What do You think about The Architect (2006)?
This book almost wins a third star for its ending alone - the good guys don't stop the bad guy in the last minute, save the victim or make the world happy and safe. I read this in a day - it doesn't require too much thought. The cover oversells it (surprise, surprise) but it makes a reasonable attempt at what might be called the "psychopath messiah" crime genre. Married to an architect, I can really recognise and understand the artist / perfectionist mentality described and that for me was the best part of the bookOther good points? Definitely the character of Clevenger is multi-layered and believable. The relationship with the adopted son is well described and far more successful than the rest of the book.Bad points? This is 90210 meets Da Vinci Code meets 24. Money, power, conspiracy theories, secret brotherhoods and of course everyone has a perfectly sculpted body to die for and is hot in bed. Don't think there was a normal, average person anywhere in the book (at least one with a name)
—martin
So much potential. So much disappointment. I found myself wondering why what's-his-name (Clevenger?) was even there. It's not like he actually accomplished anything except falling off the wagon and solving the mystery too late. The story basically read like this: evil genius architect runs around designing fabulous houses and killing people, then gets really ambitious, recognizes that his last kill will be too big to survive and commits suicide by cop/Secret Service. Meanwhile Clevenger runs aro
—Adrienne
Dr. Frank Clevenger is a forensic psychiatrist who could use a psychiatrist of his own. Oh wait, he has one. But he only has time for one visit while tracking down a serial killer who expertly dissects a single aspect of his victim's body.The backstories in "The Architect" are distracting and really don't add anything. Clevenger is an alcoholic. That addicition inteferes with his bonding with Billy Bishop, a 19 year old recently adopted by Clevenger. Adopt a teenager? Young Bishop's problems with his own early fatherhood, drug and alcohol consumption keep disracting Clevenger - and the reader - from the pursuit of the murderer, And then there's the ongoing off-and-on affair with Whitney McCormick, Clevenger's FBI boss and occasional lover. Again a distraction. Finally author Ablow inserts his political opinions into the narrative. Yet another disctraction.Ignore these things and Ablow crafts a reasonably interesting story. West Crosse is a brilliant architect. Educated at Yale, he is a member of the Skull and Bones, the secret society so beloved of conspiracists. His Skull and Bones membership and referrals bring him new commissions. Crosse designs to reflect the innermost desires of his clients, even those desires the clients repress. Crosse wants perfection for his clients, not only in the structures he designs for them, but in their lives. So as author quickly makes apparent, Crosse more or less redesigns his client's families as well by getting rid of those elements he finds disturbing.Crosse is definitely a bit off the beaten track in a less accomplished way then Hannibal Lechter was. Clevenger applies his forensic psychiatric skills in identifying Crosse as a suspect. This, frankly, happens a bit too easily and is less than credible. But it works because Ablow's storytelling skills are pretty good.Overall, if you ignore the backstories and the author's political pontifications, Ablow has created a gruesome killer, a moderately interesting chase and an overblown, but enjoyable, climax. Not a bad read at all.
—Alins
