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Book Review of The Genius

The Genius
cathyskye avatar reviewed on + 2304 more book reviews


When I begin reading a book, the only real expectation I have is that it will be good. I don't care how it gets me to the Land of Good, I just want that to be my destination. Unfortunately my train to the Promised Land was shunted off on a siding and never made it to the end of the line when I read The Genius.

The Genius is more family saga than thriller. Criminal investigation in this book is not all glitz, glamour, action, and suspense. Here it's quite a hard slog to get to the answers. The premise-- who is the missing-- brilliant if eccentric-- artist named Victor Cracke is the one thing that kept me going clear to the end of this book. The only thing I really found interesting was the background information provided on the cutthroat art world. All the characters left me cold.

When I finally learned the identity of Victor Cracke, I discovered that I'd been led in, through, and out of the (to me) tired story of a rags-to-riches family who covered up and denied much in order to retain its veneer of respectability-- at great cost to those who needed its love and protection the most. It was a story that I just was not in the mood for in any size, shape, or form. There are times when I have no patience whatsoever for the type of people Kellerman's story was all about. This was one of those times-- which means your mileage most certainly will vary!