This is a wonderfully crafted mystery. Perhaps more importantly though, in these days of you-gotta-have-a-gimmick mysteries (quilting mystery,cooking mystery,Jane Austen mystery,cab-driver mystery.....) no one has yet to match the unique central character of Caveman's Valentine. Romulus Ledbetter lets us into his world of schizophrenia and, hopefully by the end of the book, the reader understands and gains empathy for this illness that affects one in every hundred people in the U.S.. Romulus captures our attention, our compassion, and our hearts. I salute Mr. Green for finally casting the schizophrenic as the hero in this novel, instead of the killer at the core of far too many mysteries and thrillers to count.

A very fine debut novel by an up and coming new author. The Caveman's Valentine has great characters and a great story. The central character, Romulus Ledbetter, is one of my favorite characters of all time. He's a bum, a vagrant, an intellect, a psychotic, a father, a hero, and just about the most interesting person you'd ever meet. His visions of Stuyvesant as the evil white controller are especially funny. But what really impressed me about this book was Green's impressive ability to move the mystery along without taking away from Ledbetter's conflict with the world around him and with himself. Green does not detract from the real story that interests every reader: what really goes on in the character's head. We read Valentine and feel sorry for Romulus and want him to succeed in whatever he sets out to do. Much of what he says is frank and to the point, which is a way in which we would all like to be. The dialogue and actions of this man are often times d! ownright hilarious. This is a character impossible to forget. While I have gone on endlessly about character and how it plays a great role in this novel, it is important to know that the plot aint to shabby either.

George Dawes Green's "The Caveman's Valentine is a definite "must read" for those of you who like great characters, humorous situations, and lively dialogue. Buy it, read it, and enjoy.

I am a fan of Samuel L. Jackson. He is one of the few actors whose movies I will watch no matter what they are. That is how I stumbled on the film adaption of this book. I loved the movie, and so I went to read the novel. This book is fantastic. First of all, hats off to the film's director for making such a true adaption. And hats off to the author for writing such an increadible book. The character is hysterical and tragic and truely one of the most intriguing people I have ever read about. I wanted this book to go on and on. The characters are complex and the writing style is sharp and unique. The author made me care about what was happening, and that is rare in modern literature. I would recommend this book to anyone, and I am defiantly going to read more of the works of George Dawes Green.

With a title like "The Juror", and a blurb by Scott Turow (Presumed Innocent) on the cover, I was expecting a legal drama/thriller, which this book isn't.

The characters of Annie and the Teacher are good, but the one you identify with is Slavko Czernyk, and there isn't enough of this guy in the book ..

A word about the Teacher - Turow compared this character to Hannibal Lecter, saying "The Teacher makes Hannibal seem like a vegetarian." I don't think it's fair to compare these two villains, since they are two different kinds of villains that evoke different emotions from the reader. Hannibal evokes fear, you are scared of Lecter. While the Teacher evokes anger, you aren't scared of him but you simply hate him. So while both these villains are great, it isn't fair to compare them ..

Overall, Green is a passionate writer & this book is worth a read. But don't expect a lot of courtroom scenes and legal stuff (like in Grisham's and Turow's books), this is a good thriller with quite a lot of action (especially towards the end).

The Juror is a story of a mafia kingpin's trial and the hell it causes for a single mother named Annie Laird. She lives at home with her son, sculpts all night and works as a clerk all day. One day she is selected as a prospective juror for the most famous case in the land. She wants some excitement in her life, so she agrees. Soon her life is twisted upside down by a seductive, powerful man known as the Teacher. She must vote to acquit the mob boss if she wants her friends and son to live. The story doesn't end with the trial. The Teacher still wants her after it is over, and when she betrays him, he wants blood. The reason this book is so good is because of its characters. You can feel the characters resonating off the page. The Teacher with his reserved fury, Annie and her fear and determination. The book grabs you in. It is not perfect, it has a couple of tedious and repetitious sexual references and passages. Anyway, this is a powerful book, and very plausible. Very original. Check it out.

George Dawes Green, The Juror (Warner, 1995)

George Dawes Green wrote The Caveman's Valentine, which netted him the Edgar. He then followed it up with the euqally acclaimed The Juror, and proceeded to drop off the face of the earth, foiling a carefully-plotted career as a bestselling mystery novelist. Go figure. Based on the quality of his first two books, a whole lot of folks wish he'd come back.

Green's second novel introduces us to The Teacher, a part-time mob enforcer, Taoist, and grower of rare orchids whose present job entails tampering with a jury to make sure his part-time employer doesn't go to jail. Problem is, the Teacher starts getting emotionally involved the the juror, and the two of them end up doing a rather dysfunctional dance that ends up with a whole lot of people dying.

It's an absorbing novel, and a quick read. The characters are strongly drawn and identifiable, and the plot is excellently paced. The book's main flaw is that it relies a bit much on coincidences (of the "of all the gin joints in the world..." variety) that stretch credibility too far. But mystery novels rely on coincidence, and so we have to be willing to forgive Green in order to bask in the luxury of his writing. And it is certainly worth forgiving him, as the characters he creates here will be with you long after you turn the last page. *** 1/2