The Hundredth Man (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: autopsy suite, utility office, autopsy table, Johnny Lee, Willet Lindy, Ava Davanelle (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First-time author Kerley debuts with a classically constructed, psychotic-killer-with-a-horrendous-childhood thriller featuring young detective Carson Ryder, himself troubled by a problematic past. Carson and partner Harry Nautilus are the newly formed two-man Psychopathological and Sociopathological Investigative Team, referred to as Piss-it by the other members of the Mobile, Ala., police force. While Piss-it's official mandate is the investigation of murders committed by particularly horrendous killers, the formation of the team is actually a public relations scheme. Nevertheless, when a headless body turns up in a local park, Piss-it has its first real case. At the autopsy, Carson meets new hire Dr. Ava Davenelle, who is handling corpse-cutting duties. "She was dour, abrupt, and projected the femininity of a hammer—yet her motions verged on symphonic." Of course he's immediately smitten, though his polite advances are rejected. Turns out she has her own life as well as a job-threatening problem, which Carson must solve while simultaneously identifying the killer who has meanwhile added several more headless victims to his growing list. Carson's secret weapon of detection is his brother, an insane mass-murderer who feeds him clues on the nature of madmen from an asylum, à la Hannibal Lecter. Kerley has certainly mastered the form, and the nail-biter takedown scene is as exciting as any in the business. This is a solid addition to the genre, and a series to look forward to.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Carson Ryder is a Mobile, Alabama, police detective whose key role in solving a serial-killer case landed him a place on a special unit devoted to psycho crimes. Like almost all the characters in this narrative locomotive of a first novel, Carson has a secret: his ability to crack the serial-killer case had a lot to do with advice he got from his brother, who has reason to know how psychos think. Now another serial killer is at work, beheading his (or her) male victims and leaving cryptic messages carved on their bodies. As Carson and his partner (perhaps the most appealing character in the book), veteran cop Harry Nautilus, investigate the murders, they quickly become ensnared both in department politics and in a quagmire of secrets involving the medical staff at the morgue. Kerley jacks up the tension effectively with nicely placed jumps between Carson's narration and the tortured thoughts of the killer, building to an all-stops-out climax involving a raging river and a supremely horrific home movie. There are moments where the book nearly zooms out of control--especially during the over-the-top climax--but, finally, the powerful forward motion of the narrative and the compelling forensic and psychological detail more than compensate for the heroine-tied-to-the-tracks melodrama. The finale aside, Kerley's plot is a treasure chest of interlocked pieces, each holding a secret, a link in the chain connecting the novel's characters to the demons in their various closets. Kerley isn't the new Ridley Pearson quite yet, but don't bet against him. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Signet (June 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451215540
• ISBN-13: 978-0451215543
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #361,055 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crazy Fast Pace........true "classic" potential, June 4, 2004

By	jeanne-scott (Asan, Guam) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Hundredth Man (Hardcover)

Jack Kerley jumps into his story with all the style and wicked grace of the classic detective novel authors!! The action is fast paced, the dialogue is rapid fire, the characters are twisted and intriguing and the story is gripping!!
A young detective, Carson Ryder, trying to overcome his past, uses unconventional methods to pry into the minds of psychologically damaged criminals and sociopaths. When headless corpses turn up and he and his partner, Harry Nautilus' skills are needed, they run the risk of being derailed by a political circus that has developed in the police department. There is also a young woman working her way towards a promising future as a medical examiner, but ghosts of her past haunt her and she must make some important choices and in the middle of a critical investigation Carson feels an obligation to help her.
The crimes are vicious yet clean, the killer is amazingly calm and cool, yet so totally unhinged you cannot imagine how he manages to function. Allegations swirl like thick fog over everyone who becomes involved with this investigation.
This is an astounding first novel that is both horrifying and intriguing and holds the promise of more great things to come from Jack Kerley, an author to watch (and read!!)

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written in rapid-fire style which will leave you, June 5, 2004

By	Joy Marie "Lover of the Written Word" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hundredth Man (Hardcover)

hurrying after the author; breathlessly following him through a truly well-thought out and expertly executed detective mystery-thriller. I found the characters very REAL and the situations gripping.

Ryder,a detective in the newly formed PSIT( a unit which delves into the physchological aspects of a crime) is suberb in his complexity and his detective partner Harry is his perfect match. Together they rummage through the minds of anyone connected to the murders of several men found neatly beheaded...with no head in site.

Fascinating and unpredictable in every situation presented; this is a first novel which is I hope for us readers the first of many from this talented author; gifted not only in spinning a tale; but gifted with a style of prose that will grip you and hold you tightly til the end...and long after you have read the very last thrilling word.

Exceptional, mind-stirring and enjoyable in every way. A great read!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars (4+) Redemption and Hope Emerge From Violence and Abuse, June 3, 2004

By	Tucker Andersen (Wall Street) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Hundredth Man (Hardcover)

WARNING: This book is not for the squeamish. It contains child abuse, psychotic and perverted acts, multiple murders, detailed descriptions of autopsies, sexual references and crude and offensive language. In fact, since this is a list of all the things that I normally avoid when selecting literature to read, I am amazed that I enjoyed the book so much and was fascinated enough to not only complete it but in fact give it a high rating. While I knew it contained violence from the publisher's descriptive material, the plot and promotional blurbs combined with my attraction to first time authors to pique my interest; by the time I realized the extent of the normally objectionable material I was hooked.

Jack Kerney is a talented wordsmith with a deep understanding of the flawed nature of humankind and the depravity which often results. However, in contrast with the pessimism (indeed fatalism) that Dennis Lehane's writing displays (particularly MYSTIC RIVER) concerning the seemingly inexorably tragic nature of our lives, in the end this is a story about the possibility that redemption is possible and that tomorrow may indeed be better than the past.

The main storyline is incredibly simple. Carson Ryder, a twenty-nine year old with an MA in psychology, is a newly minted detective in the Mobile, AL police force and the first person narrator of the majority of this story. He is teamed with old pro Harry Nautilus as the two newly formed members of the Psychopathological and Sociopathological Investigative Team (PSIT - pronounced piss-it by the other members of the department). As the newly rebuilt city morgue is being dedicated after it had been severely damaged during an autopsy on a booby-trapped body, a headless victim is found in a local park and it appears that Harry and Carson will be investigating their first official case. Departmental politics soon become an issue, and the tension increases as further headless bodies appear. Meanwhile, there are multiple subplots involving Carson's secret past and the reasons for his seeming prescience regarding the actions of the mentally ill and sociopaths. There are additional subplots including the intertwined public and private lives of Dr. Clair Peltier, outstanding pathologist and chief of the Mobile unit of the Alabama as well as her apparently strained relationship with her young associate Dr. Ava Davanelle. There are also very knowledgeable and sensitive segments which are central to the plot including the personal perdition of alcoholism and the necessity of approaching your salvation one day at a time.

Every detail should be noted and remembered, because by the conclusion all the threads in the book come together and have meaning in the same way that the "invisible threads" in the case that bedevil Harry and Carson start to reveal themselves and unravel the mystery (despite their dictum that "memories {of witnesses} are faulty and people lie"). So this is a book about the human condition and a story of multiple personal journeys (several tragic) toward the goals of understanding, grace and redemption. The language and visual imagery which it evokes is often superb, but I would expect noting less from a former advertising writer and creative director. Two examples will suffice. First, Jeremy, Carson's brother and a crucial figure in Carson's life and to this story, at one point speculates that the headless bodies are indeed "postcards from hell" meant to communicate a very specific message from the murderer. (This seems an especially likely possibility since cryptic messages are also written on the bodies.) Second, Clair's husband's fortune (which he brought to their "merger' of convenience) was ante-bellum Southern money, "one of those snowball fortunes that gathered as it rolled" forward in time.

Why not five stars if I thought it was an excellent plot, employed engaging imagery, had fascinating characters, and used frequently captivating language? (This question seems especially since it also has the potential to be an excellent movie.) First, for the reasons articulated in my opening comments, stories with this degree of violence and perversion are never totally enjoyable for me, even if captivating. Second, the author tries to do much. He accomplishes his apparent goal admirably, but it might have been better if the case of Joel Adrian (which Carson solved as a patrolman and the description of which is totally sickening even if only summary in nature) had been a separate book that served as the introduction to Carson and this story. It would have made the flashbacks and explanatory asides less frequent and allowed for more leisurely development of the other elements of this story. Last, while the ending itself (by this I mean literally the last two pages) is both full of hope and extremely clever; the climactic action scene that is the final denouement of the story is too long, too unreal (even for this story), and as other reviewers have aptly described it, simply "over the top" in a way that creates a final impression of unreality. It is almost as if it was written to provide an exciting climax to an action movie, and is eerily parallel in this regard (right down to the raging river) to the final scene in Michael Connelly's new novel THE NARROWS. Despite these reservations, this is definitely a worthwhile read as long as my caveats aren't a major concern to you.

Disclaimer: I was furnished an ARC (Advance Review Copy) of this book by the publisher based on my previous reviews of books of this genre,. I have never met either the author or any representatives of the publisher. I made no representations or promises regarding any review that I might write. However, I have included this disclaimer in the interests of complete disclosure so that the reader may have all significant information concerning any facts that may be viewed as having biased my review.

Tucker Andersen