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Summary: stunning, brilliant, electrifying psychological thriller
Review: Denial, by Keith Ablow, is a tour de force. Ablow's brilliance is as compelling as Clevenger's compulsions and delusions. Ablow is not just another thriller writer. He toils long and hard, the way Flaubert did, before completing every page of his book, and it shows. The language is alive and varied, and Ablow's vision of the world gives rise to the idea that Clevenger is more responsible for Ablow, than Ablow is for Clevenger. It is obvious that Ablow toils over his writing, that not a single sentence is wasted. Explosive, mercurial, exotic, sensual, riveting, violent, sexual - Denial is all of this, and so much more. ABlow is destined for greatness. There is not a hint of doubt about it.
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Summary: From the Hippocratic oath: "First, do no harm."
Review: Follow Frank Clevenger along the Lynn Shore Drive and help himstop a serial killer on the loose. I'm not referring solely to thekiller roaming the streets of Greater Boston, but to the demons beleaguring and numbing the doctor as well. As Dr. Clevenger battles his addiction to cocaine, he comes to terms with his tormentors: an abusive father, former patient outcomes, a frightening love life, and a stalled career. Dr. Ablow has written a book that allows the reader to experience the richness, joy and sadness of his very believable characters' lives. Additionally, his entertaining and informative approach to forensics and psychotherapy is engaging. You will find yourself considering therapy as you are allowed deeper into the character's psyches.
Jump in with both feet and I guarantee you will question your own doctor the next time he or she is late for an appointment!
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Summary: Dark and compelling
Review: Forensic psychologist Frank Clevenger, makes for a distinctly unusual hero: He repeatedly falls off the wagon, buys coke on borrowed money, buys sex at nude dance bars, bottomlessly gulps scotch, gambles, drives drunk, digs S&M, can't pay his bills, solicits his mother for drug money, and more. The upside is that Clevenger's terrific insight into abnormal behavior may in fact be just because he's so twisted himself, a result, it's suggested, of his being the product of an alcoholic, suicidal, abusive father and a promiscuous mother. Now Frank is called in by Chief Emma Hancock to help send up the killer who murdered a young woman and cut her breasts off. A homeless nut wants to confess, but Frank, after interviewing him, says no. When her own niece becomes the madman's second victim, Emma gives Frank free rein to chase the perp and throws in three grams of coke to keep him stable. Meanwhile, Frank has huge fights with his live-in mate, Kathy, an ob-gyn who delivers babies all day and keeps leaving Frank because he won't quit the coke. I enjoyed Psychopath by Ablow but this one was just a bit too dark for my liking.
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Summary: I kept coming back to it!
Review: Frank Clevenger is a burned out psychiatrist whose present course in life can be compared to the Hindenberg. He is experiencing an on and off relationship with both his girlfriend and cocaine. Clevenger is called in as a consultant to a grisly murder in which the victim's breasts have been removed. Eventually the mutilations rise to four, qualifying the perpetrator as a bona fide serial killer. There is a thread among the victims though, and Clevenger will not like what he is about to uncover. Denial has great characterization. Several of the people have gone through horrific childhood experiences in which they have been abused. Keith Ablow is a practicing psychiatrist in Massachusetts and it shows in this book. The jargon and BKM's (best known methods) abound, making for an interesting read. I like to think of this book as a variation of The Verdict in which the loser gets one more chance to pull himself up from rock bottom. I do recommend it!
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Summary: Brilliant !!!!!
Review: Great read, suspense thriller,lots of twists and turns, bizarre at times, down to earth, real North of Boston locations, loved Frank Clevenger even with all his faults and problems. Already started on Projection and ordered Compulsion today.
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Summary: Not Your Usual Read
Review: Great twist and turns, with a very good surprise ending. Very good read. I enjoyed this book very much!
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Summary: A SURPRISINGLY GOOD BOOK FROM A FIRST-TIME AUTHOR
Review: I actually bought this book in error, thinking I was ordering something by another author Keith Snyder. You can imagine my surprise upon reading it, that I had accidentally come upon a debut novel by a really terrific writer. Frank Cleavenger is a forensic psychiatrist who interviews suspected murderers. He also snorts cocaine and has as troubled a mind as some of the people he's interviewing but he knows how to keep it in check. The author is also a psychiatrist himself so the research is obviously first hand and this makes the main character so much more believable. In this book, a small town in Massachusetts has a psycho-murderer on its hands and Cleavenger is called in on the case. Other characters that add to this psychological thriller are Trevor Lucas, a psychopathic plastic surgeon whose former patients are being killed and Kathy, who is living with Cleavenger while using Trevor as a part-time lover. Frank's volatile nature adds to the excitement of this book. Ablow has since written a sequel, Projection, which I'm anxious to read after getting through this riveting book all in one piece.
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Summary: Hits you between the eyes and keeps your attention
Review: I found the first few pages gripped my attention and kept me coming back for more. No pussy-footing around the Doctor has you looking for the next page and next piece of action. The Coke sniffing perfessional disturbed me at the start, but he some got himself on the right track. Myself I would have had my way with Kathy and thought about handing her to the cops later. She was some hot babe.
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Summary: Definately worth the read:)
Review: I found this novel touched me in a very real way; perhaps I identified with it. I have to believe that the author was sharing with us insight into his own perspective of the world, his own experience. It just all rang so very true. I thought it was a well crafted, intelligently thought out mystery. I started reading it and literally could not put it down until I finished it. In the tradition of Jonathan Kellerman, I found myself empathizing for the doctor and delighted at the twist at the end. I somehow feel like I know this man; and I certainly wish I had another book about him to start reading right now!:) Thank you, Keith; you did a wonderful job:)
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Summary: King of Denial (and sorry for reworking the pun).
Review: I only picked this one up because I started reading PSYCHOPATH, but quickly realized that this was probably a series that needed to be read from the first novel. I am amused at the extreme difference in ratings and comments from other reviewers; but just being able to evoke such different reactions suggests that the author is doing something right. Ablow's Frank Clevenger is definitely not a likable character (and he does fall a touch short of Hannibal Lector's admitted sophistication), but at the same time I was fascinated by the story and am certain I will remain along on the ride for any future novels in the series. Also being a fan of Stephen White's Alan Gregory - another detective of the inner workings of the mind - novels, I believe that it will be interesting to compare & contrast the manner in which each character is affected by interacting with their respective 'clients', if that is the word for them.
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