Rating: 
Summary: "Dude" in beginning of Disks 4 & 5
Review: Didn't anyone notice that at the beginning of Disk 4, Track 11, just a couple minutes in, David Birney slips in a blooper? Prune faced nurse, blah, blah, blah. They say, "You're important to me." They're saying they need to get together for lunch, and one of them says, "Let's do that ... **Doooode.**" Totally, out of character for two dead-serious soap-opera, intellectual type doctors. Hilarious! But odd no one's mentioned it. He does it again on Disk 5, track 10. They're having lunch in his office, and they chide each other for not eating enough. "I'm fine. So am I, **Doooode**!" Anyway, great book, at least on audio. I picked up a couple themes that seem to come up more than once with Kellerman, but don't want to spoil the book. ~ Linda
Rating: 
Summary: Huge dissapointment
Review: I usually enjoy the author's works, even the non-Alex Delaware ones, but not this one. I agree with the other reviewers that the characters were flat, some of the plot lines were never tied together well, and that the setting hints that this was a discarded attempt from the past that Kellerman rescued from the trash can...
But my main beef with this novel is the language! In some of his Alex Delaware novels, Kellerman turns off my interest with his grandeose architectual descriptions (I often think if he hadn't been a psychologist he would have been an architect), but this book is STUFFED with pompous, over-the-top language. I chuckled out loud at the reviewer who said he/she had multiple English degrees but still had to constantly run to the dictionary to look up Kellerman's obscure word choices. Kellerman's descriptions and dialogue during the secret dinner with Jeremy and the old eccentrics was just plain laughable.
One reviewer said it best when they said that they language was "forced, bombasic, and esoteric". Trust me - this book is painful drudgery to read for such a small payoff.
Rating: 
Summary: What a wonderful read!
Review: I've I always been a grand fan of Jonathan Kellerman, and Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis have remained tried and true over the years. And although Alex and Milo have taken a sabbatical in this richly descriptive book, it was a wonderful read and they were hardly missed.
Intrique, personal demons and and suspense are once again brought to the forefront in this exceptional authors latest endeavor.
Highly recommended and will be one of the books that I will revisit again in the future.
Rating:
Summary: A crooked trail of clues
Review: In "The Conspiracy Club, Jonathan Kellerman departs from his Alex Delaware series with a new protagonist who is moodier and has more of an edge. Jeremy Carrier, a staff psychologist at City Central hospital, is a loner who becomes emotionally distant when his lover is brutally slain. He is unsure of his worth as a psychologist and mistrustful of the motives of others. When he is approached by an elderly eccentric pathologist named Arthur Chess, Jeremy tries to avoid him. However, through persistence and an invitation to a sumptuous but odd dinner meeting with a group of retired intellectuals, Dr. Chess draws Jeremy into pondering violence and virtue and leads him to question his role in this strange circle of friends. Jeremy begins to receive cryptic journal articles and postcards that draw his attention to a series of violent murders. He suddenly finds himself the prime suspect of these gruesome deeds and harassed by a homicide detective. As the clock ticks down, Jeremy must track down a psychopath to protect the new love of his life and to prove his own innocence.This is typical Kellerman fare, reminiscent of his previous novel "The Murder Book." In both stories, the protagonists are given a series of enigmatic clues by persons unknown and then left to follow their crooked trail wherever it might lead. Although the story starts off slowly while developing Jeremy's tortured soul, it picks up speed and ends with a twist. The book contains thought-provoking ideas on the nature and origin of violent behavior and is an entertaining story.
Rating:
Summary: Kellerman takes a break from Alex Delaware.
Review: In his new novel, the second published in 2003, author Jonathan Kellerman starts fresh and creates an enigmatic plot surrounding a brutal serial killer. Kellerman is familiar to many mystery buffs for his psychologist hero, Alex Delaware, who works as a police consultant in a 17-book series. He's tried different threads before, most notably in 1988. Kellerman's strong ties to Judaism sometimes shine through in his novels, but are not featured, as is the case in wife Faye Kellerman's writings. Religious faith does not play a role in this newest book, but Kellerman keeps it rooted in something he knows much about, psychology. Jeremy Carrier is a hospital psychologist. He's still trying to find his way back into the life he once led, after his girlfriend, nurse Jocelyn Banks, has been brutally murdered. While stumbling through his days, he is befriended by well-known Dr. Arthur Chess, a pathologist old enough to have retired from the hospital, who is sort of an emeritus on hospital committees. Jeremy's initially puzzled by Chess' interest in him. Chess is Jeremy's entree into a secret society of oldsters who are all stars in their own professions, and retired. It takes most of the book for Jeremy to determine what ties them together in "conspiracy" and how he fits it the scheme of things. When Chess goes traveling, a series of enigmatic clues to other murders, similar to Jocelyn's, begin to disturb Jeremy's days. He can't help but wonder what role Chess plays in the mystery. In a parallel plot, Jeremy meets an interesting new love in resident Angela Rios. Between his relationship with her, and his willingness to be drawn into the murder mystery, Jeremy finds himself putting his own life on the line. In addition to an engrossing plot, Kellerman has created a young practitioner with feeling towards his patients and signifcant skill in making a difference. Some Kellerman-like touches (Carrier drives an old Nova; shades of Delaware's vintage Cadillac! Carrier, instead of being enlisted by police detectives to help solve the murders, is actually a viable suspect, but ends up assisting the police.)are present, and you have a nice, tight tale of homicide with a surprise villain and the possiblity of a new series. In particular, the colorful members of the "Conspiracy Club" could be utilized in future books. It seems as though, judging from other reviews, that many of Kellerman's loyalists disagree with my rating. Most probably it is because they just wanted another instalment in Delaware's continuing saga, since the last three books in the series ("Flesh and Blood", the excellent "The Murder Book" and "A Cold Heart") have revived the series from the total drek that Kellerman created in books 10-14. I think many readers gave up on him during that spate. By contrast, I'm intrigued by the fact that he's given the reader a viable alternative to his older series, and hope he continues to revisit Jeremy Carrier in future work. Nice work!
Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: Jeremy Carrier's girlfriend has been brutally murdered and the police believe he did the deed. Grief keeps Jeremy isolated until a fellow Doctor convinces him to join him at a very private club. As Carrier starts to open up his life to others, mysterious messages begin to appear, messages that Jeremy hopes will lead to the killer. Once again Jonathan Kellerman draws readers into a twisted tale that will enthrall and hold you captive to the last page.
Beverly J Scott author of RIGHTEOUS REVENGE, RUTH FEVER, and JENA'S CHOICE.
Rating:
Summary: Slow and Eerie
Review: Jonathan Kellerman is a very good author. Many years ago, on one of his first books, he got a blurb from Stephen King, saying he'd revived the Private Eye novel singlehandedly. I don't know about that, but he has done a lot, and the books he writes are very interesting. The style that he uses is interesting, and you can tell that he works at the prose and the characters.
The Conspiracy Club is a complete departure for him. Most of his novels are technology-driven to an extent anyway, and the characters and action are reasonably rational. The atmosphere, such as it is, comes from the city they're in, the tension between the characters, that sort of thing. And there's a plot, generally a fast-moving one with twists and turns, false clues and real killers.
Here, instead, we have what's almost a Gothic Romance novel. Dr. Jeremy Carrier is a shrink at a hospital in a nameless easter city (ala Scott Turow). His live-in girlfriend was killed six months before the start of the book, and he was the chief suspect, but the police could never develop enough evidence to arrest him. He wanders through the first hundred pages or so of the book, not really sure why he's so suspicious of everyone, meeting interesting people and not being sure what their motivations are.
Somewhere in there, it becomes obvious that something's going on, but what it is remains murky and indistinct for most of the book. It's clear it has to do with the girlfriend's murder, but not how or why. As Jeremy slowly burrows his way through the mystery, following leads and suspects, we begin to suspect that someone else is controlling the pace, somehow, but we're not sure.
This is an interesting, atmospheric novel. There's not as much plot, or as many twists, as the usual Alex Delaware novel, but there are enough for the usual reader. The characters, however, and the atmosphere, are palpable, and this is what shines through: Kellerman's skill with prose is undeniable.
I would highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: So-so Kellerman
Review: Jonathan Kellerman, a hit-or-miss writer with more misses in recent years, has something in the middle with the Conspiracy Club, a rather average thriller that takes a break from series character Alex Delaware to present a similar character named Jeremy Carrier. Carrier is a psychologist who is recovering from the murder of his girlfriend, a death that is more devastating because he is a suspect in the crime. He is drawn out of his funk by two people: Arthur Chess, a retired pathologist whose mysterious actions start to point Carrier towards the real killer, and Angela Rios, a doctor who he starts dating.
As if working a puzzle, Carrier is presented piece by piece the solution to the murder. This is not a whodunit: there is no way the reader can figure out the killer before Carrier does. In addition, the reason behind Carrier's manipulation is not that plausible; there are easier ways to do things that seem to escape the characters.
I have said for a while that Alex Delaware has become more and more of a nondescript, boring character (although there has been a little improvement in recent books). Carrier seems to be Kellerman's attempt to recreate Delaware under a new name. There is even a cop in this story named Doresh who has a similar gruffness to Milo Sturgis, although Doresh and Carrier have a more antagonistic relationship.
The last time Kellerman did a non-Delaware novel, he excelled with Billy Straight; this effort is okay, but not as successful. Although it does have its problems, this book is a generally entertaining read, neither exceptionally good or bad. It is strictly a three star work, of more interest to Kellerman fans than to mystery fans in general.
Rating:
Summary: Solid Read & A Nice Change
Review: This is not an Alex Delaware mystery and I really enjoyed the change. This mystery is well constructed and the pages turn pretty fast. The lead character is a psychologist but in many ways seems more "real" than Mr. Kellerman's other protagonists. A QUICK READ, ENJOYABLE THRILLER.
Rating:
Summary: Slow Moving,... But Good
Review: This is not your typical Jonathan Kellerman novel, no Alex Delaware, the police harrass instead of help the protaganist, and as I stated earlier, it is not a fast moving, action packed tale which is Kellermans usual style. Nonetheless, I liked it.
The story centers around Dr. Jeremy Carrier, and the unsolved murder of his girl friend Jocelyn Banks. Jeremy is still grieving her death when he is approached by a mysterious pathologist by the name of Arthur Chess, while he is alone, having lunch in the hospital dining room. Although Jeremy has little desire for friendship at this time, Dr. Chess is persistent, and an odd relationship between the two doctors develops. Meanwhile, Angela, an attractive intern subtly flirts with Jeremy and finally suceeds in obtaining a date with him. Just as Jeremy's life begins to feel "normal" once again, he accepts an invitation from Arthur Chess to a dinner with some of Arthur's friends. Subsequently,Jeremy's life begins to become very strange. Anonymous mail is delivered to him at his office, his girl friend begins to spend less time with him, and his new-found friend Arthur disappears. As Jeremy attempts to figure out where his friend has gone, and solve the mystery of the anonymous mail deliverys, as well as come to terms with his relationship with Angela, he starts to wonder whom he can trust, and who the enigmatic members of Arthur's little club really are.
I gave this story only three stars because it seemed to drag at times.
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