Rating: 
Summary: Jon, where did you go?!
Review: Once again, I felt that the true Jonathan Kellerman, mystery writer extra-ordinaire, was somehow absent as this book progressed. The whole plot revolved around a topic that I feel could have been used as a ho-hum side-story in a different text. The idea of "Good Twin vs. Bad Twin" didn't strike me as a well-developed plot here, although the book was, all-in-all, a very quick and interesting read.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Readers who know other Jonathan Kellerman novels may be just a little bit disappointed. This one is on the one hand pretty simple as far as the action is concerned. But the plot is not really conceivable, the events are sometimes too far away from any acceptable reality, the psychology is more related to that of a Sidney Sheldon novel than to that of a professional. The ending is illogical, and the origins and the upbringing of Sharon are simply improbable.
But nevertheless, the story is suspenseful and by no means boring. But this is the only credit I can give it. Kellerman has done a lot better in his other books - at least those I know. He may be forgiven this one.
Rating: 
Summary: A Nice Surprise......
Review: Silent Partner was truely a great book, though that wasn't what I had expected when I first borrowed it from the library. Its a high gripping tension book which I had throughly enjoyed. Though the plot was slightly slow, I still found the book exciting as Jonathan Kellerman brought me through Alex Delaware's uncovering of a truely cunning and complex live of Sharon Ransom. A great read
Rating: 
Summary: THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD...
Review: That leads right into another series of mysteries!Dr. Delaware, Kellerman's famous literary psychologist/sleuth literally walks into a mystery. He accepts an invitation to a party and reconnects with a former flame, one Sharon Ransom. Sharon has a backlog of mystery in her life. Her story is by far and away the best telling of the cliche good/evil twin theme. It did provide a refreshing approach to the tired good/evil twin routine. To add even more mystery into the pot, Sharon is one third of a set of triplets! It is up to Dr. Delaware to locate the other two sisters, one of whom was severely developmentally delayed and institutionalized. In tracking down Sharon's elusive past, he uncovers a Howard Hughes-like figure, a black market baby ring, scandals galore including murder. This book is layers of mysteries -- for each mystery discovered, several more lurk beneath the surface. I enjoyed this book, although I did feel the story was implausible. I thought the Howard Hughes like character, the conclusion and the early lives of Sharon and her sisters was unbelievable. The conclusion was rather unsatisfactory. One was never really quite sure who the guilty party in the final confrontation really was.
Rating:
Summary: THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD...
Review: That leads right into another series of mysteries! Dr. Delaware, Kellerman's famous literary psychologist/sleuth literally walks into a mystery. He accepts an invitation to a party and reconnects with a former flame, one Sharon Ransom. Sharon has a backlog of mystery in her life. Her story is by far and away the best telling of the cliche good/evil twin theme. It did provide a refreshing approach to the tired good/evil twin routine. To add even more mystery into the pot, Sharon is one third of a set of triplets! It is up to Dr. Delaware to locate the other two sisters, one of whom was severely developmentally delayed and institutionalized. In tracking down Sharon's elusive past, he uncovers a Howard Hughes-like figure, a black market baby ring, scandals galore including murder. This book is layers of mysteries -- for each mystery discovered, several more lurk beneath the surface. I enjoyed this book, although I did feel the story was implausible. I thought the Howard Hughes like character, the conclusion and the early lives of Sharon and her sisters was unbelievable. The conclusion was rather unsatisfactory. One was never really quite sure who the guilty party in the final confrontation really was.
Rating:
Summary: The Best of the Best!
Review: This book was my introduction to Dr. Alex Delaware and to Jonathan Kellerman's books. That was so many years ago but it is still the best of his works to date, in my opinion. I have since read every book ever written by Jonathan Kellerman and most of the ones written by his wife, Faye Kellerman, but this remains my favorite. I am still waiting for him to top it. I do enjoy his Alex Delaware novels over the ones he has written with someone else as the main character. All of his mysteries are interesting, but for some reason, I tend to be able to "bond" more with Alex Delaware, he seems more "real" to me. "Butcher's Theater" was very good also, but having the locale in Israel sort of messed that one up for me, though it is an excellent story/mystery, and I loved the characters in it, but they seemed more suited to Faye Kellerman's books, being all Jewish. I just didn't like the foreign locale. So far, though, "Silent Partner" is the winner for best mystery and story, as well as for the most surprises in a novel! C'mon Jonathan, let's see you top this one!
Rating:
Summary: The Best of the Best!
Review: This book was my introduction to Dr. Alex Delaware and to Jonathan Kellerman's books. That was so many years ago but it is still the best of his works to date, in my opinion. I have since read every book ever written by Jonathan Kellerman and most of the ones written by his wife, Faye Kellerman, but this remains my favorite. I am still waiting for him to top it. I do enjoy his Alex Delaware novels over the ones he has written with someone else as the main character. All of his mysteries are interesting, but for some reason, I tend to be able to "bond" more with Alex Delaware, he seems more "real" to me. "Butcher's Theater" was very good also, but having the locale in Israel sort of messed that one up for me, though it is an excellent story/mystery, and I loved the characters in it, but they seemed more suited to Faye Kellerman's books, being all Jewish. I just didn't like the foreign locale. So far, though, "Silent Partner" is the winner for best mystery and story, as well as for the most surprises in a novel! C'mon Jonathan, let's see you top this one!
Rating:
Summary: Very strong
Review: This is another very strong entry in his Delaware series. Reading them in order, i now find myself liking this book and Over the Edge, my previous favourite, equally. The plot is interesting and complex (sometimes a bit too complex...) and In my opinion this is one of the best books written about conflicting twins that i have ever come across. Alex Delaware is a consumate professional and a likeable protagonist, but I fear that if i were to read this entire series over a relatively short space of time, i would get rather tired of him. So i shant...i shall space the reading over these books out over time. The characters are well drawn and realistic, and the plot is developed well and is very unpredictable. As well as the main mystery of events, there is another, equally engaging mystery within this book. And that is the character of Sharon Ransom. Why she is how she is, who she really is, why she acts as she does and who helped cause it, is as interesting as the main plot. However, sometimes Kellerman's characters seem rather run of the mill, as does his writing style. Even though it is incredibly readable, it lacks anything really indivudal about it, and hsi tone sometimes seems far too detached. You never feel quite as emotionally connected to his characters as you would, say, in a book by James Lee Burke or Michael Connelly. But still, this is a good mystery, with a great sting in its tail.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful view into the psychotic mind
Review: This is my first J. Kellerman book, and WOW, this writer has me hooked already. The book has it all -- romance, rejection, confusion, a woman involved in pornography, there's blackmail, problems at the job level, issues with professional personalities in scholastic settings that are not so professional, and an interesting question -- which woman do you believe? And both women appear to share the same body.
This had me going from the first page to the last. Foreshadowing even kept you guessing -- you knew what was going to happen, or did you? Just when you thought, "I got it!" he added another twist to the plot. I was unprepared for the ending, as was the author's intention. I recently obtained another J. Kellerman book and am trying to hurry through my other stack of books so I can get to it! (Oh, I might just have to sneak it in there sooner....)
The characterization -- awesome. You feel like Alex is your best friend, or maybe even YOU, in another life. The descriptions make the reader feel THAT close to Alex. Excitement in this book never ends. I was annoyed when it ended because I wanted more, more, more! You must read this book and have the ride of your life, or at least your book-reading life. I have students who think reading is boring. Clearly, they've never read Jonathan Kellerman!
Rating:
Summary: Complex and involving
Review: This is one of a series of books which features Dr.Alex Delaware, a young, handsome and wealthy psychologist. At a rather ritzy party, he meets Sharon, an incredibly beautiful psychologist with whom he had a fling some years previously.Drawn to her despite many misgivings, he is caught up in a web of lies, deceit and intrigue which culminates in several gruesome murders.The plot involves a now deceased, but sinister mega-millionaire who is a direct copy of Howard Hughes, complete with dirty beard, long fingernails and all of his unattractive anal retention habits. The story becomes more and more involved, using identical twin sisters, mentally retarded carers and a Svengali-like therapist who controls Sharon.At times I was saying"hurry up and get on with it" but, in all, an entertaining read.
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