The Conspiracy Club
by Jonathan Kellerman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jonathan KellermanEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-11-23
ISBN: 0345452585
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of The Conspiracy Club
Book Review: "The sword of war comes to the world for the delay of justice."
Summary: 5 Stars
I almost never make a big deal about the number of Stars I rate a book, or any other product. The content of my reviews is what counts - that's what's most important. In the case of Jonathan Kellerman's "The Conspiracy Club," I make an exception. I think this chilling mystery is an excellent read, and would normally rate it 4 or 4.5 stars. (It is Olympic Game season and I feel like a figure skating judge!!). However, the novel is so original and intelligently written, refreshingly so, that it deserves 5 Stars all the way!!
To begin with, there is little, if any violence, blood or gore in the narrative. Almost everything traumatic is implied, not explicit - for a change. This subtle approach to brutality makes the violence seem more spooky, more mysterious than usual. The reader's imagination is almost always more fertile than the written word - unless the author is Edgar Allan Poe. And Kellerman builds suspense, little by little, to a crescendo finale. Character study is very important to this psychological thriller. And again, the author excels in character development, especially that of his protagonist, Dr. Jeremy Carrier, a young psychologist at City Central Hospital.
Carrier is a moral man, seemingly, dedicated to his profession and patients. He also appears to be a really nice guy. Six months earlier, his live-in girlfriend, Jocelyn Banks, a nurse at the same hospital, was horribly murdered, her mutilated body dumped under a bridge in a run-down area of town. Jeremy had been very much in love with her and broods over his loss and the cruelly sadistic manner of her death. The investigating detectives have targeted him as a murder suspect, even though there is no evidence of his involvement, whatsoever. This exacerbates his suffering. When more women begin turning up dead, obviously the work of the same psychopathic killer, the police come looking for Dr. Carrier - questioning him - turning up the pressure.
Coinciding with this traumatic period, Dr Arthur Chess, an elderly but still vigorous pathologist, seeks Jeremy out, apparently wanting to be his friend. Chess is retired, but he is so prominent in his field, and has contributed so much to City Central that he is allowed to maintain his office there. Arthur Chess is a wonderful character - bizarre, wise, extremely mysterious, at times humorous and fascinated with "psychology's views on violence. Specifically, the genesis of very bad behavior" - not evil. "Evil is a.... weighty word. Theologically burdened. I believe we'd settled upon 'very bad behavior.'" He makes statements throughout like, "A stranger to fear is a stranger to conscience." But he never follows through. He never tells Jeremy what he is alluding to.
One evening Chess invites Carrier to a special dinner in a private, extremely elegant, out-of-the-way venue. There he is introduced to a group of friends - six in all, including Arthur - who have something in common besides their professional backgrounds and elevated status in society, but neither Jeremy nor the reader are let in on their secret. These are the members of the "Conspiracy Club" of the novel's title. They meet occasionally to discuss diverse topics with great intelligence, and eat extraordinary gourmet fare. The wine is pretty terrific also.
Dr. Chess suddenly disappears, apparently to travel the world, sending Jeremy postcards from various countries - all with the same message, "Traveling and learning." His departure coincides with the delivery of anonymous interoffice envelopes from the Otolaryngology Department containing what look to be random articles having nothing to do with psychology or Dr. Carrier. When Jeremy investigates, he discovers that no one knows anything about the envelopes or who sent them. Thus he decides to open his own investigation, amateur though it may be. He must connect the dots between Jocelyn's death, Dr. Chess' clues, the club, the envelopes, and other strange happenings. Meanwhile, danger surrounds him.
To make matters more complicated, he has started seeing Angela Rios, a resident at the hospital. Although he thinks of Jocelyn frequently, he is trying to assuage his loneliness and get his life back on track. Will his burgeoning relationship with Angela endanger her also?
The cat and mouse game which follows is truly compelling. I really found it difficult to put this one down. However, it is quite low-key, although very well paced. Is there such a thing as an effective low-key thriller? If not, than Jonathan Kellerman has invented one! ENJOY!
JANA
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