Rating: 
Summary: A Waste of Time and Money
Review: Anyone who read Robert Ellis's first book "Access to Power" won't be disappointed by "The Dead Room." But like me, I think you'll be surprised.This is a wild, unbridled story that kept me mesmerized from page one and never let me down. The story introduces us to Teddy Mack, a young attorney who's just graduated from law school and is forced by the senior partners at his firm to represent a man for the brutal slaying of a teenage girl. As he investigates the crime, each new piece of evidence points to his client, Oscar Holmes. One afternoon while following a lead, Teddy finds a second girl's body that has washed up on shore. The evidence seems to indicate that Holmes is actually a serial killer, and Teddy is devastated. But then he makes a discovery that will change his life forever. In spite of the overwhelming physical evidence against Holmes, there's a chance that he and everybody else is reading it wrong. Pitted against a district attorney who cares more about winning than discovering the truth, and working for a prestigious law firm that wants to sweep the case under the rug, Teddy takes the heat and digs deep within himself when anyone else would quit. But Teddy can't give up his quest. The horror of the present is dredging up memories of his past: as a boy Teddy's father died in prison an innocent man, and he can't let this happen again. These memories are both gripping and heartfelt, and as a result, Teddy is a truly likable, sympathetic character. Particularly as he gets closer to the truth and becomes the killer's next target, Teddy proves himself to be genuinely heroic. The writing is crisp and clean. The pacing brisk with short chapters and more than half a dozen wonderful side stories, including one about Michelangelo that I found chilling. The plot unfolds with increasing urgency until it reaches an ending impossible to predict, but also, as crushing and unique as life itself. Every question raised in this story is answered, and every twist pays out. "The Dead Room" is a remarkable thriller, and will easily make my top ten list as one of the best books I've read this year.
Rating: 
Summary: Not interested
Review: I just could not get into this book, no matter how hard I tried. A young girl is found murdered and horribly mutilated in her family's home. A young attorney is forced by his boss to represent the defendant. Skilled in real estate law, the young lawyer is thrown into the world of criminal law, and he has to re-educate himself.
Rating:
Summary: Not interested
Review: I just could not get into this book, no matter how hard I tried. A young girl is found murdered and horribly mutilated in her family's home. A young attorney is forced by his boss to represent the defendant. Skilled in real estate law, the young lawyer is thrown into the world of criminal law, and he has to re-educate himself.
Rating: 
Summary: Classy Thriller
Review: I just finished reading "The Dead Room" and was totally knocked out. This is a classy thriller written by a new writer who grabbed me from the start and never let go. The side-story tribute to Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch was a nice touch, too. (It has to be Bosch -- who else works in Hollywood, lives in the hills, and takes trips to Florida?) Very classy work. I highly recommend "The Dead Room" to anyone who loves the genre. It's as good as it gets.
Rating:
Summary: Imaginative tour de force
Review: I picked up this book on the recommendation of a friend and after seeing Robert Ellis in a documentary film about books, writing and the search for a lost author. There's so much to like about this novel that it's hard to know where to begin. First, I found the plot fascinating. The author's imaginative powers are fresh, new and beyond energetic. The story makes logical sense and I found the plot twists, particularly the last which I didn't see coming, raw and powerful. Second, this may be the best character study in the genre that I've read in the past few years. Mr. Ellis has a way of getting inside his characters. There were times when they seemed so real that I thought I actually knew them. Third, I liked the words and the writer's poetic use of metaphor. This book is well written and shows remarkable ingenuity and skill. I could see this story. I could feel it. But after all this, what I probably like most about "The Dead Room" and will always remember, is that it seems to be about something more than itself. I highly recommend this novel. Although it nearly scared me out of my wits, I learned something along the way. Cheers to good reading and a great book!
Rating: 
Summary: Another Chilling Novel
Review: I've been able to locate some horrific thrillers lately, books that give "Silence of the Lambs" (the book that sets the standard for all fiction about serial killers) at least a small run for its money. I'm incredibly impressed by [...]"The Dead Room" by Ellis, is almost as good. Ellis takes some real events from various sources - sets them in a fictional setting, Philadelphia, and weaves fictional characters and subplots around them. The protagonist, Teddy Mack, is perhaps a little too impressive for his relative lack of experience, but he dogs the true killer to save a client he believes in. There's an interesting twist to Teddy's character, in that his father was imprisoned and put to death - that background weighs heavily on the choices Teddy makes. Mentored and manipulated by William Nash, a leading attorney and professor of law in the area, Teddy demonstrates incredible problem solving skills in helping the police find the evidence to bring down a madman. The serial killer is particularly macabre, and his pattern of identifying victims is chilling, as is the place where he brings them. A dark tale that moves quickly, "The Dead Room" demonstrates that Robert Ellis can hold his own with the best of today's thriller writers.
Rating:
Summary: Still Shaking 5 Star Read!
Review: One of the best parts about reading mysteries is that you think you've seen it all and then you walk out of the store with a book like this. Wow! Here are the three things I liked best ... 1. So many serial killers have been inked out on the page that I thought the genre might be over and out. Wrong! This thriller sets up a whole new standard. 2. The plot blew me away -- I couldn't put the darn thing down. The layers of detail, the twists and turns, an ending from somewhere on the other side of incredible. "The Dead Room" is a fabulous story. 3. The characters jump off the page. The protagonist is so human, so vulnerable, so warm and real, if I knew him, I'd marry him. The antagonist, well, they're supposed to be scary and this one fits the bill! "The Dead Room" was recommended to me by my bookseller. If I could add five stars to a five star rating, I'd do it in a heartbeat. It was a wonderful surprise.
Rating:
Summary: Hold on for a thrill ride!
Review: One of the few books since Michael Connelly's "The Poet" that I was completely unable to put down. Robert Ellis does an admirable job of depicting the corruption in our legal system, while keeping the heat on with a killer so ruthless it nearly curled my hair. The story is believable and engrossing. So well done that I couldn't stop thinking about it and decided to post this. I'm just glad it's a work of fiction!
Rating:
Summary: An "Unputdownable" Nail-Biter Novel!
Review: Robert Ellis' "The Dead Room" will take you on a roller coaster ride, filled with plot twists and turns, that will keep you turning the pages without pause until you reach the shocking surprise conclusion. A young woman is found brutally murdered in her own home in Philadelphia. The mailman apparently "did it." His fingerprints and teeth marks are found all over the corpse, and he is discovered at his own home, a short time after the murder, covered in the woman's blood. A neighbor witnessed the mail carrier running away from the crime scene, drenched in blood, at the approximate time the crime was committed. Teddy Mack, a young attorney at the Barnett & Stokes Law Firm, specializing in corporate law, is asked to defend the accused by the firm's senior partner, even though Mack has no experience as a defense attorney. Because of past personal issues, Mack is revolted by criminal law, and is reluctant to take the case. However, the request is made by his mentor, which makes it difficult to turn down. He is basically told that all he will be asked to do, since the defendant obviously committed the heinous crime, is to eliminate the death penalty as an option and make sure that the accused is sentenced to life in an institution for the criminally insane, as opposed to the state penitentiary. As Mack explores the homicide and the investigation to prepare his defense, he discovers another similarly grisly murder - and another; murders committed while the defendant is behind bars. The city's populace panics that a serial killer is on the loose. As the bodies keep turning up, so does evidence of dirty politics and corrupt justice - a system that will indict, convict and kill the innocent in return for solving crimes and bringing in guilty verdicts. Mack enters a world of terror and violence, confronting his own past demons, and a very real monster in the present. He fights to save a life, and discover the truth behind the aggressive prosecution and the history of death penalty sentences by a zealous DA. Ellis writes a compelling story with well developed characters, a fascinating plot and subplots, and accurate and interesting detail of homicide investigations. Even the setting, Philadelphia, is unusual and provides a historical backdrop to this powerful novel. "The Dead Room" is also a psychological thriller. As with all of us, much of what motivates Teddy Mack, as well as the other characters, major and minor, has to do with their psychological make-up, and their past. This added psychological dimension gives much depth to the novel. Ellis' writing is spare and tight adding tension to the dialogue and storyline. This is a most unusual thriller that will keep you in suspense and shock you at the conclusion. A must read for all mystery thriller fans!
JANA
Rating:
Summary: Sensational Thriller!
Review: This is definitely one of the best thrillers I have ever read.
Intelligent, gritty, scary, emotional, hard driving, and
depending on how warped your sense of humor is,
even funny in a dark sort of way. The thrills get started on the very first page.
What follows is the compelling story about a young
attorney just out of school who gets forced into
a homicide case and can't be bought off by
the powers that be. This is a sensational story with fully fleshed out
characters and a great plot that really rips. I had a wonderful time reading this book, and
highly recommend it.
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