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Summary: Jonathon! Why the pretentious writing?
Review: I have read every one of Kellerman's books and also have multiple degrees in English. So why am I running to the dictionary every 3 pages? Scrofulous? Remora? Come on......It detracts from the storyline and is pretentious. Give me Alex Delaware and easy reading anytime.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as the Delaware series
Review: I won't sum up again, that's been done countless times on this one already. Psychological thriller is a pretty accurate two-word summary!The story was interesting, if not exactly gripping. I like the fact that Carrier wasn't able to make unrealistic instant intuitive leaps, and that he logically and credibly worked the "mystery" out on his own. The characters were well-defined and believable. The plot was intricate enough to keep me guessing, as a reader, and not blatantly obvious. Carrier's relationship with Angela was very well done, his shying away from any discussion of his past or especially his relationship with Jocelyn. When Angela began working closely with Dirgrove, I thought at first that it was uncharacteristic of her, since she seemed very taken with Carrier --- but then she proved to be true to her personality when Dirgrove hit on her and she told Carrier about it immediately. Doresh showing up to "save the day" at climactic moment was allowable because of his evident and continual distrust of Carrier, although I am a bit skeptical at those "just in time" rescues. However, the book was an overall good story, and well plotted with convincing three-dimensional characters. I'd rather read more Delaware books than Carrier, though.
Rating: 
Summary: unabridged reading untenable
Review: I have always found that a good reader can make a mediocre book more interesting and a bad reader exposes weak prose in a few moments. This audio book has the one of the worst readers ever and writing so poor that even George Guidall would be hard pressed to keep me listening.
I agree with an earlier reviewer's thought that this book seems to be from before Kellerman's Delaware success. The use of latin names of diseases without a translation and clumsy use of language (When was the last time you found the term "jimcrack" in a novel with a modern setting?). And, this book suffers the worst of Kellerman's other novels: endless and pointless mental dialogue by the lead.
All in all this audio recording is a must avoid.
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Summary: COMPELLING READINGS OF THIS THRILLER
Review: An Audie Award isn't the only prize on actor/director David Birney's professional shelf. He won raves for his role on TV's "Bridget Loves Bernie" and "St. Elsewhere," as well as critical acclaim for his stage adaptation of "The Diary of Adam and Eve." His reading of Jonathan Kellerman's latest also deserves raves as he gives voice to a man caught in an ever tightening web of danger and deceit. Rob Kahn's vocal presentation of the Unabridged version is quite different, yet equally compelling as he gradually reveals the slowly closing trap hero Dr. Jeremy Carrier finds himself in. Among his many other attributes Jonathan Kellerman has a knack for inventing appealing protagonists. Alex Delaware, the lead in numerous Kellerman thrillers, won a host of readers, and we predict that Jeremy Carrier will do the same. Romance quickly turns to heartache and grief when Carrier's lover, nurse Jocelyn Banks, is kidnaped and murdered. Not just slain but brutally, insanely murdered. Lacking suspects the police cast a wary eye on the young doctor. He turns to work as an escape from a loss he cannot forget and labors as staff psychologist at City Central Hospital. Then, more young women are murdered in the same macabre manner. It will take more than a degree in psychology for Carrier to figure out who could be capable of such heinous acts despite a plethora of anonymous clues. Are these clues to help him or to draw him even deeper into a dark abyss? - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: Not an Alex Delaware Book
Review: Dr. Jeremy Carrier is a new character, perhaps a rework of Alex Delaware, before he had "been there; done that." He's young, idealistic and fairly inexperienced. He's an orphan who got through school on scholarships against all odds. His first real love is brutally murdered and at the beginning of the story he is trying to find his way after being suspected of having killed her. A mystery doctor on staff at his hospital, Dr. Arthur Chess, drops into his life along with mysterious tips or clues leading him to look for Jocelyn's killer. The story is slow and hard to follow. The suspense finally picks up about half way through the book, and it's worth finishing. Now that we have met Dr. Carrier, perhaps his next adventure will be a little more suspenseful and intense.
Rating:
Summary: New shrink doc a lot like old one, but decent story awaits
Review: Feeling that the Alex Delaware series has lost a great deal of zest in recent books, we snapped up this latest Kellerman on learning it featured a completely new leading man, psychologist Jeremy Carrier. This doc practices on staff at a regular hospital; and we were surprised to learn how busy he was with the care and concerns of fairly normal patients whose current medical conditions were mostly other than mental difficulties. Carrier himself is dealing with the unsolved murder of his former serious nurse girlfriend, a case that has brought suspicion against himself by cop Bob Duresh. Soon a couple more killings suggest a possible link between Carrier's girlfriend and the other victims, a thought that once again sics Duresh onto his trail. Then another mysterious character, pathologist Arthur Chess, befriends Jeremy and invites him to an elaborate dinner meeting of some sort of secret society interested in dark human deeds. A series of follow-up clues from Chess to Carrier set our hero in pursuit of who might be the real perpetrator of these crimes. The clues continue to unfold and confound as Kellerman sets a nice pace of action and reaction throughout this suspenseful mystery; and of course our hero catches the bad guy in the end. We felt mixed emotions about this novel. We almost always enjoy Kellerman's writing, even though his last few books seemed a little stale. Our problem with this one is that while the mystery per se was entertaining enough, the characters were almost lookalikes to the Delaware clan: Jeremy for Alex, new girlfriend Angela for Robin, and cop Duresh for Sturgis, though the latter mostly an adversary instead of an ally. We find the speculation of other reviewers that maybe this manuscript was a precursor to the Delaware series as mildly amusing, but not impossible. So -- reasonably good novel, but not great.
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Summary: The Biggest Kellerman Disappointment Yet
Review: Conspiracy Club is either Kellerman's first manuscript (which may be correct given the type of clinical practice of the main character - comparable to Dr. Kellerman's early years in psychology), or a more recent manuscript written in a week. Overall, it is much more comparable to the Billy Straight novels than the usual enjoyable Delaware fare. From the perspective of a practicing psychologist, Dr. Carrier is no Alex Delaware - and isn't much of a psychologist either. He has at least as much psychopathology as any other character in the book; and that's not entertaining. Other characters are inadequately developed, the plot is convoluted, and the rush to conclusion is too improbable to believe - even when attempting to suspend reality for the sake of entertainment. Kellerman has done a lot for mystery readers and for psychologists; Let's hope that he bounces back again and produces another carefully thought out psychological mystery. Kellerman can be a good producer of interesting and intricate characters and story lines; we want and expect better than this. This one will be on my bookshelf, but only to complete the Kellerman work product.
Rating:
Summary: New shrink just like the Old shrink
Review: I'm a big fan of Jonathan Kellerman and have read all of his books. The plot of this one is a bit too familiar. Psychologist help police solve brutal killings. And there's even a Robin-esque woman by this side, but not too involved in the murderish goings on.
I hope he brings back Milo and Alex -- why try to remake the original characters, when they are already done so well.
Rating: 
Summary: Good characters...
Review: As a huge fan of early-middle period Alex Delaware novels (sorry, but all the post-"Billy Straight" novels have been weak), I was looking foward to a non-Delaware Kellerman novel. The facts are these: the mystery doesn't work very well. The way the author sets up clues, has his protag investigating this mystery, and his style of plotting are dense, but ultimately unfullfilling if you're a mystery buff. The reason I liked this novel was its main character, Dr. Jeremy Carrier. Kellerman has written a very-believable, three dimensional human who even in the tedious parts of the story, keeps you interested in what's going on. I liked the romance (usually a weak part of a mystery novel) between Carrier and the nurse Angela. Very realistic and interesting. Overall, I'd say that Carrier, his relationship with Angela and Dr. Chess are what kept me into the book. If you're looking for shoot-em-up action packed novels that read like a movie, I suggest anything by James Patterson, Greg Iles, or John Sanford. But most Kellerman fans should be pleased.
Rating:
Summary: The Conspiracy Club
Review: As an avid Kellerman fan I was very disappointed in this book. ... The Conspiracy Club was slow and boring, the characters are one-dimensional and did not engage me. If Kellerman had not been the author I would have not finished the book, I kept hoping it would be better. I actually felt ripped-off after reading it. It seemed like the plot for a poor TV movie.
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