The Hundredth Man | Jack Kerley | I don't know thrillers, but I know what I like.

The Hundredth Man | Jack Kerley | The best!

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The Hundredth Man

	The Hundredth Man Jack Kerley Dutton, 2004 - 307 pages average customer review:based on 70 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A darkly compelling serial-killer novel introducing the next big name in psychological thrillers and, in Carson Ryder, a fascinating and complex protagonist set for many books to come. A headless male torso found in the sweating heat of an Alabama night is assumed to be that of a murdered prostitute, killed in a moment of passion. The Chief of Police would have it so, but Detective Carson Ryder sees something else: the deliberate placement of the remains, the lack of blood, the bizarre messages inked into the victim's flesh. Ryder has become a local celebrity after solving a series of brutal murders a year earlier, but his reputation is built on a terrible secret, stemming from his childhood -- a secret he has kept from even his closest friend. Another torso; another, even stranger, message -- and the victim this time is no prostitute. Chasing shadows while their boss relentlessly undercuts their progress, Carson and his partner begin to suspect that someone close to them is the killer's ultimate target. And their only hope of catching the murderer lies in apparently meaningless ramblings written on corpses ...and the advice of a twisted sociopath. Recalling Michael Connelly's taut storytelling and James Patterson's searing narrative twists, The Hundredth Man thunders to a stark and chilling revelation in a riveting psychological thriller instantly confirming the newcomer as a master of suspense.

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I don't know thrillers, but I know what I like.

This book was totally awesome from start to finish. I keep meaning to read the rest of the books in the series and I am excited that they exist.

The best!

This seriously is the best psychological thriller I have ever read! Don't plan on getting to bed early if you get into this one in the evening, though! Can't say enough about it. GREAT plotting and character development, a roller coaster page turner (!), very unique twist to the crimes, and Carson Ryder/Harry Nautilus are probably the best duo in a thriller I've come across so far. I hadn't heard of Jack Kerley before someone recommended this book to me, and now I have "The Death Collectors", and "Garden of Vipers", too. Can't wait to see what he has in store with those! Very, very highly recommended. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would!

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PHENOMENAL !!!

Let me start by saying that Jack Kerley is a terrific writer. From the chilling first chapter to the nail biting end, The Hundredth Man pulls you in and doesn't let you out. I was trapped in this book for 2 days. I could not put it down. The characters are fascinating, and sympathetically human. Nautilus and Ryder are very well developed and provide an entertaining sense of camaraderie, while Ryder's brother Jeremy is terrifyingly fun to read. Ryder's old wounds and personal conflicts are exploited through out the book and provide the insight that makes him a very likable hero. Kerley unfolds the plot masterfully as nothing goes unexplained or wasted. Every chapter and sub-plot has a purpose. The author gets you hooked on just enough information to draw you in until the answers explode on the pages in dramatic fashion. There is enough humor to make you laugh aloud, just enough horror to keep you on edge and plenty of surprises to keep you guessing. My only complaint is that the writing, while fresh, vivid and stylish, is burdened by numerous typos. It's the only reason I did not give this book 5 stars. There are simply way too many. Looking past the poor editing this is a phenomenal book that sets into motion what should be a terrific series. I can't wait to read the next two installments already out.

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a weak book that I could take or leave

When I review books, I usually try to point out some of the negatives that keep me from giving the story five stars. I say this because I found so much here to have been done in-expertly, I could go on for a while listing aspects that bothered me while reading the story. Yet I understand that this is Jack Kerleys first attempt at writing and that he is rightly proud of his efforts and I want to just say that first of all I managed to finish the book, so its not as bad as a lot of what you can find on the best-seller lists. Secondly, the mood and sense of place were fairly well done. I had a distinct idea of the environs and local. Perhaps I stumbled across the Hundredth Man at an inopportune time due to the fact that I just finished a few of the best mystery/thrillers I have ever come across, including "no country for old men", and a couple of the Lew Archer classics, and this one just does not compare.

Ok, what really got to me the most, was that this did not feel authentic to me. I felt like Kerley is as much of a fan of this genre as myself, but that he has yet to fully find his own voice. Some of what he tries to pull in here, the alcoholism in particular, felt like it was stripped from one of my favorite series', the Matt Scudder books of Lawrence Block. However, Block just takes a character through several books of agony and here we are almost treated to a sunday walk in the park in comparison.

Secondly, and by far the most annoying, is that the brother of the protagonist is obviously %100 Hannibal Lecter. Kerley did not need this character here and sadly I see this series, if he continues this line of books, as being heavily reliant upon the brother. Harris, the author of Silence of the Lambs has written a few of the all time worst books since his block buster and this is due to his being over-whelmed by what started out as a marginal character. I can see Kerley being pulled into this brother/Lecter with the same desire, but I hope that he sees that beyond my advice that he start a fresh new series, that the brother is absolutely not his character and that he should write him out of future endeavors. Its just plain lazy and offensive to the reader to pan this off on us.

Thirdly, I really felt like Kerley could have delved deeper into studies of both his day to day lives of his characters and their development. I felt like Kerley was rushing through the good stuff, the minutia of the crime beat and trying to pawn off B movie genre gunk in great swaths. I would have traded all the over the top action for a slower, deeper, and simpler look at the characters he wanted to get onto the page.

I could go on and on like I said before, but I will stop here. I would suggest that you pass this book by. I think that in future years, Kerley could grow into something akin to a master of his craft. You can see the potential there. Only this is not a book that will make you think that thought.

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