Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Plot
Review: Either Jonathan Kellerman cut down a bit on his endless Los Angeles road map, or his plot was a cut above the rest, because I really got involved in this book from page 1, and forgot to be annoyed at the endless mention of street names.In this yarn, Dr. Alex Delaware, still raw from his breakup with Robin, is in a new relationship and helping his friend Milo Sturgis in a new case--somebody is murdering people in the art world. And not just painters--It seems the murderer is targeting anybody who has just had a break. Thus, longtime bluesman Baby Boy, in obscurity for decades and suddenly once again in the spotlight, is found gutted in a filthy alleyway. A promising young pianist who finally makes his public debut is found seemingly dispatched. An up-and-coming ballet dancer in Boston is given the same treatment: Is she part of the same picture? And what is going on in the head of the perp? Figuring that out is where Alex comes in, as always. He struggles to put together a viable profile as the murders keep on coming. And in the process, he meets with a whole collection of bizarre people who could only live in Los Angeles. Adding to the pleasure of the read is the return of Petra Connor, Milo's sometime colleague and a primary on this case. Petra's been given a new partner, the silent, spooky "man in black," Eric Stahl. This guy is so weird I spent half the book thinking HE was the murderer. Alex's ex Robin is also part of the plot--she knew Baby Boy--enough to be mentioned on the liner notes of one of his CDs. And then there's Alex's new love interest, the lovely shrink Allison, who has to used all her skills to overcome the feelings Alex still has for his former love. All in all, a satisfying book. I recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: Too Clever By Half
Review: Even for insightful, brilliant Alex Delaware connecting the first two murders is a stretch. An old bluesman is stabbed in the alley behind a small nightclub. A young artist is bludgeoned in the restroom of a gallery spotlighting her art. The connection is so tenuous, it sounds like Alex has a psychic on his payroll. "Cold Heart" is highly readable. A first-time Kellerman reader would probably be impressed enough to purchase more Alex Delaware novels. For those of us who are long time fans, it is another outing that lacks the punch and logic of his earlier works. The tired subplot of his rocky romance with Robin (now they are on the outs) is almost a joke. Alex has found a new lady Allison who is so awesomely mature and perfect, she brings to mind Robert Parker and Spencer's super-irritating Susan. Wait for this one to come out in paperback.
-sweetmolly-
Rating:
Summary: I Miss Spike!!!
Review: I always enjoy reading an Alex Delaware book but the author made a huge mistake breaking Alex and Robin up (I thought that even with all their trials and tribulations they were much better together than this new relationship) If he had to get rid of Robin, at least let Alex have partial custody of Spike!!! He was one of the main reasons I was so fond of these books. His descriptions of his comical French bulldog face and personality were wonderful. I loved Spike and Milo's love/hate relationship.
Aside from that, I liked the book - good story line that held my interest right til the end.
Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointment!!
Review: I am so glad that this was not my first time reading a Jonathan Kellerman book. I am also happy that this was not my first time reading about Alex Delaware. Why? Because if this had been my first time, I'd never read another book by this author EVER AGAIN! Alex Delaware was sappy and boring in this novel and the situation between him and Robin was portrayed poorly. Both of these characters really worked my nerves and normally, I really like both of them.
Further, what is the deal with the ending?!?! I was marginally interested in this story from the beginning, but when I got to the last chapter, I was really disappointed. To me, it seemed as if Mr. Kellerman suddenly decided that he should cut the story short.... so he did exactly that without giving a lot of details that I thought he was building up to.
I am very disappointed in this book, but even so, Mr. Kellerman has not lost me as a fan. I know his work and what he is capable of, I just hope that the next Kellerman book that I read will be written in the manner/style that I am use to.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm so glad to see someone else not so thrilled with kellerm
Review: I am sooo sick of Jonathan Kellerman and Alex Delaware. YES, he always describes Robin's hair as looking like grapes and YES he always goes on about how good looking and rich Alex is. I think both the author and the character are elitist and racist. And boring. And the plots are getting more and more preposterous.
Rating:
Summary: Get here, but don't start here
Review: I enjoy series in this genre, and this book's no disapopintment. A continuing development of Alex Delaware's life in the first person combines with a focus on Detective Petra Connor (and her new partner) adds another link to this chain. If you're new to the series, don't start here. Start waaay back. But by all means, get here. The suspense is worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: I have read all of Jonathan Kellerman's books and love them all. Except this one- very boring. The story seemed to drag on, was not at all impressed. Disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: I have read all of Jonathan Kellerman's books and this one is the most boring of the bunch. He takes forever to get to the point. His characters are bland and I don't care anymore about his love interest with Robin, which takes up half of the book. He needs to get on with his life. The mystery part and conclusion take up the last 5 chapters and even that is no mystery and not even exciting. I just wanted the book to end and it seemed like it never would. The book just kept driving around Hollywood and stopping at bars and street signs. I feel like I could drive in Hollywood according to J. Kellerman's directions. Too predictable.
Rating:
Summary: gratuitously racist
Review: I have read all the Kellerman books. The early ones, though they would be very dated now should you read them, were the best. I keep hoping for a return to form, but all we get book after book is boring formulaic writing.
The pathetic thing, not observed in any of the 29 reviews I read here, is that Kellerman has now decided to inject some splenetic racism into his work.
For no reason, except as supposed background to the new character introduced, Kellerman obliquely plays up to the Zionist lobby with anti-Arab slander. This is trivial in some instances, such as describing the murderer as having a beard like Yassar Arafat. But it also portrays Saudis, with the collusion of the American government, as white slave traders capturing innocent blonde American girls. The cousin of a member of the Saudi royal family also is characterised as murdering an innocent American family by driving into them at a shopping mall.
This 'product placement' for the Zionist lobby has nothing to do with the book, and imagine the outcry if an author had similarly so gratuitously slandered Jews or Afro-Americans.
Otherwise, the prose in this book conforms to Kellerman's write-by-numbers style of recent years.
At times, one wonders if he is not a master of irony. That is, is he just writing so poorly and making his characters so lame as a very very subtle form of characterisation. Does he for example have Allison order an Irish coffee as an aperitif in order to signal to the reader that she is socially inadequate?
Alas, it is impossible to believe in this level of art coming from the hack typing, not writing, Kellerman evinces overall.
The funniest thing in the book is how Kellerman seems so unaware of how the literary criticisms he applies to the murderer really function as damning indictments of his own authorial inadequacy.
Rating:
Summary: Kellerman makes a great comeback...
Review: I just finished this book and I thought the story was great, much better than some of the author's more recent ones like Flesh and Blood, Dr. Death. We had plenty of action, interesting characters, characters from other novels by the author, and new characters that show promise. Putting Alex in a new relationship is also refreshing. The plot was intricate, and I didnt guess who the killer was until Milo and the others did. Kellerman must read these reviews, because he cut out a lot of the monotonous and pointless driving around LA, Alex mooning over Robin, descriptions of what the dog and the fish were fed for dinner, and so on. The book never dragged, and the ending had a few surprises and a good set up for the next novel. The reason I didnt give this 5 stars was because it contained a horrible gaffe that is really inexcusable. The 1920s blues artist on page 185 was Blind Lemon JEFFERSON, not Blind Lemon Jackson! This kind of carelessness with details tends to taint the author's credibility somewhat.
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