Trouble tells the story of Jonah Stem, a twenty-something medical student living and working in Manhattan. Overworked and a bit of a pushover, Jonah’s life is upended when he comes upon a woman being stabbed in the street and makes the fateful decision to intervene. In the process of saving the woman’s life he accidentally kills her attacker.

The woman whose life he saved buys him a thank-you drink that leads to a passionate love affair. Jonah’s happiness is short-lived however, as her masochistic tendencies rise to the surface and are only further inflamed when Jonah attempts to end their relationship. Finding himself relentlessly stalked, Jonah’s life quickly begins to unravel, rapidly descending from complicated to all-out nightmare.

For the first half of the novel Kellerman ably crafts a narrative of mounting tension that envelopes both the reader and his protagonist Jonah Stem. Yet in the second half he allows the story’s tension (as well as the reader’s concern for Jonah) to slowly deteriorate to near nothing, rendering any attempt to portray Jonah’s wavering grip on his sanity as forced. By the time Kellerman comes to the novel’s abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion, the reader is so far removed from the characters that little, if any, of the emotional impact Kellerman is reaching for is felt. ( )

Having read and loved Sunstroke, Jesse Kellerman's first novel, I could hardly wait to read his second, Trouble. Both might be classified as psychological thrillers more than conventional mysteries, both feature a likeable, decent - perhaps too nice -- protagonist. Trouble is much more violent and sexual. The title is definitely an understatement as its subject, Jonah Stem goes through several degrees of hell in a six month period. Having not one, but two mentally ill girl friends, being an overworked and underslept third year medical student and cursed by...too much decency? Jesse Kellerman is an excellent story teller, entertaining and riveting to read. ( )

Jonah is just a medical student trying to get home in New York, when he hears a woman scream. In an attempt to save the woman from the man attacking her, Jonah inadvertently kills him. This is only the start of Jonah's problems in this thriller involving murder, sex, and deception. He ends up having a sexual affair with Eve, the woman he saved, but she’s not the woman she appears to be. Complicating matters further, Jonah also feels obligated to help take care of his former girlfriend who is now mentally ill. From vivid descriptions of operating room endeavors to the dark accounts of Eve’s sadistic desires, this chilling novel of suspense is sure to make Jesse Kellerman a novelist to watch-- a writer with his own bold, contemporary style.

Recommended by Terry, September 2007

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Staff Picks

http://dhamel.typepad.com/book_blog/2... ( )

Jesse Kellerman has a bad habit of using big words where smaller words would work just fine. It's like he's showing off his GRE prep class vocabulary. I'm not against big words, but mixed in with this dialog, plot, and narrative, whenever I came across one, it jumped out at me. It's like he constantly needs to remind his readers: Even though this is a mystery, I write plays too. I'm smart. Really. ( )