Within a short time, Jesse
Kellerman --- the son of bestselling authors Jonathan and Faye
Kellerman --- has established a solid reputation for quality and
unpredictability. His debut novel, SUNSTROKE, was an enigmatic tale
played out mostly in rural Mexico. TROUBLE, his sophomore effort,
is even more disturbing than its predecessor, an accessible work
that treads uneasily across dangerous if familiar ground.

The book takes place primarily in New York City, though the locus
of the events that propel it could occur in any large or
medium-sized city. Jonah Stem is a medical student who has just
begun a surgical rotation; he is so exhausted that he barely can
keep one foot moving in front of the other. He's in the middle of a
late-night errand when he encounters a woman being attacked on the
street; his intervention is impulsive, reactive and successful. The
victim is saved, and the attacker somehow winds up dead. Stem gets
his 15 minutes of fame, and life goes on --- but suddenly it
becomes very different for him.

Eve Gones, the young lady Stem rescues, shows up to thank him. Her
gratitude takes on a more intimate form, and there are layers to
her that Stem cannot imagine. As she begins to reveal herself, he
decides that he wants no part of her. Unfortunately for Stem, Gones
will not go away so easily. She begins insinuating herself deeper
and deeper into his life, and the more Stem finds out about her,
the more he realizes that he's in a situation that can only end
badly. The family of Gones's attacker wants their pound of flesh as
well, and when Stem discovers the terrible truth about everything
that's happening, he is convinced that his future --- if indeed he
has one --- is in jeopardy.

Kellerman's narrative is unnerving and haunting. While his pacing
falters just a bit in spots, the quiet, disturbing unreeling of
Stem's life leaves the reader unsettled from practically the first
page to the last. And, as bad as Gones is, Stem isn't wound too
tight either. Soon enough we learn that there is something about
him that isn't quite right --- something in his personality makeup
that draws disturbed women to him like a moth to a flame.

The trappings that Kellerman provides Stem with --- the loving but
quiet father, the somewhat overbearing mother, the trustafarian
roommate --- make him all the more realistic and the horrors he
encounters all too possible. The result is a novel that is nothing
short of mesmerizing. Recommended with caution, due to graphic
descriptions of violence and sexual situations.