Review of Conceptus

[Bertha Jackson]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Conceptus" by Brian Herskowitz.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Conceptus: A Laura Drummond Mystery by Brian Herskowitz is a crime thriller that will make you ponder the motives of the Catholic Church. Twenty-four years ago, Homicide Detective Laura Drummond was left to die after being raped and stabbed six times, and the attacker was never found. A serial killer targets a medical student, a nurse, and a priest. All are killed by six stab wounds and a slash above their pelvis. Laura arrests Rory Callahan after the medical student and nurse are killed because his DNA was found on the nurse. While Roy is in custody, the priest is killed, and they find Rory's DNA again. Laura must find out how his DNA was on the third victim. Laura becomes even more suspicious after realizing she suffered six stab wounds but woke up after a medically induced coma with a fresh slash above her pelvic area. What is the connection between Laura, the victims, and the killer? Can different people have the same DNA?

Brian Herskowitz has done an excellent job with the character development in this crime thriller. He has described each of the characters demonstrating their roles as detective, victim, killer, priest, etc., to the extent that I could visualize each one. I could see how the killer felt power believing he was invisible to everyone around him. He could mingle with crowds so that no one would remember him. Phrases like "He blended in like cream blends with coffee" made it realistic. I could feel the characters' fear when cops knocked on their door, and they knew that people rarely received good news in the middle of the night from the police. Before reading this book, I had never considered the color red as a symbol of blood, death, and revenge. Brian demonstrates a good knowledge of the Catholic Services, which handled adoptions, food pantries, and other services to the community. I also liked that the author put the characters' thoughts, emails, and GPS announcements in italics to make them stand out from the rest of the text.

The only negative I found about this book was the chapter headings. Many of them are in Latin, biblical, or other terms that I did not understand. Examples include "Exultant Lusibus," "Columbus Magistratus," and "Bibe," to name a few. I do not think average readers will understand how these terms tie into the chapters, and I think it would be better if the author provided the translations.

With less than ten errors in this 207-page book, there is no reason for me to give it less than 4 out of 4 stars. A professional editor could have easily overlooked most of these minor errors. Therefore, I am happy to say this book has been professionally edited. I consider my issue with the chapter titles a personal problem because other readers may know the meanings of the words. Therefore, I did not consider the lack of translations worthy enough to deduct a star.

With the abundance of non-borderline profanity, gory content, and sexual content, I recommend this book to mature readers of crime thrillers that focus on the Catholic Church and its past practices. Even though this book contains Catholic Church practices and beliefs, I believe it is suitable for all religions and non-religions because it focuses on criminal activities and not the religion itself. If same-sex relationships, alcoholism, and abuse are offensive to you, you may want to avoid this book.

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Conceptus
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[Waliyat_24]

Wow! This is awesome. Serial killers and their crazy creativity with their victims. This book will be a great read.

[maycherono91]

Amazing! Even from the cover of the book I knew this was a page flipper. Am happy the plot lived up to the expectations. Great review!!

[Ramon Scott]

Lovely review!! This book sounds amazing based on your review. I definitely want to check it out. I'm glad you also enjoyed the book and I'm sure I'll do the same. The cover is also amazing, which is oftentimes a good sign.

[Madu Abigail]

From my experience I can tell that this book is going to be a great read. Thanks for this wonderful review.

[Paully_]

Wow,I'm curious to know what the connection is too. I'm glad that Laura survived to trash out the incident. I would be happy to read this crime thriller. Great review.

[NetMassimo]

This seems like an engaging and intense, sometimes to the point of being quite brutal, crime thriller that surely offers several twists while telling a story connected to the Catholic Church. Thank you for your great review!

[Junior Gesuka 1]

There are two types of books I really enjoy. One is the long, serious and wholesome saga like A Song of Ice and Fire, something I'd only read when I have a huge chunk of time and in the right, calm mind to sit down and enjoy it like taking a bubble bath. It is an amazing feeling, but as you can see it doesn't happen that often.
Another is the smooth, fast-paced, easy-to-digest fictions that I can pick up during lunch break without feeling overwhelmed by the words. CONCEPTUS is one of this kind, its language is simple but not cheesy, clear and concise; its tone is objective but not distant, the pace fast but not haste. It almost reads like a report of a precise heart surgery.
I think the clarity comes from Brian's experience as a veteran screenwriter and as a methodical teacher. It's hard to imagine anyone would dislike such style; even if you prefer flowery language, you won't necessarily look down upon the simple writing. The Old Man and the Sea does it.

Something else that appeals to me is the vivid description of actions throughout the chapters, which isn't common in any writing medium. Actions are reserved for screen, as most of us assume; however, Brian's study of martial arts really brings lights to the actions. The feeling of fist punching guts, the sound of impact, the decision of Laura Drummond in split seconds... It is sheer joy.

[Eze Michael]

I've always seen the Catholic Church as some mysterious place, and I'd love to see the kind of information that this book has to offer. Laura is an intriguing character, and I'd to know more about her survival story. Thanks for your honest review.

[Margi zuu202]

Laura Drummond was brutally attacked and left for dead when she was just 14 yo now twenty 4 yrs later she's a homicide detective for the Columbus Ohio police department.laura spend her day working her case file and her night at a bar called Griff's not only is she a cop she is a bad ass