THE CONSPIRACY CLUB

by Jonathan Kellerman

 

 

A typical Kellerman medical/serial-killer mystery, set in an unnamed large midwest city. Even though I'm not a big slasher novel fan, I liked Kellerman's Jerusalem-set novel The Butcher's Theatre enough to give this one a look.
Dr Jeremy Carrier is a young hospital-based psychiatrist who's coping with the brutal death of his girlfriend, a nurse in the same hospital. When more women are murdered in a similar fashion to his girlfriend, the young doctor is a suspect, then he turns into  an amateur snoop caught up in a shadowy conspiracy , tracking a modern-day Jack The Ripper.

Kellerman is a pro, who certainly knows how to write. The sleep-deprivation induced paranoia that runs through most of this book is well done, but it does get tiresome being in the Carrier's head the whole time. Every moment of this book has the protagonist in a constant state of  a wide-eyed "Oh, my God, Oh my God, Oh my God" freak-out. This is hard to sustain for 300-plus pages. Next time, Jonathan, give us an occasional bit of comic relief to temper the drama.

 

THE BIG LEBOWSKI

Written and Directed

by Joel and Ethan Coen

 

While it didn't get the kudos that other Coen vehicles, such as Fargo and O Brother Where Art Thou? have garnered, this wacky spin on the classic Chandler-esque PI tale is one of the best ever made.

The Coens goal was to present a classic California Noir piece without the cliched period costumes, the wisecracking gumshoe, and the like. The detective in this tale is not Philip Marlowe, in fact he's not even a professional detective... he's an early 1990's burnout from the 1960's by the name of Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski (Jeff Bridges.) In a case of mistaken identity, two tough guys in the employ of porno filmmaker Jackie Treehorn (Ben Gazzara) rough The Dude up and they "soil" his favorite rug. Apparently, Bunny Lebowski, the young trophy wife of a different Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston,) a millionaire, owes Treehorn money.

The Dude's Maltese Falcon-like quest for a new rug send him on a wild journey accompanied by his bowling-team buddies security-specialist Walter Sobchak (the spectacular John Goodman) and surfer-dude Donny (Steve Buscemi.)

If you haven't seen this movie, or haven't seen it in awhile, beg borrow or steal it, and enjoy. The film feature tons of great, quotable lines, plus wonderful performances by the above named cast members, plus standout performances by John Turturro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Flea, Jon Polito, and Peter Stormare.