The Butcher's Theater Audiobook By Jonathan Kellerman cover art

The Butcher's Theater

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The Butcher's Theater

By: Jonathan Kellerman
Narrated by: Ben Kingsley
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They call the ancient hills of Jerusalem the butcher's theater. Here, upon this bloodstained stage, a faceless killer performs his violent specialty: The first to die brutally is a fifteen-year-old girl. She is drained of blood, then carefully bathed and shrouded in white. Precisely one week later, a second victim is found. From the sacred Wailing Wall to the monasteries where dark secrets are cloistered, from black-clad bedouin enclaves to labyrinthine midnight alleys, veteran police inspector Daniel Sharavi and his crack team plunge deep into a city simmering with religious and political passions to hunt for a murderer whos insatiable taste for young women could destroy the delicate balance on which Jerusalem's very survival depends.

A brilliant novel by a master of the genre, a vivid look at the tortured complexities of a psychopath's mind, a rich evocation of a city steeped in history -- this, and more, is The Butcher's Theater.

©1988 Jonathan Kellerman (P)2014 Random House Audio Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense

Critic reviews

“Crisp...suspenseful...intense.” -- The New York Times Book Review)
“Spellbinding...a fascinating tale.” ( Time)
“A finish as tense and suspenseful as that of The Day of the Jackal or Eye of the Needle.” ( USA Today)
“A finish as tense and suspenseful as that of The Day of the Jackal or Eye of the Needle.” ( USA Today)
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If one should choose to read along while listening to a narrator, I do NOT recommend on this title. @hats being listened to and read are not the same text (script) so following along is near impossible. I enjoyed listening to the narrator and reading the book independently from one another but can't stand either in tandem. overall a fantastic read by far

Love and Hate

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I discovered that the author had written a detective series but wasn't sure if I wanted to give it a shot. A friend, who had read this book, told me to give this book a try and it might give me a feel about the author's writing style in a police thriller. It didn't disappoint.

A lot was piled into a short story, I guess that's what this is. Set in Jerusalem, Jews, Arabs, the United Nation, Americans all play a part in unraveling the tracking down of a serial killer. In the end, it got really intense as the detective brings the mystery to an exciting conclusion.

Now I'll go check out that series again.

pretty good 3 hour listen

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Ben Kingsley reading of The Butcher's Theater is fantastic a completely total shock. His voice and accent nailed the story

Beyond Wow

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Short in length this story did not miss anything in quality of characters and story line

Excellent short story

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I was enjoying the book UNTIL the torture of a cat began being described. I stopped listening right then. Couldn't finish the book after that.

Leave the Animals out of it!

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