Jonathan Kellerman, a Ph.d in Clinical Psychology, is a best-selling author of mysteries. He has written more than 40 books, including non-fiction in his field of expertise. He has won an Edgar, the genre's equivalent of an Oscar. His wife is novelist Faye Kellerman. They are Orthodox Jews. Most of his mysteries feature the same central character. I sampled one of his stand alone books, The Conspiracy Club. I doubt it is representative of his best work. The story is routine except for the depiction of the hero's work as a hospital psychologist who comforts the seriously ill. In fact, the murderer is a minor character, which I liked, as there are more than enough serial killers on TV, in film and in literature these days. The lives of the "club" members were more interesting than the maniac's. The narrative is rife with the run on sentences employed by mystery writers eager to keep a story moving swiftly. I don't mind them. The author uses a lot more commas than I do. They can be bedeviling. At times I sense the question of their usage about to dog me into paralysis by analysis, but I quickly shake it off, remembering the old adage: "When in doubt, leave it out," which I adhere to 95% of the time. In the other instances I succumb in an effort to achieve clarity. The hardcover of The Conspiracy Club is 376 pages, but reads more like 300, as there are blank pages between many chapters. On a scale of five, I rate it two-and-a-half. Please remember that I'm not a fan of mystery novels, so I may be under-rating any I review. I love cinema mysteries, particularly film noir, which require less than a two-hour commitment rather than a full week's. What I enjoy reading about most is the inner lives of people to whom I can relate.
I brought out a beautiful edition of The Lion King today and, as I expected, it sold, as did another Disney book, another on knitting and two thrillers. Thanks, ladies.
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