Customer Reviews

Man and Wife

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is my first Klavan novel, and it was engrossing. Its greatest strength is the unique and powerful love story, in my opinion. Klavan describes what I think true love is about, the almost miraculous nature of it, unexpected, unforced, irrestible, rendering its captives completely devoted to each other, and, thus, vulnerable. Not enough of that kind of love around, it seems, but nice to see that someone can portray it beautifully. The suspense was also good, but this one clearly revolves around love, from the outstanding and unforgettable first line forward.

Andrew Klavan has presented us with a seamlessly written thriller which will draw you in immediately and keep your attention throughout.

Psychiatrist Cal Bradley seems to have found the perfect wife in Marie, his spouse of fifteen years. Then a series of upsetting events causes him to doubt that he truly knows the woman who seems so devoted to him. He's confronted with ethical problems in his profession as his domestic world begins to come apart. Peter Blue, a l9 year old patient, is a compelling presence---troubled and suicidal, yet also possessed of a healing power which revitalizes other troubled young people around him. Peter's secrets are inexplicably interwoven with Marie's mysterious past.

Klavan's book, in the best thriller tradition, will enchant you.

With the opening of this psychological "thriller" by Andrew Klavan, you can pretty much figure out what's going to happen. Klavan is very reminiscent of Thomas H. Cook in this tale, but Cook has mastered the art much better. Cook doesn't give away his ending so early. There's a lot of merit in this book; Klavan's narrative skills are sharp, and there is much empathy for the character of Peter Blue. However, I found little empathy for Cal Bradley or his wife. Bradley seems immune to his surroundings and although he can help other people, he can't seem to help himself. To be married to Marie for so long and not realize what an emotional void she had, doesn't add much in the lines of credibility. By the time the book comes to its all too inevitable conclusion, I couldn't like Bradley or his wife very much. Peter Blue's fate is inevitable, but their lack of moral terpitude is unforgivable. RECOMMENDED ONLY FOR KLAVAN'S FANS.

Great book. There are some false moves here but its just Klavan's way to keep his readers guessing. The ending was an unexpected surprise and nice to boot. Klavan is a master at the craft of creating a believeable plot with nagging mystery throughout.

In Andrew Klavan's novel, "Man and Wife," Cal Bradley is a respected psychiatrist who heads up a clinic in a quiet New England town. Cal lives an idyllic life with his lovely wife, Marie, and their three young children. Marie is a former waitress who had a violent and traumatic childhood which she prefers to forget. Now, she is a homebody and a regular churchgoer who is completely devoted to Cal and the kids. Life is good.

Naturally, things do not stay that way. Cal is suddenly faced with the troubling case of Peter Blue, a nineteen-year-old boy who has been arrested for assault, burglary, arson and threatening a police officer. The only way to keep Peter out of jail, where he has already attempted suicide, is to bring him to Cal's clinic for an assessment and then psychiatric treatment. Cal not only delves into Peter's psyche, but he explores his own as well, flashing back to memories of his relationship with his troubled parents and his self-destructive sister, Mina.

Cal's problems are just beginning. On an outing in the woods, he thinks that he spots his wife talking to a stranger who seems to know her. Marie denies that the incident took place. Soon Cal and his family are threatened, and he fears that something or someone is out to destroy him. Events soon spiral out of control and Cal faces psychological and moral dilemmas that threaten to tear both him and his family apart.

Klavan does a masterful job of building up suspense and he manages to keep the reader off guard. Is Cal imagining the threats to his family? Is there really a mysterious stranger out to get him? We are not sure of the answers to these questions at first, and we are compelled to keep reading to figure out what is really going on. The characters are vividly and sympathetically depicted and Klavans's lush descriptions of the scenic New England landscape contrast nicely with the sinister events in the novel.

"Man and Wife" is a taut and accomplished psychological thriller that will keep you up at night until you have turned the last page. Klavan explores the themes of how our troubled pasts, including the secrets we keep and the lies that we tell, inevitably come back to haunt us in one way or another.

In New England, teenager Peter Blue loses control when he and his girlfriend Jenny Wilbur argue. Peter beats her up, steals a gun and money from the recycling center, and sets fire to a church. Police Chief Orrin Hunnicut arrests Peter, who is charged with arson, burglary, larceny, theft of a firearm, threatening a cop, and reckless endangerment. When Peter tries to hang himself in his cell, Father Fairfax asks highly respected psychiatrist Cal Bradley to evaluate the nineteen-year-old.

Cal lives a wonderful life loving his wife Marie and their two children, but he sees Peter as a fascinating look at the darker side of humanity. Cal quickly realizes that Peter is insanely enraged with a town visitor. Cal also notices his beloved spouse talking with this stranger in the nearby woods, but when he asks her about him, Marie lies to him. Cal begins to learn about Marie's past, which stuns him. Not long afterward, the stranger is found dead while Orrin struggles to uncover the identity of the killer.

MAN AND WIFE is an exciting thriller that works because the townsfolk seem real and Cal's first hand account allows a deep look inside his mind as readers see first hand his metamorphosis. Though a small town setting, the tale is fast-paced proving that global destruction is not the only background for the genre. As expected from Andrew Klavan, readers have a one sitting thriller that never slows down for even a paragraph.

Harriet Klausner

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's one of those books that leave you hanging at the end of every chapter. I like how it was written in a unique way so that it kept you guessing. This book shows how one troubled teen can change many people's lives. Cal Bradly and Peter Blue are very real and interesting characters in this book. Cal is the psychologist, husband and father. Peter is the troubled and influential nineteen year old. And Marie, Cal's wife, is the woman with the mysterious past. This was a great book and I encourage others to read it.

Psychiatrist Cal Bradley has an uxurious love for his wife Marie, a simple soul, good wife and mother, but not his equal in intelligence and education. He has been mildly aware that her past had some hidden secrets but was unwilling to dredge up the past in case it upset the comfortable present. Cal is treating a troubled teenager Peter Blue, who claims to have a mystical connection to God and whose crazy actions have brought him into trouble with the law. Peter threatens to suicide if put in jail so Cal is more lenient in his treatment of him. As a consequence, a brutal man from Marie's past becomes involved with them all, bringing down tragedy and violence which will forever alter the course of their lives.

It's probably just my personal problem with this book, but did religion need to play such a large roll in telling this story? And why was Klavan so heavy handed in describing just how Christ-like Peter was? Some times I felt like he was leading me along because he wasn't sure I could get where I needed to go on my own. Because of Peter's religious bent, we knew where we were going anyway, so I think he should have eased up on all the symbolism. Otherwise a fast, energizing read that I will recommend to friends.

One of my favorite books written in the last decade is TRUE CRIME by Andrew Klaven. It was also liked by Clint Eastwood who made a film out of it. There was a strong sense of suspense, which grabbed the reader from the first page and never let up. Unfortunately, Mr. Klaven has been unable to recreate that sense of superb storytelling with his subsequent books and they proved to be not nearly as successful. He also left the genre by writing a ghost story. However, I am pleased to report that he is again up to his usual high standards.

Cal Bradley, a psychiatrist is happily married in a small New England town. Into his life step two men who threaten to tear his life apart. One is Peter Blue, a young man who, after beating his girlfriend, ran to a local church and set it on fire while threatening a police officer with a gun. Cal sees a lot of potential good in Peter and decides to take him under his wing at a local psychiatric hospital instead of keeping him in prison where Peter threatens suicide. The second is a shadowy tough figure of a man who may have past ties to Cal's wife, Marie. He may be the key to the unraveling of their marriage.

Andrew Klaven has written a fast paced suspense novel with just the right amount of surprises to keep the pages flying. Characters are very well sketched as is the locale. In returning to the crime fiction and suspense subgenre, Andrew Klaven has returned to the arena of his greatest success. I sincerely hope he decides to remain here.