Rating: 
Summary: The book was very entertaining
Review: The detective was very smart and throughout the book, I came to like him. I would recommend it to anyone who likes to read about crazy psychopathic killers. The author's authenticy about Isreali lifestyle was very accurate. I am half Isreali and this made me want to go back to Isreal again. But back to the book.... you might forget it in a month or two, but it was very entertaining while you read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Kellerman at his best
Review: This book ranks as one of Jonathan Kellerman's best and shows his excellence at the writing craft. He does an excellent job of conveying the atmosphere and attitudes of the region. As usual, his characters are both realistic and interesting. The pacing sometimes lagged, but the overall effect was satisfying. Pakad Dani Sharavi, the detective, was a particularly fascinating character. He makes a return in The Clinic, but I, for one, would like to see him return for another encore. Although the book relected racial attitudes of the region, I did not find the book to be racist as some readers have mentioned. Perhaps, I'm not as sensitive to these issues.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent serial killer book
Review: This is a brilliant serial killer novel, not just for it's plot (which is actually somewhat run of the mill) but mainly for it's engrossing setting, Jerusalem. I've not read a fictional book set here before, and i found this new experience thoroughly engrossing and interesing. The descriptions about the culture were informative, and again very interesting, and gave a sharp edge of realism to the novel. The characters a great, each one is developed well, and their trypes are many and varied. The writing is fresh and pulls you in, although sometimes Kellerman does go off on a tangent a bit when he puts in a rather long paragraph about Israeli history, which while some of it is interesting, some of it is also unnecesary and dull. I didn't find the political tone too distracting, as some appear to have done. I admit, he does have slightly biased leanings, but you can't exactly blame him. He is Jewish, after all. This is a big book, but it speeds along quickly. It's compelling, and grows dull very little, which is surprising considering it's length. The plot is adequate, the psychology is great, the insights into foreign culture marvellous, and the finale is excellent. the immense scope of this book is as large as the view from the top of Mount Scopus.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: this is a great detective novel. its fascinating in more ways than one. i dont find it racist or predjudice at all it takes into arab and jewish cultures in jerusalem and in a conversation between sharavi and the mayor they discuss how the extrememly orthodox jews are just as radical and dangerous as any muslims. we get to know the characters well. the case the investigation is gripping. one of kellermans best
Rating:
Summary: complex characters, not a racist book
Review: This is the best Kellerman book I've read. The characters are complex and interesting. The plot is gripping. The chapters when you get the perspective of the killer are creepy. The killer's refrains are repeated so often that they start echoing in your head (or at least, they did in mine). It's unsettling. As for comments that the book is racist, I'm pretty attuned to that kind of thing (for example, I hate the way Kellerman refers in his early novels to black characters with "black" as a noun, as in "The big black stood quietly.") Anyway, I pay attention to potentially racist language, and I didn't see that here. He did portray Arabs as being mostly poor and outside of Israeli society, and he seemed to feel compassion for their plight. He certainly didn't think it was fair. The detective who made anti-Arab statements so often was clearly wrong, a counterpoint to the main character, who was more empathetic. And there is that part when the anti-Arab detective dresses as an Arab to get into a hospital, and Kellerman notes that the character looked exactly like an Arab with no trouble. He seems to be saying something about all people being brothers or something--even if it is rather clumsy. The only thing I can think of that people might object to is the treatment of Islamic customs--and the point there is that Islam is a system of beliefs, not a race. So if you don't believe he portrayed Islamic families in the right light--the main Islamic family depicted had rigid gender roles and a merciless father figure--then I would call that "culturally biased," not racist. It's an important distinction. As I'm not Jewish, Arabic, or Muslim, I can't say with certainty that Kellerman's portrayal of the different cultures is accurate, but it did seem balanced to me. One reviewer complained that Kellerman mentioned homosexuality in a Arab camp. I don't remember that passage, but if it exists, I don't think it was intended to be insulting. In his other books, Kellerman has a sympathetic main character, Milo Sturgis, who is gay. It's a habit of his to promote empathy for gays, not to condemn them.
Rating:
Summary: Kellerman's best.
Review: This was the third or fourth Kellerman I read, so I was well acquainted with Alex Delaware & Co when I picked it up. I hadn't read the blurb - I simply bought the book. Well, you do, don't you? especially when it's Kellerman. Well, this was a pleasant surprise. I spent the first ten minutes wondering what on earth I was doing in Jerusalem... and then I got read the back cover. Oh. Sharavi wears his white hat comfortably. He is a very satisfying character, rich in nuance, with a dry wit. He's a character you're continually investigating throughout the book: Kellerman has written him well enough that you're never really sure what makes Sharavi tick. Jerusalem is also well described. The dust, tension, angst, and U.N. corruption are obviously known to the author. You can feel the antiquity of the walls clashing with the pollution of the internal combustion engine in his descriptive pieces. This is a book which deserves a second and third reading. It's one of Kellerman's best - which means it's one of the best in my book collection. By the way... my copy's title is "The Butcher's Theatre". Wasn't it nice of the publisher to provide an English translation?
Rating:
Summary: Kellerman's best.
Review: This was the third or fourth Kellerman I read, so I was well acquainted with Alex Delaware & Co when I picked it up. I hadn't read the blurb - I simply bought the book. Well, you do, don't you? especially when it's Kellerman. Well, this was a pleasant surprise. I spent the first ten minutes wondering what on earth I was doing in Jerusalem... and then I got read the back cover. Oh. Sharavi wears his white hat comfortably. He is a very satisfying character, rich in nuance, with a dry wit. He's a character you're continually investigating throughout the book: Kellerman has written him well enough that you're never really sure what makes Sharavi tick. Jerusalem is also well described. The dust, tension, angst, and U.N. corruption are obviously known to the author. You can feel the antiquity of the walls clashing with the pollution of the internal combustion engine in his descriptive pieces. This is a book which deserves a second and third reading. It's one of Kellerman's best - which means it's one of the best in my book collection. By the way... my copy's title is "The Butcher's Theatre". Wasn't it nice of the publisher to provide an English translation?
Rating:
Summary: Heart pumping, page turner!
Review: What a great book! The sights, sounds and people of Jerusalem come alive in this thriller by Jonathan Kellerman. I couldn't stop reading and was scared at the same time. To top it off, I was living in Jerusalem at the time, right around the corner from the crime scenes! You want to meet the characters, and be there with them for every discovery. For anyone who has an affinity for the city of Jerusalem (and mysteries!), or for those who want to feel like they've been there, this is one book to add to your shopping cart today
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