The Butcher's Theater

I've read and loved a number of Kellerman's Alex Delaware novels, among other works he's written, so the first thing I must say here is that I'm simply glad this wasn't my introduction to his work. If it had been, early novel or not, I don't think I'd be seeking out more. So, starting with that....

This is probably what I would consider to be the definition of a pulp novel. Heavy on action and needless heat; over the top in so many scenes and moments, over and over again; twisty-turny (sometimes for the better, sometimes not); full of stock characters with just enough quirks to keep them interesting; overwritten; rife with moments that feel like they were included for shock value... there were so many moments when it occurred to me that show more I could simply not finish the book, but I kept going mostly because of the fast pace and because I've so enjoyed Kellerman's work in the past.

If some of the shock-value passages and moments were removed, and some of the 'butchery' taken down from the level of grotesque gore to a level that was slightly more believable in a given moment, I probably would have enjoyed this quite a bit more. As it was, I too often cringed away from what felt like needless gore and shock-value offense--and I saw this as someone who really enjoys slashers and horror novels, too. On top of that, the book is so full of needless sexism and offensive language (much of which would have been offensive even when the book was published in the 80s), the book felt as if it were begging to be labeled as pulp literature in a way that I've rarely seen happen.

Maybe Kellerman just wanted to go as over the top as possible, or maybe his early writing was, in general, just this overboard in terms of language and horror, but one way or another, I can't say I enjoyed this. Was the plotting smart? Sure. Were the characters sympathetic? Mostly. Did the writing move fast and keep me engaged? Yes. But did I enjoy it or feel like the book deserved nearly as many pages as it took up? Not remotely.

I can't recommend this one unless you want a pulpy, over-the-top thriller that delivers plenty of shock value as a thriller written in the spirit of a slasher horror film. show less

My entry into this genre back in the 80s. The characters are well written - this book led me to the Alex Delaware series that Kellerman wrote and I enjoyed those as well. This one, however, really struck a chord. Maybe it was the city, maybe it was the circumstances of the victim, but wrapped up in the psychological suspense it made for a gripping story.

This was my first thriller by Kellerman. And the meeting went VERY well: fireworks right from the start.

Oh my goodness, what a book!! Every now and then I had goose bumps and shivers all over, even when reading it for the ....time. Usually, when I already know what is coming, it is disturbing my reading joy . I knew, but nevertheless I was taken away by the book again and again.
The different story lines and the characters are so intriguing, that I don't care if I've read it already. I just find something new every time. Or rediscover.

I really wish Kellerman would write more books like this one.

DNF- Not because it was bad or anything. But the descriptions of what was done to the victims disturbed me, and I decided that this serial murder mystery simply was not my cuppa. The writing itself was good, so I will not give this book a star rating to be fair.

This could have been a really great book. Instead it was too long, too gratuitous, basically too much bad stuff. The editing was far from top notch. While I really liked the premise, within the first fifty pages I had found too many vocabulary errors that I gave up and basically ignored them for the rest of the book. The basic plot was a good one, but Kellerman went way too far with the depravity. While reading twenty plus years later I wondered how people survived reading it when it was first published, it must have scared the bejeezus out of plenty of readers. Some of the negatives aside, it was one of his earlier books, so I'll take some of the mistakes as beginner's ego.

This is fiction, so historic license is expected. The show more geographical side of things ( I found a map of Old Jerusalem City that helped identify the locales) makes it interesting as does the cast of detectives and their relationships to each other and their own families, as well as the age old battle of Jew v Muslim v Christian. Those little side trips to learn about these detectives as individuals did take up a lot page space but were crucial to portraying the human side of these men and how this case affected their lives. The same formula didn't work with regards to the killer though and that's where Kellerman was really heavy-handed with the gory unending text. show less

Love Kellerman. Great books in this genre; Delaware is an interesting, believable guy, and the plot has some satsfying twists.

Another Kellerman success!
The storyline was great and the description ... WOW! ... don't read this if you have a weak stomach LOL!

Adrianne