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jnicweb's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Best audiobook I’ve ever listened to. Felt like I was going mad right along side the main character. Just took a long time to get there.
lisagray68's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the first half of this book. So awesome, so clever, loved the characters, etc. And I knew that something was going to happen to ruin everything, of course -- it's a mystery after all. But then -- I HATED the choice the author made!! So many things could have happened -- I hated what happened, I thought it ruined the story!! Of course, that's an author's prerogative, to do what he wishes with the characters. More power to him, it just ruined the 2nd half for me personally.
bethnellvaccaro's review against another edition
2.0
This is a well written suspense novel, but in the end, I forced myself to finish the book. I do think some people would really like this book, it just wasn't my taste. Unreliable narrators often give me the willies and this guy was no different.
jonid's review against another edition
3.0
Creepy story with interesting characters and a well written obsessive main character. Not the usual and I was interested to see where the different twists in the story would lead. An abrupt ending - but totally fitting. Left me wondering - is it better to be rich or happy!
caitlinxmartin's review against another edition
5.0
There's a basic plot framework that you encounter in Gothic fiction. Our heroine, in straitened circumstances, is forced to find employment. Due to her gentle upbringing she is suitable for only a few positions - governess or ladies' companion. There is a house and a mysterious (and mildly dangerous) man and a dead wife (or maybe an insane one locked up in the attic). There is often a difficult retainer of some kind and an unsavory relative. When it's a heroine in this situation, you get Jane Eyre or Rebecca. Substitute a hero and you've got Sunset Boulevard and it's not hard to guess that someone's going to end up face down in the metaphorical swimming pool.
The Executor is a wonderfully formal and classic sort of Gothic novel. Kellerman skillfully sets up the framework we're all familiar with, following the dictum of Chekov's gun ("If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there.") and establishing an utterly believable narrative voice. He then proceeds to play with the form and all its elements, somewhat like my cat plays with his toy mousie. It's delightfully done, breathtakingly skillful, and so far exceeds its possible classification as genre that it's not really worth mentioning the word. I enjoyed every moment of this book - from the technical side of its literary framework, to the elegant solutions of its puzzles, to the confident surety of its language. Quite stunning.
The Executor is a wonderfully formal and classic sort of Gothic novel. Kellerman skillfully sets up the framework we're all familiar with, following the dictum of Chekov's gun ("If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there.") and establishing an utterly believable narrative voice. He then proceeds to play with the form and all its elements, somewhat like my cat plays with his toy mousie. It's delightfully done, breathtakingly skillful, and so far exceeds its possible classification as genre that it's not really worth mentioning the word. I enjoyed every moment of this book - from the technical side of its literary framework, to the elegant solutions of its puzzles, to the confident surety of its language. Quite stunning.
tillymint100's review against another edition
1.0
A very very average read. Didn't really go anywhere.
booksuperpower's review against another edition
5.0
I love all the Kellerman's and Jesse is really becoming one of my favorites. This book is very unique, very taut, cautionary tale. I read it in just about 2 days. I couldn't put it down. This book is a little different from the usual thriller and I think that's what really had me sucked in, because it wasn't too predictable. You didn't know who to trust.
poedogruns's review against another edition
4.0
Nothing is a better read than a slow descent into madness. In this story, the lure of undeserved wealth causes a somewhat ineffective, but certainly harmless, post graduate student to murder two people (rather brutually). Of course, throughout the story, the main character Joseph justifies every single step he takes to commit the crime and then to cover it up. There are brief moments where Joseph appreciates his depravity of his actions and the collateral consequences, which are scenes brilliantly written by Kellerman.
margardenlady's review against another edition
2.0
This novel started out examining the psyche of a doctoral candidate who was stuck. And rather than come unstuck, he came unglued. We watched his descent and all the while, wondered about free will.