The Architect

Frank Clevenger is a forensic psychologist and is on the trail of the killer who carefully dissects parts of his victims. As far as heroes go, Dr. Clevenger is deeply flawed and doesn't always make the right decisions in his personal life, which makes him seem more human. He struggles with alcoholism. He also has a deeply troubled adopted teenage son, Billy. Some have noted that the subplot with Billy took away from the book. This is a series, I do not recommend starting with this book. Personally, I haven't read the first two, and just read Compulsion, the installment that introduces us to Billy. I wish I had read it first. I plan to read the first two Frank Clevenger books as well. But, if this is your first, I would say at least go back and start with Compulsion to fully understand Billy. In my opinion, after reading the ones with Billy in order, in no way is he a distraction in The Architect. We even get left with a cliffhanger, so I hope there is more to come. The other characters in the book, North and Whitney are also from previous books and the relationships between them and Frank tend to build with each book.

Ablow's Frank Clevenger series began with an appearance by this forensic psychologist back in 1998 in Denial. In every subsequent book, we get a great thriller story interspersed with Clevenger's own personal trials, and THE ARCHITECT is no different. The main storyline of this book, that of an architect who believes he's doing God's work by reshaping the lives of the people he builds houses for, is definitely overshadowed by the story of Clevenger himself. His own battle with alcoholism (reminiscent of that of Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder), his on-again-off-again very realistic relationship with his FBI girlfriend, and the tightrope he walks with his adopted son, Billy, take front row. Although the bad guy in this book keeps the story fresh and the plot intense, to me it was the underlying story of Clevenger and his life that held my real interest. I was left at the last page not with the feeling of "good, the bad guy is dead," but that of "what's going to happen to Billy?" I guess you could say I'm hooked.

Ablow did not disappoint, The Architect is outstanding - dark, suspenseful, and thrilling!

Reading a Keith Ablow novel is in one way a labor of love. Ablow's protagonist, Frank Clevenger, is a bit too much to take at times. Granted, he is a forensic psychiatrist, but his continuing confrontations with evil haven't stopped him from believing that joining hands and singing "Kumbaya" will thwart, stop, and convert it. This attitude is simplistic at best, and dangerous at worst. The problem here is that Clevenger's bleeding heart occasionally distracts from the fact that Ablow is one heck of a storyteller, a craftsman who creates a world within bindings that is impossible to leave once the journey is commenced. This never has been truer than in THE ARCHITECT, Ablow's latest and best work. Frustrating as his protagonist can be, Ablow is able to create mesmerizing, complex, and fascinating villains. The architect, West Crosse, is Ablow's most significant creation to date, a serial murderer with an agenda that is simultaneously selfless and the product of pure, unadulterated ego. The reader is on to Crosse fairly early in the proceedings, and it is left to Clevenger and North Anderson --- his more accessible, likable better half --- to methodically sift through the seemingly unconnected, apparently random murders to find a common nexus. A brilliant, gifted architect, it seems that Crosse has a select clientele, limited to members of the secret society known as Skull and Bones. His victims are connected to his clients and share a common trait, but the subtle layers of secrecy that Crosse creates among himself, his clients, and his victims make him seemingly impossible to stop. Ablow does an absolutely stunning job of creating an apparently undetectable character and then slowly setting up the means by which he is revealed. His pacing is brilliant, setting up an excruciating tension to a climax wherein Crosse approaches a personal and professional twisted masterpiece involving the President of the United States. The ending is a total surprise and, as with the rest of THE ARCHITECT, worth tolerating Clevenger's increasingly irritating and ultimately ineffective worldview. Ablow takes a number of chances in THE ARCHITECT but remains as surefooted as ever, simultaneously moving his story forward at breakneck speed while developing Clevenger's personal life at a much slower pace. With regard to the latter, there is a cliffhanger that is probably unnecessary; anyone reading THE ARCHITECT most surely will be back for the next installment. Highly recommended. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

He is one of the most brilliant architects the world has ever known, a virtuoso who believes that he knows what would suit the client more than the client does. He is not listed in any phone book and most people have never heard of him. He was a member of the secret society known as the Order of Skull and Bones and gets his referrals from them through word of mouth. His talent is such that he was picked to design a new museum in the White House because the president was also a member of the secret society and trusts him implicitly. However, this fine architect, believing he has God's blessing, is also a cold blooded murderer who kills a person from his client's family when the victim makes the lives of their relatives miserable. Forensic psychiatrist Frank Clevenger is called in to profile this serial killer. Frank also tries to help his troubled son Billy who looks like he is going to be serving time as he battles his drinking and drug problem. West Crosse is one of the most sinister villains since Hannibal Lechter. What makes him so frightening is he believes he has a calling to kill those who destroy the perfection of a family and is rational enough to know that if he kills his last victim, he will die almost immediately. Frank is also at his best with his own demons and second guessing himself so he comes across as the more realistic character, one that elicits sympathy from the reader. Keith Abbot has once again shown that he is the master of the psychological thriller. Harriet Klausner