherwise, BOB!

Seattle was gripped with another serial killer in the mid-eighties which wouldn't be solved until about twenty years later. The killer was known as the Green River Killer and he killed about 50 women who were mostly prostitutes and drug addicts. At first, nobody seemed to notice these missing transients. As they piled up in certain spots, the Seattle Task Force had another monstrous serial killer on the loose and didn't know who it could be without the use of technology or DNA evidence. Anyway, Keppel who wrote this book gets the most unlikely help and assistance from somebody who knows about serial killing, Ted Bundy, on death row in Florida. Despite the obvious reasons that anybody would associate with Ted Bundy, Keppel has his reasons and motives to get inside the mind of a serial killer without going insane and to prevent an end to the murders. Bundy is useful with some of his ideas. He calls the victims in the Green River cases as bottom-feeders. Most of Bundy's victims were not prostitutes or drug addicts but college students, wives, and pretty young women. Bundy does confirm that the Killer and himself were involved in necrophiliac acts on the victims after their deaths. The murders were not so much the act as to get the victim. For Bundy, he needs to possess them. For Ridgway, he doesn't clarify his actions. The book is well-written, researched, and graphic at times. It's not for children or adults who get sqeamish at such acts of horror.

in reality, keppel was at best tangential to the hunt for the green river killer. this book comes across as nothing more than a self-aggrandizing attempt to milk some personal publicity out of a horrific murder case. those expecting for details about the search that ultimately led to the arrest of gary ridgway will likely be disappointed. those interested in ted bundy or bob keppel will fare better. sadly, i was not one of those readers. the title is misleading, and i was one of those suckered in. oh well. one star it is.

In this book Kepple kind of goes off on a tangent, more about Bundy rather than the Rivermam himself who is the title of the book. It may have been more aptly named "my interviews with Ted Bundy". I guess I cant blame him though, he persued Bundy for a long time and his blatant dislike (to put it mildly) of the man shows through, thus objectivity is not something to be expected. I much better liked his book "Signature Killers" there his experience and wisdom of the subject shows through making it a very enlightening read on the subject. I found Riverman to be more drawn out, and somewhat more disorganized than "Signature Killers". Kepples treatment of his subject is more personal but for anyone studying serial murder it is still a worthwhile read.

The reason that this book was written was to teach. I am finishing up a class taught by Keppel, and it is called Serial Murder. When I read the book for the first time, I thought it was bland and fragmented as well. But that is becuase he wrote it not for the general public but for those learining about the investigative aspect of serial murder, and what the Bundy-Ridgeway-Keppel connection could bring to light in the criminal justice world. When he implemented the book into his lectures, it all made perfect sense. In actuality, if you paid attention to the book, and knew enough about criminal investigations, you realized that Bundy was actually giving the criminal justice field valuable information on the way a serial killer thinks. The book was a little tough to get through, but if you go through and read it a second time, and watch the TV movie on A&E, its really a fascinating subject.

Sometimes I'm at a loss for words in reviewing Ms. Rendell's books. There are times when I'm blown away by her ingenious plotting as evidenced in The Fatal Inversion. But then I pick up another book such as this - Adam and Eve and Pinch Me - and the best I can come up with to sum up my feelings after finishing it is...ambivalent. I can take it; I can leave it, neither done with passion.

Adam and Eve and Pinch Me is peopled with the usual suspects - the damaged souls just waiting for Ms. Rendell's development and analysis. When the plot is masterful, I swallow it all up, every bit of aberrant behavior, every twist even at the expense of logic (for is there really logic in the tortured minds of Rendell characters?), and every laborious journey into their pathologies. However, when the plot is mediocre, the book is but a house of cards that comes crashing down at the slightest tremble of the literary hand. Such was my experience with A&E&PM.

It began solidly enough. We learn about Minty, our obsessive compulsive protagonist and learn about the characters that populate her everyday world. We also learn of how she's been conned by Jerry/Jock, who as it turns out, has conned other women. (The other reviewers here have done a bang-up job of summarizing the story so there's no need for me to do so.) As if Minty does not have enough of a challenge (bathing and cleaning alone take up a large part of her waking day), we learn that she's also schizophrenic. Fine, I'm still on full-tilt and raring to know what comes of this. What comes of this is more bathing and cleaning (narrated in excruciating detail) interspersed with talkative phantoms whose appearances become more aggressive as the story progressively loses steam. As if aberrant myself (masochistic), I slogged through another hundred pages of stereotyped peripheral characters and subplots to support them, all of which did nothing for the main plot. Plot? What plot? Oh, dear, I'd already forgotten what the plot was all about. Then, of course, there's the contrived and ever so convenient ending.

When all was said and done, I didn't know who was more gullible - the women who were conned for being so obtuse in divesting themselves of what little money and/or dignity they have to a sponger, or I for divesting myself of what little time I had for pleasurable reading to a mediocre publication.

Rendell is great at creating characters who grab and keep your attention, but she can also bushwhack the reader, sort of. Jerry Leach (or Jock Lewis, or Jeff Leigh, or whatever name he's using this month) is a user of women, moving in with a series of girlfriends and taking their life savings and credit cards. He starts out as the central character by virtue of his leech-like activities but -- surprise -- he becomes a victim himself almost exactly halfway through the book. Thereafter, he appears only as a ghost in the mind of Minty Knox, an obsessive-compulsive shirt-ironer for a London dry cleaner. There's also Michelle and Matthew, the former a sadly obese middle-aged woman, the latter her dangerously anorexic but loving husband. And Zillah, Jerry's featherbrained not-quite-ex-wife, who enters an ill-advised marriage of convenience with a gay conservative MP. And Minty's black neighbors, Laf and Sonovia, who don't realize how much they know. And on and on. Like many of this author's books, if properly handled, this would make a terrific film.

Rendell is such a good writer that I never feel totally unsatisfied, but, that said, it's hard to spend so much time with a dim main character. Minty is an addled spinster, yes a type, who falls in love with a con man, who takes her up more or less because he is in her neighborhood one night and is told she has money. The book is enlivened by the other characters, Minty's neighbors and her boyfriend's other conquests, and although it is interesting, and I think psychologically accurate enough to a point (the killing), Minty just isn't a good enough character for a book to be based on her. Now, the Rottweiler, with its serial killer who is offended by his press coverage, that is a character driven book that is rewarding. If you love Rendell, you'll like this one well enough. If not, then pass.

Ruth Rendell is one of my favourite authors, and this book proves why. No one can write a psychological thriller like her, and in this book she has written in a character that is obsessive=compulsive and a schizophrenic. Her ability to depict these emotional illnesses in her characters is unparalleled. Her writing skills are unique and spell-binding. In this book we have three women living in different parts of London that don't know each other, but are inescapably bound together by their involvement with a man. The tension builds and builds throughout the book until the explosive ending.

Because Ruth Rendell's last few outings have been vaguely disappointing, I approached this most recent book with a little reluctance if not outright trepidation. In fact, it sat in my bedside book pile far longer than a Rendell would usually have done in the past. But I needn't have feared...she's back in form and this is an absolutely fascinating character study of men and women and need and manipulation. There are several main characters here whose lives intertwine most unusually, and it is hard to decide who is the best-written of these. They all spring to life with their own unique collections of human foibles and motivations and they are all on a collision course, each with the other. You can see the train wreck coming, but you can't avert your eyes.

Another lawyer/cop book which was enjoyable. I liked The Vig better but this is still a good story about a teen accused of a double murder and what it takes to prove that he did (or didn't) commit the crimes. I wanted to read some of this author's older books because he has a new one coming out in February that I want to read. I figured some background knowledge might help me with the new book.

This books starts with a murder. The suspect: a teenage boy who does his best too look and act guilty. Because he's a juvenile, he can be saved from LWOP (Life without Parole), if he pleads guilty to a double murder.

Everyone thinks this is a great idea. The perp will be out at the age of 25. There is no long trial and the DA gets convictions on two murders. Everyone except the suspect who at the last minute refuses the deal, because he insists that while he might be a creepy kid, he didn't kill two people.

Now, things get going! That's the beauty of this book. You never quite know what's coming next.

This book begins and ends as a perfectly competent, trial-centered mystery thriller. The plot is like a finely made cuckoo clock. Once wound up, it clanks and whirrs, doors open up at just the right time and things pop into sight exactly when they should. In a book that is a part of a better than average series, it is well and good that they should do so.

However, the heart of the book is not given to the series protagonists, Dismas (named after the "good thief" on the cross beside Jesus) Hardy and Abe Glitsky, but to a young lawyer named Amy Wu. Ms. Wu is very bright and very competent, so bright and so competent that she makes thoroughly boneheaded errors, one after another, in entirely convincing ways. The middle of the book is given to Ms. Wu's slow realization that she has made a mess of things and her attempts to crawl out of the pit she has dug for herself. This is not the stuff of a well-constructed mystery. This is, rather, something that looks very like--dare I say it?--literature.

A couple of hundred pages of this 454 page book are more like a novel than a mystery story. Overall, this has a slightly negative effect on the mystery story, hence the four stars. But it also gives me hope that Lescroart has something good, something really good in him that someday he might put down on paper.

I thought this book would be a very long legal trial, but it wasn't, and I enjoyed it very, very much. It had me turning the pages as fast as I could, and was very difficult to put down.

Fairly good. Suspense is maintained, though perhaps drawn out too long. And the characterizations of the main players are well done, plus there's some sharp, witty dialogue.

But the ending seems to be written for Hollywood, garishly melodramatic. And I'm not one who usually can predict endings (my wife can), but in this one I could see where the plot (the pattern and motives for the killings) was heading from about the midpoint of the novel--tho I didn't know the identity of the killer, which seemed to come out of the blue.

I'll probably try another Lescroart.

I am a fan of Jonathan Kellerman - have read all of his books and enjoyed most of them. This was the last one I read. It was too long - so many diversions that did not advance the story. It seemed that JK was caught between writing a mystery/crime novel and writing a history of the conflict between the Palestinians and Israels. This books was about 300 pages too long and very boring in many places. This was JK fourth novel and I am glad that he got his sights back on target.

My first reaction was What kind of twisted mind would write such a thing? The villain in this is as evil as it gets and the things he does - just horrific. But, then ... I don't think the book is really all that graphic. Rather, I suspect it is actually my own twisted little brain that filled in all the nasty details.

I love the characters in this book. For me, reading is all about the characters - if I don't care about the them, why should I care what happens to them? This is about a murder investigation in Israel. Since this is one of the first serial killers they've ever had (The first being The Grey Man who was never caught), the investigation team is a bit inexperienced with this sort of thing.
The team includes:
- Chief Inspector Daniel Sharavi who's left hand was crippled in the Six-Day War of '67.
- Inspector Nahum Shmeltzer, the older detective ready to retire and kind of angry at the world.
- Subinspector Yossi Lee, the big huge "Chinaman."
- Sergeant Elias Daoud, the Christian Arab who just wants to do his job.
- Sergeant Avi Cohen, the spoiled rich kid with dyslexia.
Daniel, I already knew and liked from Survival of the Fittest which came after this one, but I read them out of order. After him, I liked Shmeltzer best - just something about skinny, cranky old men ...

Anyway, someone is mutilating beautiful young Arab women and leaving their washed and wrapped bodies around the area of Jerusalem known as The Butcher's Theater. Tensions are running high as Jews and Arabs play the blame game. But is it political at all? Or is it just some psychopath out for sick sexual thrills? Due to the nature of the slashings, it is suspected that a doctor may be responsible and there are no shortage of suspects.

The story is very tense and takes you all around the city of Jerusalem as we get a glimpse into the extent of cultural diversity there. I kind of suspected who the killer was early on, but wasn't sure and often doubted. The reader is privy to information not available to the investigators, though, as some chapters are told from inside the killer's head. With the help of Daniel's visiting American friend, LAPD Detective Gene Brooker, the clues slowly but surely pile up.

This is a long book. My little paperback copy is a heavy thing on 628 thin pages with small type, but never once while reading it did I think it was dragging on too long. It's a page turner with a heart-pounding climax. I HIGHLY recommend it.

This is the only book I have read of the author and that was at the urging of my wonderful wife. I was not disappointed but not thrilled either. I realize this was not his usual character so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I rated it as good but actually it was between good and very good. I read the reviews that were submitted before mine and was completely amazed at the varying opionions of the reviewers. I deplore racisim in any form and I consider myself a liberal. I did not find this book to be racist as so many pointed out. Instead I just sat back and enjoyed the book. Go ahead and read it and make your own conculsion.

I was completely repulsed by this novel which had been so highly reviewed. In the first 50 pages, it's hard to find a nationality or ethnic group not completely, arrogantly trashed (including the UN and all its agencies/commissions) except for the "original" Israelis. Granted, a lot of it comes from the characters who are incredibly shallow, ESPECIALLY the killer, but there is no balance at all. Even as an American probably less ethnic than Kellerman I felt personally insulted by the relentlessly pro-Israeli slant. Typical narrator statement "In 1967, the Arabs attacked again, again losing honor and land," or (paraphrasing) "the style reflected the British love of comfort during their reign." Why attempt a 2 page summation of what is arguably the most wildly chaotic and difficult regional history on the planet? Even if you like your characters to be 2-dimensional representations of predjudice, these characters only represent the American preconceptions of what those predjudices should be. Can one really believe that in a society that prides itself on tolerance (as the Israeli characters constantly claim that they do, either as a source of pride or dispair) a person like Shmeltzer would feel comfortable talking the way he does? That's what makes the characters so unbelievable.

And then the killer! Why have long sections "inside" the mind of the killer, when it adds nothing to your understanding? There is so much musing on the psychological nature and social roles of serial killers by Sharavi that one might expect those passages to be illuminating, but instead they seem to exist only to add purient details and "excitement" to a book that might otherwise be completely glacial in pace. If this represents Kellerman's best shot at psychoanalysis, thank GOD he writes fiction and is not in practice.

I read the whole thing trying to figure out if it was a tour-de-force exploration of American predjudice or just a sad attempt to make pulp fiction "bigger" by attaching it to "big" themes, I think it's the latter, unfortunately. If you must read, though, I recommend trying the first approach and seeing just how much predjudice is smashed in there. The final scene of the Arab detective, for example... please don't think that Arab women - Christian, Muslim, or gasp! secular - are any more likely to "timidly ask, "was your dinner acceptable?" after bearing six children for a husband who is much more present in his job than at home than you are yourself.

Oh, and how I wish 0 stars was a rating option.

I enjoy the Alex Delaware series, and I also liked the two books featuring Petra Connors, so I thought I would try this, after encountering Sharavi in "Survival of the fittest".

This book is different from the ones taking place in LA, and it IS slow, sometime to the point of boredom. But after about a hundred pages, you want to go on reading it, despite the fact that it continues being slow. The characters are reasonably well developed, especially Sharavi. The book is atmospheric but, never having been to Israel, I cannot tell how accurately it depicted Jerusalem at the time. And the book is quite old, so probably things have changed dramatically since.

The parts featuring the killer are disturbing and seem somewhat extreme but, for all I know about serial killers, the description might even be plausible.

I did not find it as absorbing as I usually find thrillers but if one reads it more as a novel that happens to have homicides in it, it is good.

Cameron is fourteen when his father is finally killed in a police raid. For as long as he can remember, Pop had abused and raped him, and brought other young boys back to their isolated cottage to abuse as well. Cameron tried to tell these other boys to behave themselves and quietly do what Pop said, but eventually they all misbehaved and ended up dead, buried in the cellar of the house.

Before Pop died, Cameron spent a great deal of time locked in the cellar, and he came across a filing cabinet filled with newspaper articles about all of the boys Pop had abducted and killed. One story about Neil Lacey particularly struck him, especially the descriptions of the family's sailboats. When Pop dies, Cameron decides that he can become Neil Lacey, that he can convince this family he is their missing son.

Neil's parents immediately believe that Cameron is their son. They bring him into their lives and try to act like everything is exactly as it used to be. But Neil's thirteen-year-old sister Diana and eight-year-old brother Stevie are another matter. They watch his actions and compare him to what they remember of their brother. Diana even confronts him, telling him she knows he isn't Neil.

Will Cameron be able to keep up this act? When Cougar, a man who was something of a partner to Pop and whom Pop got sent to jail, is paroled, will Cameron be in danger?

I liked the Lacey family. I liked the way they all fit together and the dynamics between the kids and their parents. I liked that the kids weren't as overjoyed as the parents about having someone back who claimed to be their brother. I also liked that Cameron was such a survivor, and even after all of the trauma with Pop, he looked like he might be able to have something of a normal life.

I thought the ending was too easy, though, and I thought that Detective Simmons was far too venomous toward Cameron. Even if he were sure Cameron was lying, I don't think any police officer would have been that outright mean to a kid.

"Counterfeit Son" by Elaine Marie Alphin takes place in a house near a lake, with a new comer and old. He has come back from the dead, for after six long years. You know what though? He's not someone that has come back from the dead, but someone impersonating the dead boy. His name is Cameron Miller, son of a murder. His Pop had killed the boy he is impersonating. He had taken Neil Lacey's life, and he had taken his family.
Cameron's Pop has gotten murdered, and now the police are looking for him. He lies and goes to the doctor with pains, and then the Lacey's family takes him in. They actually think he is Neil Lacey, and not some other kid. He hates lying to them, but he really doesn't want to go to jail. He's really nice, unlike Neil, who black-mails his younger siblings. He gets scared that sometimes, that the Lacey's family will find out he's not Neil.
Cameron shows more and more love for the Lacey family each day. They love him and care for him, just like he was Neil. He feels like he should tell them, but is too scared. Will he always be scared, and never tell them he's Neil? Will they ever find out he really isn't Neil.

-Hellen P.

it doesnt get any worse. ive read this book 7 or 8 times and everyrime i still find myself right along with the characters in the book. It is extremely well written and weel thought out and i cant stop reading it. it is by far one of my favorite books of all time

The book Counterfeit Son is written by Elaine Marie Alphin, who is the winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award. The book is published by Puffin Books in New York, United States of America.
The book Counterfeit Son basically talks about a child whose name is Cameron and whose father - Hank Miller is a murderer. His father abducts children and murders them if they do not obey to his command. Cameron is worried that his father will slay him too. Suddenly, a miraculous thing happens: his father is killed in a shootout with the police. Cameron takes this only chance: he takes on the identity of Neil Lacey, who has been kidnapped for more than six years. Neil's reappearance is suspected by the detectives. However his parents, the Laceys are thrilled. The loving Laceys take Cameron home and provide him with the best food and clothes, but this arouses his siblings' envy. At the same time, Hank Miller's friend, Cougar, is released from jail. He knows that Cameron is pretending to be Neil. He threatens him to get him valuable jewels or cash, otherwise he will tell the truth to the cops. Cougar even snatches Neil's little brother, Stevie in order to force Cameron to obtain the house key for him. When Neil struggles against Cougar to save Stevie, Neil's sister, Diana calls his parents and the detectives. When they come, the truth is finally exposed...
The book Counterfeit Son has a suspenseful plot. The author has put in events which make the readers feel excited. Likewise, the author clearly states that Cameron is going to pretend to be Neil but does not tell why; this mysterious arrangement really fascinates the readers, including me. The plot is not the only strength in the book; the author, Ms Alphin, has created a mysterious atmosphere, I believe, that has attracts many readers who choose books by reading a few pages before buying it. Besides, the front page of the book is well created. There is a piece of photo of a boy. I remembered that when I first borrowed this book from the school library, I wished I could finish it at once! Last but not the least, the words in the book are not that hard. You can understand it easily. Well you can try to put down the book while you are reading, but I bet you cannot!
Counterfeit Son is such a great book. There is only one weakness I can find - the ending is a little bit too obvious. While I was reading chapter 16, I have a strong feeling that Cameron IS Neil (Opps I've told the truth), and I am right! However, for overall, Counterfeit Son is a really marvellous book that I can't tell how excellent it is by words!

As a middle school teacher, I selected this book for my more *reluctant* male readers. The characters and their struggles seem real, and teenage boys could identify with Cameron. The author also treats Cameron's abuse in a manner that can be digested by young readers - it is apparent that bad things have happened to Cameron, but nothing is explicitly depicted.

In a market floodly by teen fiction primarily geared toward young girls, most of the offerings for young men are sports related or special interest. *Counterfeit Son* is that rare exception that appeals to young male readers without the heavy sports emphasis. 95% of the guys like it, from the football team to the marching band.