The Genius

by Jesse Kellerman

A tenant has disappeared in a New York slum, leaving behind strange, original artwork. Gallery owner Ethan Muller can see its brilliance—and money-making potential. When Ethan displays the art, the show attracts the attention of the police. Because the subjects of the pictures look exactly like the victims in a long-cold murder case. Ethan has received a letter saying stop, stop, stop. And the still-missing genius may be the link to a madman—or the madman himself.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Art, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

384 pages, Hardcover

First published April 10, 2008

About the author

Jesse Kellerman was born in Los Angeles in 1978. His award-winning plays have been produced throughout the United States and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Most recently, he received the Princess Grace Award, given to America’s most promising young playwright. He lives with his wife in New York City.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ethan Muller is put in charge of a collection... did I say a collection, more like a mountain of same sides pieces of art, when it suddenly dawns on him, that the 1000s of pieces, make up a an immeasurable sized single piece of art! Investigating the missing artist and the artwork itself reveals darkness and abuse inside and outside the Mueller family.

A purposeful and confident mystery crime thriller saga, spanning four decades and also the entire family history of the now rich Mueller family, from their immigration from Germany to the current time. The book is primarily set in New York, and around modern art! A pretty good read that gets into the underbelly of secrets and lies.... otherwise know as family. A book that I had to immediately reread, after uploading the earlier version of this review . A strong 8 out of 12, Four Star read status.

2020 and 2009 read

[Mike Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story. Art dealer Ethan Muller investigates the mystery behind a missing Artist and his vast collection of works left in a slum building. There appears to be a linkage to a serial killer of young boys many years before.

Great writing style - sarcastic and witty. Ethan is at pains to tell the reader that he is not writing a detective story but that appears to be what transpires.

The book blurb says it will appeal to those who liked The Interpretation of Murder by Jeb Rubenfeld. I enjoyed both books.

[Arie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always fun to read books set in the art world. So much is recognisable, but always in caricature, and this one was a pretty good one.

I did think that the main character/narrator was kind of a prick, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment at all.

[Caro the Helmet Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly and really good, especially for the randomly picked book that I didn't even intend to read. But I checked first ten pages and I was sucked in. A page turner, it's what it was. It was just so well written.

The story includes many seemingly uncombinable subjects, such as art and art selling business, family secrets, madness, a hunt for a pedophile, daddy issues, and some other things, more or less. The intrigue was well twisted. At the same time it managed to be witty and funny. Although funny was a bit of confusing at times, for my tastes. And I'm not even sure if it's more of a crime story or family drama, because it all works for a mix well shaken.

Almost perfect one night stand weekend read.

[Sophie Narey (Bookreview- aholic) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author: Jesse Kellerman
Published: 2008
Recommended for: fans of crime fiction

This book took me a little while to get into it and understand it, but once I did I was hooked on it! I haven't read a book by Jesse Kellerman before or his parents so I was new to his style of writing but it certainly kept my attention throughout the book and it is one that does stick in your mind.
The pace of the book is kept up throughout it doesn't have a lull in it where you think if you should continue with it or not. It does contain alot of unexpected twists and turns which keeps you on your toes and keeps you guessing. Even though this book contains two stories that at first seem seperate end up twisting together nicely at the very end, you have the story of Ethan Muller who is an art dealer and then you also have the story of Victor Cracke, who is one of the most essential characters in the book.
The way that Jesse Kellerman has described the characters gies you a real sense of who they are, they have alot of depth too them which draws the reader in as it makes the characters seem real. It is excellently written and one that I would happily read again and again. I am glad that I stumbled across this book and I would definately recommend people to read this book!

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know, it kind of surprises me that this book has such a low average rating. I will admit I haven't read any of Jesse Kellerman's other stuff, and haven't read most of the stuff by the rest of his family either. But I really enjoyed this novel.

It wasn't really a thriller, and it was sort of incidentally a murder mystery. But it was a great mystery in general, and the story was enthralling. I thought so anyway. The way it slowly unfolded really had me guessing. I guessed that all sorts of people would turn out to be the person threatening Ethan. I suspected, at various times:

-Samantha
-Tony Wexler
-Ethan's dad
-Victor Cracke
-Samantha's dad
-Marylin

Of course I was way off, and the guy who turned out to be the stalker/attacker wasn't anyone important in the story. But I liked that I had no clue.

I was also relieved when Victor turned out not to be the murderer. The guy himself was pretty creepy.

I love the idea of decades-old serial killing crimes being solved.

The idea of those Cracke drawings ending up on eBay was quite amusing to me, esp. after Ethan's dad had paid millions to get the drawings back from Hollister.

Anyway...basically, I thought this was great, and maybe it didn't have a dramatic ending...but I don't think it was ever meant to.

Plus, the writing in general was impeccable. I've moved onto another book whose writing just can't compare, and I'm finding myself disappointed. ;)

[Laura T · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS is a great book. I grabbed it randomly off the shelf at the library, pushing the stroller with my two year old inside, just grabbing stuff so I could get out of there before the baby got cranky and hoping for the best. Which--crazily enough--I got. This book is about the art world, which I know nothing about, so I was concerned, but I had no reason to be. Jesse Kellerman does a beautiful job explaining, but not over explaining. The characters in this book are extremely well drawn, the dialogue is refreshingly real...my one and only complaint is that in much of the dialogue, questions are asked, but no question marks are used. The questions are used as statements. I would have no problem with that if it was one character with that sort of speech pattern, but it's all of them. In my experience, there are SOME people who talk like that, but certainly not everyone I know. Other than that very small thing, I LOVED this book.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

It Grows on You

This is the third book I've read by the Kellerman scion. Book #1- hated. Couldn't finish it. Book #2-enjoyed. And now....The Genius. Oh god, after the first several chapters I wondered why I had given the wrier anotber chance. Should I throw in tbe towel? But first, I decided to see if other Goodreads readers felt as I did. Instead , there was praise! I decided to soldier on and next thing I knew, I was captivated. So give it a chance, get past the slow and disjointed beginning. It may not be a work of genius but The Genius is worth the attention.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well plotted and enjoyable read. I really liked the use of the different timescales and the use of a narrator, even if he and many of the other characters were very flawed.

[Lisa Santoniccolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

[Elsa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plutôt un intriguant portrait de famille qu'un palpitant polar

Avec "Les visages", on débute par un polar et on finit par un roman dramatique. Ethan Muller dirige une galerie d'art et fait partie de ces gens assez suffisant, hautains qu'on a du mal à apprécier. Sans compter que c'est le rejeton rebelle d'une grande dynastie américaine, définitivement fâché avec son père. Jusqu'au jour où on lui demande de venir dans un appartement vide où se trouve d'étranges dessins. Ce sont des dizaines de milliers de feuilles, gribouillées et coloriées durant presque 40 ans, aux dessins naïfs mais aussi cruels. Ethan s'en empare, monte une exposition et décroche un joli succès, jusqu'au jour où quelqu'un reconnait dans les visages dessinés, des enfants assassinés 40 ans auparavant. Ce départ est assez étrange, on a du mal à apprécier le héros et son petit monde, ses réflexions au lecteur. De nombreux clichés émaillent le récit (le flic à la retraite, la fille du flic dont on tombe amoureux...). Pourtant, l'auteur présente un récit entrecoupé de flash-back où est décrit l'arrivée de la famille Muller sur le nouveau continent, la montée dans la haute société, la réussite, les défaillances des différentes générations qui arrivent jusqu'à Ethan Muller. Je dois avouer que j'ai été presque plus intéressées par ces descriptions historiques que par les quelques rares paragraphes palpitants de l'enquête. Car d'enquête policière, il n'y a point. C'est en réalité la quête des origines qui clôt ce récit.

A lire donc, en imaginant que l'intrigue policière n'est qu'un prétexte à un étrange et fascinant portrait de famille américaine.

[Ian Mapp · Rating 3 out of 5]

My advice to anyone reading this is to concentrate - especially during the interludes.

The inerludes kind of ruin the book as a narrative structure but are used in a hamfisted fashion by the author to explain the backstory.

Its a shame - as most of the book plays with the form of a detective novel and is told in the first person - with the art dealer Ethan Muller talking directly to the reader and explaining why he isnt exaggerating and why the usual forms of a detective thriller (murders, chases, etc) are not present in the book.

Then there are these interludes telling the backstory of the family. They give the appearance of being tacked on to move things along. You do need to pay attention, even though they dont work, as the books secrets and histories are revealed through characters that you dont really know, as they are not in the main of the story.

The story is decent enough - art dealer finds a collection of drawings that form a massive tapestry of an imagined world. The artist lives in one of his fathers rented apartments - so he takes them and sells them. It then is revealed that some of the people in the drawings are child murder victims from the 50s and 60s.

Through the interludes, it is revealed as to who the artist is and how his life is entangled with Ethans.

Plenty of promise but the book ranged for me from really holding my attention, to me admiring how the stories came together but ultimately not quite liking the style.

Would definately read more of the author.

[Noel G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well i was torn between a 3 and a 4 star for this one. In fact whilst writing this i have changed it to a 4!

Very in depth and strange plot but i have to admit that i was gripped by the strangeness. Not so sure about the style of writing but it allow some of the mystery to be slowly released without cluttering up one chapter with different times in the past, which may become confusing.

As detective stories go it was entertaining, if a little predictable. I in fact had pre-empted the twist about halfway through. But i still kept reading and it didnt detract from my enjoyment too much at all. I still would have preferred a bit more at the end to close the story off better but all in all it was a good read, but i couldnt say it's necessarily one that i would read again and again.

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started off promising... but there were a few too many stretches in the plot for it to be even remotely believable.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look I am a Kellerman fan, loved his mum's writing and his dad's so I knew it would be worth the read and I don't think I was wrong. The plot was great and the ending even better

[Imene Fenniche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ça m’a pris un peu de temps pour entrer dans ce récit et accrocher à l’intrigue mais une fois que je fus bien dedans, je dois avouer qu’il est devenu dur à lâcher. Ce roman contient deux histoires qui semblent distinctes mais qui en réalité se rejoignent et n’en sont qu’une seule. Jesse Kellerman a une écriture très claire qui permet de se faire une idée précise des personnages et du déroulement de l’histoire. J’ai beaucoup apprécié et j’aimerai découvrir ses autres titres.

[Kyra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a Blind Date Book I received and I’m not really sure what to think about it?

[Lance Greenfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Original, but hardly compelling

This book is very difficult for me to discuss, as I am still not sure whether I like it or not. At times the writing is great, and I cannot wait to find out what happens next. At other times, I found myself saying, "Well, that's totally ridiculous!" and laying the book to one side until I could return with a little more enthusiasm.

There are a few intriguing twists and turns along the way, so one would expect an unpredictable ending. Not so. The last few chapters lead to some fairly predictable conclusions.

However, I would still recommend it as light reading, and there is a good story buried within the pages.

One thing to look out for though: when you come to the discovery of the drawings, do a quick calculation. How long would it take an artist to draw this number of pieces if he were to produce, say, three per day? These are described as being very detailed works of art, so I could not imagine that the artist could sustain a higher rate of output and have time for any other activities in their life. Look at the number, and work it out for yourself!

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the mystery threaded through this story, I also liked the way the author took us back in time and showed us the Muller family history. Showing the reader where Ethan Muller came from allowed us to better understand his relationship with his family, especially his father. I liked that we got to see a little slice of life from each generation and the supporting characters had the spotlight for a brief period of time. All of the characters were really well imagined and the outcome of the story was very realistic.

[Holly Abbott · Rating 3 out of 5]

liked this more than I thought I would - i dont have the first clue about the art world so this a rogue one for me. the breaking of the fourth wall was quite annoying and I don’t really know what it added. the final outcomes and relations I honestly had to draw a little family tree I couldn’t for the life of me figure out the connection when it was explained to me (NEPHEW). felt like they touched on some things and then went into depth on other less interesting things (Marilyn - irrelevant). Also idk when this book was written but do we really need to use the word mongoloid over and over again we get the gist move on xx

[Barbara Girardet · Rating 4 out of 5]

4✨: Bon livre avec une intrigue originale et bien ficelée, je me suis retrouvée dans cet univers urbain de banlieue. Quoi qu’un peut long, les retours dans le passé et la résolution finale ont été très bien réalisés! Attention aux TW (pedoph**ie, meurtres) mais qui sont tout de même peu présents et ne constituent pas le fond de l’histoire.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when it first came out years ago. I remember thinking he wrote even better than his father.

[Koen De Feyter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lezen ! Nu !

[Lynsey Baxter · Rating 3 out of 5]

very enjoyable read.

[Gillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite enjoyed this bit of a different style. Two storylines working along with each other.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Narrator Ethan Muller, scion of a wealthy American dynasty, is estranged from his father and the family business. He runs his own gallery and hangs with the ultra-trendy, ultra-ironic New York art scene where the race is always on to discover the Next Big Thing. Life is a non-stop whirl of money, drugs, publicity, and personality until Muller is contacted one day by the superintendent of a seedy tenement owned by his family's company. Some 135,000 drawings have been discovered in the apartment of one Victor Cracke, a reclusive old man who has recently vanished. Despite his cynicism, Muller recognizes the value of the pieces right away.

I lack the vocabulary to describe to what I saw. Regardless: a dazzling menagerie of figures and faces; angels, rabbits, chickens, elves, butterlies, amorphous beasts, fantastic ten-headed beings of myth, Rube Goldberg machinery with organic parts, all drawn with an exacting hand, tiny and swarming across the page, afire with movement, dancing, running, soaring, eating, eating one another, exacting horrific and bloody tortures, a carnival of lusts and emotions, all the savagery and beauty that life has to offer - but exaggerated, delirious, dense, juvenile, perverse - and cartoonish and buoyant and hysterical - and I felt set upon, mobbed, overcome with the desire to look away as well as the desire to dive into the page.

But then Muller receives a call from a retired NYPD detective who had seen the New York Times review of Crackes' critically-acclaimed showing at Muller's gallery. The three cherubs shown in Panel 1, he explains, are all children who were raped and murdered in the late '50s and early '60s. He was the investigator assigned to the cases, but the killer was never found.

It soon becomes apparent that someone wants Muller to stop selling and exhibiting Cracke's work and may up the ante if he refuses to comply. So who was Cracke? Was he the killer? And why are we being given the complete century-long Muller family history, beginning with Solomon the Jewish-German immigrant peddler?

Kellerman's story ultimately centers on the issue of what constitutes art and what human activities can be elevated to the status of genius. My initial reaction to this book was that it was just too good to be "low-brow" genre fiction. In addition to tackling the complex themes of art, madness, and brilliance, Kellerman also employs advanced literary techniques such as irony, stream of consciousness, metafiction, and pastiche (the Muller family flashbacks are reminiscent of Gothic literature and the historical saga). In terms of satire, Kellerman's portrayal of the New York art scene blows away some more "literary" books I've read. When a whack to the head lands Ethan Muller a prescription for Oxycontin, he decides he will give the drugs to his girlfriend, a prominent art dealer, to pass it out as party favors.

But above all, The Genius is a mystery novel that it never forgets its original purpose. The plot twists, turns, and thickens and gives us a vivid portrait of New York City along the way, from its centers of power and wealth to its courts and cops to its most marginalized denizens. Indeed, if true genius and true art are those human creations that are unconscious and unintentional, then what is New York's "savage garden"? The sprawling oeuvre of Victor Cracke, in all its vivid and multifarious contradiction, is the world he occupied in mind and body. And as Ethan reminds us several times, he, our narrator, is the star of a real-life detective story and here's how it compares to your typical book of the genre.

At this point, I suppose I could make an underhanded compliment and say that it's a shame The Genius has been relegated to the mass-market paperback section at your local CVS. Except that would be to miss the whole point. I don't know if Jesse Kellerman is a genius or not (although he certainly outdoes both his parents) but I hope anyone looking for a good, solid, entertaining read will consider checking him out. Sorry, Jonathan.

Original Review

[Laurel-Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Ethan Muller, a struggling art dealer, stumbles upon a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in a slum building vacated abruptly by an elderly tenant, he almost cannot believe his good luck. The treasure trove of stunning art work is sure to put Ethan in the forefront of the art scene.

But what does anyone know about Victor Cracke, except that he came and went in solitude for nearly forty years, his genius hidden and unacknowledged.

Soon Ethan is caught up in the middle of a mystery, aided by a retired police detective, yet before he can make any significant progress at all, the ailing man who was helping him dies. His daughter picks up the search, with Ethan, but their quest for the whereabouts and history of Cracke and the mysterious life he led, take them into some very strange places.

Meanwhile, the author presents an "interlude" of stories set from the eighteen-hundreds onward, as he weaves in a mysterious subplot about the Muller family that gradually becomes more and more relevant as the secrets are unveiled.

Throughout this tale, too, we are gifted with glimpses of the cutthroat art scene and how the players twist and turn, from clamoring for the work of the hungry artists to lambasting them when the tides turn.

"The Genius" kept me guessing all the way through until, finally, we have that "a-ha!" moment when everything starts to make sense.

I am giving this book five stars for the clever plot, the intriguing presentation, and this author's unique voice.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an amazingly intriguing and entertaining novel. Ethan Muller, the main character in this story begins his narrative by introducing this account as a detective story and in a way it is but only in the sense that everyone’s life is a detective story. Admittedly, most lives are not as complex or as privileged as Ethan’s but everyone’s life is just as influenced by fate and chance and we find that his attempts to exercise control are no more successful than anyone else. History and forbearers created him and he can only work within that blueprint. He gives us hilarious insight into the modern New York art scene and gallery world and in the process reveals the motives and hubris of those with more wealth than common sense. As readers, we also soon find ourselves privy to historical influences and knowledge that the often unhappy Ethan will never know. The imagery of an earlier time sometimes conjurers up the opulent scenes of nineteenth century wealth and manners displayed in the film “Swan in Love” and the foreboding of upcoming tragedy that Gunter Grass brings out in “The Tin Drum”. “The Genius” is quite different from the first two Kellerman novels that I read but his compelling characters and creative plot won’t allow you to put it down.

[Chrystyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Brutal Art by Jesse Kellerman - Good

This seemed to have such an unprepossessing start - I suspect because I'd enjoyed the previous book so much and it was a completely different genre & style and I, pretty much, put that down and picked this up. Two chapters/a couple of dozen pages in and I was already moaning online about it.

How wrong I was. So glad I persevered, by heading for my 50 page checkpoint as I really enjoyed this once I got into it.

New York in the 1990s and art dealer, Ethan Muller, comes across a cache of art in an apartment in a run down neighbourhood. Disturbing, yet brilliant, he displays some of the pieces and then things really begin as he tries to find the mysterious artist and solve a thirty year old mystery.

Interspersed with this, is the story of how his ancestors came to the USA, and how the family fared, until we get to the present day and see how the past impacted the future and all the threads are pulled together.

Glad I persevered and glad I have another by the author on Mount TBR. Will try and get to it soon.

[Laren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man goes missing and the landlord discovers an enormous amount of artwork left behind in his apartment. These drawings are given to our protagonist, an art dealer, who introduces them to the world. But no sooner does the buzz start than he is contacted by a retired police officer who feels the art has a connection to a series of unsolved child murders. He tries to solve the mystery while learning more about his own family history and connection to the drawings.

Jesse Kellerman doesn't really write mysteries. He writes novels about characters at a crossroads in their lives who happen across a mystery as the central theme. But the real enjoyment comes from the character development and the journey the main character takes to get to the end of the novel. This book alternates between our main character and the history of his family, and it comes together nicely at the end for the reader, although it is tied up less nicely for the main character who doesn't end up privy to all the reader learns.