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192nd out of 305 books
—
489 voters
The Genius
The sinister and provocative thriller from crime writing�s freshest new voice.
Ethan Muller is struggling to establish his reputation as a dealer in the cut-throat world of contemporary art, when he stumbles onto a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: in a decaying New York slum, an elderly tenant named Victor Cracke has disappeared, leaving behind a staggeringly large trove of...more
Ethan Muller is struggling to establish his reputation as a dealer in the cut-throat world of contemporary art, when he stumbles onto a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: in a decaying New York slum, an elderly tenant named Victor Cracke has disappeared, leaving behind a staggeringly large trove of...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
April 10th 2008
by Putnam Adult
(first published January 1st 2008)
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Nov 13, 2011
My Inner Shelf
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
contemporains,
polar-thriller
Encore une découverte magnifique ! Le thriller artistique !
Le narrateur, marchand d’art qui cherche encore sa voie, s’adresse directement au lecteur et annonce la couleur par un mea culpa. Plus qu’un thriller, il s’agit surtout d’un roman psychologique et social, une quasi-saga sur la filiation, l’héritage, le destin, et l’art. Ethan est un personnage très recherché, et très crédible, on plonge dans son monde du marché de l’art sans être englouti, on reste dans l’intrigue d’un bout à l’autre. Le...more
Le narrateur, marchand d’art qui cherche encore sa voie, s’adresse directement au lecteur et annonce la couleur par un mea culpa. Plus qu’un thriller, il s’agit surtout d’un roman psychologique et social, une quasi-saga sur la filiation, l’héritage, le destin, et l’art. Ethan est un personnage très recherché, et très crédible, on plonge dans son monde du marché de l’art sans être englouti, on reste dans l’intrigue d’un bout à l’autre. Le...more
Well i was torn between a 3 and a 4 star for this one. In fact whilst writing this i have changed it to a 4!
Very in depth and strange plot but i have to admit that i was gripped by the strangeness. Not so sure about the style of writing but it allow some of the mystery to be slowly released without cluttering up one chapter with different times in the past, which may become confusing.
As detective stories go it was entertaining, if a little predictable. I in fact had pre-empted the twist about ha...more
Very in depth and strange plot but i have to admit that i was gripped by the strangeness. Not so sure about the style of writing but it allow some of the mystery to be slowly released without cluttering up one chapter with different times in the past, which may become confusing.
As detective stories go it was entertaining, if a little predictable. I in fact had pre-empted the twist about ha...more
I have liked Jesse Kellerman's work in the past. As a matter of fact, this whole family (the Kellerman's) have put out some very good pieces of fiction. This book was very bleak and drawn out though.
The book opens with "In the beginning, I behaved badly." I think I started the book twice becuase I was unsure of how that was going to start the book off. I think that statement sets up the atmosphere for the fact that not all of the characters are very likeable, but I can live with that.
Anyway, as...more
The book opens with "In the beginning, I behaved badly." I think I started the book twice becuase I was unsure of how that was going to start the book off. I think that statement sets up the atmosphere for the fact that not all of the characters are very likeable, but I can live with that.
Anyway, as...more
I really enjoyed the writing throughout this book. The story was interesting and concluded nicely, but it was just too long and wordy. I was torn between giving it 3 or 4 stars but I liked the writing enough to go with 4. I also enjoyed the chapters that went back in time and how it all tied up in the end. I did, however, find the first half of the chapters from the past slightly pointless. I think they could have started a lot later in time. But the story was good and not as predictable as I wa...more
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I liked this book, it was an easy read and in parts there was some good writing and some original ideas, though I can’t see it going down as great literature. The author handles the manoeuvres between the first decade of this century and the eighteen-forties well, and this jumping back and forth worked for me, adding interest to the plot. I liked the way the author managed a reasonably compelling read, covering some nasty issues and love interest, without having to resort to overly graphic descr...more
I got home with this audiobook and was disappointed: when I picked it up, I thought I was getting a Jonathan Kellerman, not a Jesse Kellerman. I'd read one of Jesse's earlier works and didn't want to try again. However, I stuck a CD in the player and was sucked into a story that held me captive. Part of my fascination was the reader's voice - he does a great job of portraying Ethan Muller and the other characters. But the voice can do no more than deliver the story.
Jesse Kellerman does a wonderf...more
Jesse Kellerman does a wonderf...more
This was an amazingly intriguing and entertaining novel. Ethan Muller, the main character in this story begins his narrative by introducing this account as a detective story and in a way it is but only in the sense that everyone’s life is a detective story. Admittedly, most lives are not as complex or as privileged as Ethan’s but everyone’s life is just as influenced by fate and chance and we find that his attempts to exercise control are no more successful than anyone else. History and forbeare...more
May 17, 2009
Kat Shelton
marked it as to-read
Book Jacket:
Ethan Muller is struggling to establish his reputation as
a dealer in the cutthroat world of contemporary art when
he stumbles onto a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: in a
decaying New York slum, an elderly tenant named Victor
Cracke has disappeared, leaving behind an enormous trove
of original artwork. Nobody can say anything for certain
about Cracke except that he came and went in solitude for
nearly forty years, his genius hidden and unacknowledged.
All that is about to change.
So what if,...more
Ethan Muller is struggling to establish his reputation as
a dealer in the cutthroat world of contemporary art when
he stumbles onto a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: in a
decaying New York slum, an elderly tenant named Victor
Cracke has disappeared, leaving behind an enormous trove
of original artwork. Nobody can say anything for certain
about Cracke except that he came and went in solitude for
nearly forty years, his genius hidden and unacknowledged.
All that is about to change.
So what if,...more
Ce roman policier a eu l'an passé un énorme succès en France.
Je ne suis pas sûr de bien comprendre pourquoi.
Son héros est un marchand d'art new-yorkais héritier d'une richissime famille. Il découvre dans un appartement perdu d'une cité HLM une collection exceptionnelle de dessins. Seul problème : sur l'un d'entre eux apparaissent les visages enfantins des victimes de crimes pédophiles irrésolus.
L'enquête de notre héros est entrecoupé de flash-back sur l'histoire de sa famille, immigrée d'Allemag...more
Je ne suis pas sûr de bien comprendre pourquoi.
Son héros est un marchand d'art new-yorkais héritier d'une richissime famille. Il découvre dans un appartement perdu d'une cité HLM une collection exceptionnelle de dessins. Seul problème : sur l'un d'entre eux apparaissent les visages enfantins des victimes de crimes pédophiles irrésolus.
L'enquête de notre héros est entrecoupé de flash-back sur l'histoire de sa famille, immigrée d'Allemag...more
Greed gets a 33-year-old art dealer, into hot water in a superb thriller 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 Soon Muller starts to receive cryptic, vaguely threatening letters. He also hears from a retired NYPD detective, who recognizes the face...more
New York art gallery owner, Ethan Muller,is trying to make a name for himself in the art world. A family friend tips him off about the discovery of a collection of brilliant but disturbing drawings found in a property which the family owns and rents out. The hundreds of drawings left in the empty apartment all link togther to form one huge, intriguing map-like creation, are the work of a mysterious artist who has since disappeared without trace.
Even though he doesn't own the works and he cannot...more
Even though he doesn't own the works and he cannot...more
Definitely a good read, and one that I raced through (once I'd got through the first couple of chapters - it didn't immediately pull me in but did grab me after that).
It's an intriguing enough story and well pieced together with strands from the past, a construction which holds together until very near to the end. The very last section slows it seems as the author figures out how to finish the book so it concludes a bit more quietly than you might expect as you're racing along through the middle...more
It's an intriguing enough story and well pieced together with strands from the past, a construction which holds together until very near to the end. The very last section slows it seems as the author figures out how to finish the book so it concludes a bit more quietly than you might expect as you're racing along through the middle...more
THIS is a great book. I grabbed it randomly off the shelf at the library, pushing the stroller with my two year old inside, just grabbing stuff so I could get out of there before the baby got cranky and hoping for the best. Which--crazily enough--I got. This book is about the art world, which I know nothing about, so I was concerned, but I had no reason to be. Jesse Kellerman does a beautiful job explaining, but not over explaining. The characters in this book are extremely well drawn, the dialo...more
For years, I have enjoyed books by Jonathan Kellerman, although I have never been a fan of the books by his wife Faye Kellerman or the books written by the two working together.
Recently, in a used book store (another word for Heaven), I discovered the son of Jonathan and Faye Kellerman. I thought, "Oh well, I'll try this and see."
Wow! Jesse Kellerman has created a novel that supercedes everything his parents have ever written. The intensity of the plot, the vividness of the characters, the flow...more
Recently, in a used book store (another word for Heaven), I discovered the son of Jonathan and Faye Kellerman. I thought, "Oh well, I'll try this and see."
Wow! Jesse Kellerman has created a novel that supercedes everything his parents have ever written. The intensity of the plot, the vividness of the characters, the flow...more
Ce livre m'avais beaucoup attiré lors de la lecture de la quatrième de couverture, toutefois l'histoire ne s'est pas avérée aussi palpitante que le résumé le laissait supposer.
C'est un livre qui se lit très rapidement car même si l'histoire n'a rien d'extraordinaire, on se laisse emporter et on est curieux de connaître le dénouement. L'histoire est aguicheuse, une exposition, un policier à la retraite qui croit reconnaître les visages d'enfants victimes de meurtres irrésolus, presque tous les él...more
C'est un livre qui se lit très rapidement car même si l'histoire n'a rien d'extraordinaire, on se laisse emporter et on est curieux de connaître le dénouement. L'histoire est aguicheuse, une exposition, un policier à la retraite qui croit reconnaître les visages d'enfants victimes de meurtres irrésolus, presque tous les él...more
It's Child 44 in the modern art Soho world. Just another "popular library" book that was interesting enough to be read through, but not compelling enough to be worth an afterthought.
When Ethan Muller, a struggling art dealer, stumbles upon a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in a slum building vacated abruptly by an elderly tenant, he almost cannot believe his good luck. The treasure trove of stunning art work is sure to put Ethan in the forefront of the art scene.
But what does anyone know about Victor Cracke, except that he came and went in solitude for nearly forty years, his genius hidden and unacknowledged.
Soon Ethan is caught up in the middle of a mystery, aided by a reti...more
But what does anyone know about Victor Cracke, except that he came and went in solitude for nearly forty years, his genius hidden and unacknowledged.
Soon Ethan is caught up in the middle of a mystery, aided by a reti...more
1 like · like · see review
A man goes missing and the landlord discovers an enormous amount of artwork left behind in his apartment. These drawings are given to our protagonist, an art dealer, who introduces them to the world. But no sooner does the buzz start than he is contacted by a retired police officer who feels the art has a connection to a series of unsolved child murders. He tries to solve the mystery while learning more about his own family history and connection to the drawings.
Jesse Kellerman doesn't really wr...more
Jesse Kellerman doesn't really wr...more
Completely different than his parents' work. Couldn't put it down. Ethan Muller is an art dealer in New York, estranged from his wealthy and controlling father, when one of his father's functionaries calls with a request--would Ethan look at some drawings. Ethan is taken to an apartment complex his father owns in Queens, where he finds boxes and boxes of extraordinary drawings, in pen and marker on copy paper. Each sheet is numbered on all four sides, and it soon becomes apparent that they all a...more
I can't remember what bothered me about this one. I do recall that I was disappointed. Jesse Kellerman's first novel, Sunstroke, was so good. Then he came out with Trouble, which was just icky. The Genius disappointed me. I don't think he's writing to his full potential.
I'm really not sure what genre this book could be slotted into. It's a detective novel without a real crime, it's a mystery without a real mystery, it's an art book without any real art, it's a romance without much romance... So it's 'ish' in all of those categories.
It's a flashback book, from present to way past, then getting closer to the present, and it doesn't take much to work out what's going to happen when past and present meet. I read it because I like reading about art/crime cross over...more
It's a flashback book, from present to way past, then getting closer to the present, and it doesn't take much to work out what's going to happen when past and present meet. I read it because I like reading about art/crime cross over...more
Outsider art (or art brut) is a natural starting point for anyone interested in examining the relationship between art and commerce. A category originally coined by Jean Du Buffet, art brut referred to art created by inmates of insane asylums. The category was further expanded by art critic Roger Cardinal to include works created by people outside of the mainstream art world. These artists are typically self-taught and their work is often discovered after their deaths. In almost all ways this is...more
I find it interesting that the two authors I have actually heard of produced a child I haven't, and he's the one who can actually write.
As a rule I don't do murder mysteries - I find them to be plot driven, contrived and gimmicky - but this was the best of both worlds - fast paced, interesting, highly readable and even, at times, thought provoking.
I can't fault the book for being true to its genre as far as somewhat flat characters, terse dialog, and lack of follow through, but since I do count...more
As a rule I don't do murder mysteries - I find them to be plot driven, contrived and gimmicky - but this was the best of both worlds - fast paced, interesting, highly readable and even, at times, thought provoking.
I can't fault the book for being true to its genre as far as somewhat flat characters, terse dialog, and lack of follow through, but since I do count...more
Ethan Muller, a young art dealer, discovers an outsider genius through his estranged father. It appears that the artist was also a serial killer. Ethan's investigation leads him to a deeply buried family secret. The story is told alternatively in the present (with Ethan and his associates) and in the past story of his family's rise from poverty to enormous wealth. Very well done with poetic and poignant passages, but not too heavy handed. Way better than either of his parents, Faye and Jonathan....more
Started off promising... but there were a few too many stretches in the plot for it to be even remotely believable.
Dear Jesse Kellerman,
Why do you hate question marks so much? Please, for the love of god, start using them like they were meant to be used. I mean, it's fine to write a question as a statement every once in a while or as a particular character's quirk, but I remember this from your last book, too. You're making me crazy.
Now that I have THAT out of my system...I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would from the description of it. Kellerman did a nice job of blending past and present, a...more
Why do you hate question marks so much? Please, for the love of god, start using them like they were meant to be used. I mean, it's fine to write a question as a statement every once in a while or as a particular character's quirk, but I remember this from your last book, too. You're making me crazy.
Now that I have THAT out of my system...I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would from the description of it. Kellerman did a nice job of blending past and present, a...more
Feb 20, 2010
Khaya
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of multi-layered thrillers
Recommended to Khaya by:
Mintzis
Shelves:
mysteriesthrillers
Although I like to think of myself as a discerning book snob, every now and then I read a good thriller that challenges my self-image, or maybe my view of the thriller genre. It helps if the thriller is a multi-layered story driven by characters and relationships as well as by action. It also helps if the thriller exposes me to an unfamiliar world, in this case, the art business.
"The Genius" begins with an art dealer who discovers an incredible set of abandoned drawings. The vanished artist, Vic...more
"The Genius" begins with an art dealer who discovers an incredible set of abandoned drawings. The vanished artist, Vic...more
I listened to the audio-book.
This is the first Jesse Kellerman book I've read and really enjoyed it. The mystery was interesting even as we found out how everything was connected.
Fairly sexually explicit in parts but I can honestly say I felt it had a lot to do with the story and the characters. The sex was anything but romantic and sometimes hurtful.
The reader, who's name escapes me, did a really nice job. Not overly dramatic nor falsetto while reading the women's lines.
All in all I can recomm...more
This is the first Jesse Kellerman book I've read and really enjoyed it. The mystery was interesting even as we found out how everything was connected.
Fairly sexually explicit in parts but I can honestly say I felt it had a lot to do with the story and the characters. The sex was anything but romantic and sometimes hurtful.
The reader, who's name escapes me, did a really nice job. Not overly dramatic nor falsetto while reading the women's lines.
All in all I can recomm...more
Ethan, an art dealer, is given access to the drawings of an unknown, reclusive "outsider" artist. The thousands of drawings can be pieced together into one picture. What is the significance of the center drawing from which all the others flow? Ethan becomes caught up in trying to find out not only that, but who is the man who did the drawings. Along the way, in flashback chapters, we begin to learn to about the history of the artist (the "genius"), and Ethan himself. Well-written, with smatterin...more
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Jesse Kellerman was born in Los Angeles in 1978. His award-winning plays have been produced throughout the United States and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Most recently, he received the Princess Grace Award, given to America’s most promising young playwright. He lives with his wife in New York City.
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