The Genius (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "In the beginning, I behaved badly..." (more)
Key Phrases: lunch apple ham, har har har, Victor Cracke, New York, Eddie Cardinale (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Harlan Coben on The Genius
Harlan Coben is one of the virtuosos of the modern thriller. Each new novel hits the top of bestseller lists across the world, and he has become the first author to sweep the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony awards. Beginning with his acclaimed Myron Bolitar series (including the recent Promise Me), Coben soon branched out into stand-alone thrillers that have made his name as a master of clockwork suspense, including his latest, Hold Tight, which brings his trademark thrills into the most basic dilemmas of the modern suburban family.

"In the beginning, I behaved badly."

That’s how the uber-talented Jesse Kellerman opens up his newest novel, The Genius, and right away, he has you.

I won’t give you a long plot summary because others will do it better, but briefly: A young art dealer named Ethan Muller manages to get hold of a treasure trove of original art after the artist, an unknown shut-in named Victor Cracke, disappears. The first sign of trouble crops up when a retired cop recognizes one of the figures as being a boy who died some 40 years earlier. Ethan's life spirals out of control from there. Before the story is over, Ethan will learn to question everything about his "wonderful" discovery--as well as his own family's destiny.

Yes, the book is gripping and compelling and Ethan Muller, the narrator, is wonderfully wry company, but what truly separates Kellerman from the pack is his prose. Simply put, he is a wonderful writer. He has the ability to make everything seem, well, true. Every scene has that ring of authenticity that’s so elusive in fiction. I bought everything that Ethan did--and loved the flashbacks showing how the Muller family went from poor immigrants to real-estate tycoons.

I love books where past crimes will not stay buried. The web of deceit in The Genius stretches back four decades, but it is still claiming victims. Jesse Kellerman tightens the noose slowly, and we his readers can do nothing but turn the pages.

I have been a fan since his debut, Sunstroke, but he's getting better and better. If you've already read Jesse Kellerman, don't waste anymore time reading this review. If you haven't yet discovered his work, The Genius is the place to begin--and not a bad description of the author.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Greed gets Ethan Muller, a 33-year-old Manhattan art dealer, into hot water in Kellerman's superb third stand-alone thriller (after Trouble). When reclusive artist Victor Cracke disappears, Muller winds up taking possession of the boxes and boxes of intense, disturbing drawings that Cracke left behind in his shabby Queens apartment. A favorable New York Times article helps fuel lucrative sales at an exhibit of Cracke's drawings at Muller's Chelsea gallery. Soon, though, Muller starts to receive cryptic, vaguely threatening letters. He also hears from a retired NYPD detective, Lee McGrath, who recognizes the face of one of the boys in a Cracke drawing as belonging to the victim of a 40-year-old unsolved murder. That revelation turns Muller into an amateur detective as he attempts to discover how the dead boy's image—along with those of several other victims—made its way into the pictures. Kellerman has a gift for creating compelling characters as well as for crafting an ingenious plot that grabs the reader and refuses to let go. Author tour. (Apr.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; BCE edition (April 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399154590
• ISBN-13: 978-0399154591
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #470,358 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Novel is Really Terrific, April 12, 2008

By	Thriller Lover (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

THE GENIUS is a very impressive effort by Jesse Kellerman. This book is a highly effective suspense novel, but the quality of the prose is strong enough to satisfy most fans of literary fiction. I read a lot of suspense fiction, and this is one of the best novels I've read this year.

The main character of THE GENIUS is a young, struggling art dealer named Ethan Muller. The novel opens with Muller discovering a large trove of artwork by an unknown, reclusive genius named Victor Cracke. Cracke has disappeared mysteriously, and Muller ends up taking the artwork for himself and his gallery. He mounts a successful show of the artwork, only to discover that Cracke has a hidden, dangerous past -- a past which may involve Muller himself.

THE GENIUS is very well-writen, a genuine literary thriller. Kellerman has matured into a really effective writer, and he does a superb job describing the New York contemporary art scene. All the characterization in this book is first-rate, and the dialogue is sharp and fun. The plot is also gripping, and I kept turning the pages, always interested in what was about to happen next.

The protagonist of this book isn't entirely entirely likable, which may turn off some readers. But if you enjoy the complex characterization of authors like Colin Harrison or Laura Lippman, you will find much to admire in THE GENIUS.

I wasn't a fan of Kellerman's listless first novel, SUNSTROKE, but this novel has converted me. If Kellerman can write novels like THE GENIUS before the age of 30, I can't wait to see what he will be producing over the next decade, as his talent matures even further.

Highly recommended.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ambitious effort: More family saga than thriller though, May 7, 2008

By	J. Norburn (Quesnel, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have mixed feelings about this novel. I wasn't terribly impressed by Kellerman's debut novel Sunburn and I really disliked his sophomore effort Trouble. Kellerman's third novel is ambitious. I especially appreciate that it deviates from conventional crime novel formulas. In fact, the solving of a series of 40 year old child murders is secondary. The Genius, first and foremost, is a family saga. At its heart, it's the story of a cold and distant father trying to reconnect with his estranged son.

The catch is that readers who expect action, suspense, and page turning thrills may be disappointed. I admire the fact that Kellerman doesn't make criminal investigation exciting. It's tedious work. There is no `big shoot out' or car chase to pump up the reader's adrenaline. Instead, evidence is collected, an arrest is made. It's pretty routine stuff - just like real life.

Kellerman does a good job with character development. As mentioned before, this is really a character driven family saga, not a plot driven thriller. I admire that Kellerman doesn't feel compelled to make his characters especially likeable. Ethan, our hero, is actually a pretentious self absorbed (insert your own expletive here); certainly not the type of character that an author can build a franchise around. I didn't hate Ethan, but he did grate on my nerves from time to time (notably when he makes a rather whiny phone call to an Assistant DA). The characters in this novel are fully realized imperfect human beings. Unfortunately, they can be a little annoying at times.

Kellerman sets up an intriguing premise (a collection of drawings are discovered in a vacant apartment and when some of the drawings are displayed in a gallery, it is discovered that the drawings include the faces of five murdered children) but by its mid point, the novel starts to lose some of its momentum. From a suspense novel perspective, the novel plods along rather predictably and then resolves itself in rather anticlimactic fashion. While on some level this is admirable, it isn't fully satisfying as entertainment. The family saga portions of the novel (the so-called interludes) are moderately compelling, but not strong enough to raise the novel above a sturdy 3 star rating from me.

I appreciate the effort Kellerman has made with this novel. I suspect that the author may transition soon out of genre fiction as he seems much more interested in exploring characters than building suspense. Definitely his best novel to date. I'd like to see him create a character that doesn't irritate me though.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Art of Murder, April 15, 2008

By	Tom S. "filmfan3" (New York City) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

A successful young NYC art dealer named Ethan Muller discovers a vast series of bizarre drawings in an abandoned apartment in Queens, and the unknown genius who created them quickly becomes the toast of the contemporary art world. But Ethan soon has cause for alarm--a retired cop sees one of the drawings in the newspaper and recognizes the little boy in it as a long-ago victim of a serial killer who was never caught. Could the phantom artist and the phantom murderer be one and the same? Ethan Muller is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. And someone else is just as determined to keep the secret buried....

THE GENIUS is a terrific suspense novel from one of our brightest new talents. Kellerman, son of bestselling authors Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, is 'a chip off the old block' and then some. His story is colorful, his setting (the New York art world) is vividly rendered, and his characters are sharply drawn and memorable. In other words, the book is very much like the brilliant series of drawings at the center of its plot. Don't miss this one. Highly recommended.