The Butcher's Theater

This spine-tingling tale of murder and mayhem involves racially motivated terror. Set in Jerusalem, The Butcher's TheateR is the tale of a psychopath who dissects young Arab women while implicating fanatical zealots. The story is punctuated by music that accents the action and mood of the plot, while subtly masking the abridgment. Kingsley's performance shifts smoothly from British, American, Israeli and Arab characters, while bringing the flavor of exotic Jerusalem to life. The complex plot and characters that typify Kellerman are magnified by this veteran performer. M.B.K. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

March 1, 1988
In his fourth mystery, Kellerman leaves Los Angeles and Alex Delaware, child-psychologist hero of When the Bough Breaks and Blood Test, for the richness of Jerusalem and the subtle complexities of Chief Inspector Daniel Sharavi. The latter is a Yemenite Jew, a quiet and intense war hero with a California-born wife and three young children. When the extensively mutilated body of a young Arab girl is found, Sharavi assembles a group of assistants whose varied ethnic origins represent the composition of the city and state. After a second Arab girl is similarly killed, the case is given political significance in the press, leading to an Arab-Jewish riot and more bloodshed. As the investigation intensifies, Kellerman intersperses chapters that reveal the development of the killer's psychopathology, but not his identity. A third murder focuses Sharavi's attention on Amelia Catherine, the city's U.N.-run hospital, where finally he and the killer meet in a prolonged and graphic fight to the death. Dense with the textures of life in modern-day Jerusalem, Kellerman's story is both police proceduralit is dogged investigation, international and high-tech, that puts the last pieces in placeand penetrating psychological suspense-thriller. Panoramic in geography, layered in history, the novel is powered by close attention to the interior lives and motivations of its major characters, one of whom, a psychologist, may well be the author in guest appearance. This is a major novel, Kellerman's most ambitious and strongest to date. 100,000 first printing; $150,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild and Mystery Guild selections; author tour.