Therapy

Rating:
Summary: More than a little disappointed....
Review: I always look forward to Jonathan Kellerman's books - but I didn't like this one. The plot just didn't do it for me. I didn't learn enough about the characters - there was just too much fluff for me. Hope the next one is better...I really miss his early books...

Rating:
Summary: Way Too Long
Review: I got the audio book and couldn't wait for the end. The story line was too involved and all over the place. As much as I like Alex Delaware he couldn't pull this one out!

Rating:
Summary: Sad, but true
Review: I have a special fondness for Alex Delaware and his plights. I'm completely addicted to this series, I have to admit. But I was so disappointed in this book. It seemed to me that the author got bored with his own characters and plot line. And the exposition-- come on! In any case, I appreciate anyone's writing and the work that goes into a project like this. But, I've come to expect more from Mr. Kellerman, and I hope to be able to justify my addiction with his next book.

Rating:
Summary: TIME FOR A SECOND OPINION?
Review: I have enjoyed the Alex Delaware series very much, but THERAPY doesn't come anywhere near the rest of the books. Kellerman weaves a plot so intricate and mundane that it's easy to lose focus on what is going on. For example, his relationship with Milo seems tired and nothing new is revealed; also his love interest in this one, Allyson, is nowhere near as involving as his up and down relationship with Robin, who is only briefly used in this novel.
Kellerman gives us no one to really care about, and there are no surprises in the whodunit arena. Kellerman is falling into his wife's dilemma by starting to inject the Jewish plight into his novels; leave that to Faye; you don't need it. There are too many characters involved in too many circuitous ways to allow the reader to experience any kind of empathy or concern.
All in all, Jonathan, THERAPY is just dull and doesn't do justice to the excellent novels you wrote before this.

Rating:
Summary: I agree, not Kellerman's best.
Review: I have loved the Alex Delaware series and this one started out strong, but somewhere in the middle of the book, it turned extremely dull. I will not go back over the plot here as it has been covered enough by the other reviewers, but I agree with some of the other reviewers that this book does not have the zing of Kellerman's other novels. I also did not identify with the characters like I have in his other books. I would liked to have Alex's personal life explored more? To sum up, if you are new to Kellerman do not start here, if you are a fan you might consider waiting for a used copy. I did just finish a fun thriller: "A Tourist in the Yucatan"

Rating:
Summary: Do they audition readers!
Review: I like John Rubinstein the actor but John Rubinstein the reader is horrible. Got this book on CD and am going to get the hard cover edition of the book because John is doing a horrible job. It is an art to read a story to someone listening. He just doesn't have it and is ruining the book for me. It appears that Jonathan Kellerman has written another good Alex Delaware story. It is a good read just not a good listen.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I love Jonathan Kellerman's stories about Alex Delaware and his friend Milo Sturgis, but this one, like Mr. Kellerman's last book "Conspiracy Club," was not up to par.

The plot got bogged down in the intricacies of government funding and Medi-Cal billing. The average citizen dislikes dealing with insurance in real life, so why would they want to read about it in their spare time? Too many characters contributed to this problem. I found it hard to care about Gavin Quick, and it was even harder to figure out whether he was a bad guy or a good guy. Ditto for his father, aunt, and ex-girlfriend. And why the long ramble about the girl who was found in the car with him? Background is one thing, Mr. Kellerman, but superfluous writing is quite another.

Go back to psychology and murder, and leave the California insurance business alone, Mr. Kellerman. Your books are much more enjoyable that way.

Rating:
Summary: Kellerman Continues to Exceed His Own Standard of Excellence
Review: I recently came across an article in which Jonathan Kellerman was purported to have stated that he had thirty outlines for future Alex Delaware novels at the ready. That is good news. If he publishes one a year, I may not get to read all of them (the insurance actuaries assure me that I won't, but, after all, an actuary is an accountant who doesn't have the force of personality to become a CPA). However, it will certainly give me something to shoot for. And after reading THERAPY, I am thrice enthused.

Kellerman has been averaging a book a year for two decades now, the majority of which have been Delaware novels. He is a masterful enough storyteller that at this point he could probably be phoning in these novels to his publisher and no one would really be the wiser. What is so enthralling about Kellerman, though, is that his craftsmanship --- excellent almost from the beginning --- gets better and better. I really became consciously aware of this with last year's THE CONSPIRACY CLUB, which was so well done that it almost --- almost --- made one forget about Alex Delaware. Now comes THERAPY and the return of Delaware with a vengeance. Kellerman's greatest competition, if these two novels are any indication, may well be himself.

Kellerman has an extensive background in clinical psychology, and in THERAPY he takes unwavering and unflattering aim at some of those who practice in his own profession. The book begins with Delaware accompanying Los Angeles homicide detective Milo Sturgis to the scene of a brutal double murder. The victims are a young man and woman. The woman is unknown, but the man is immediately identified as Gavin Quick, a troubled young man traveling a downward spiral by accident and circumstance.

Quick's problems had resulted in court-ordered therapy. He had been seeing Dr. Mary Lou Koppel, a celebrity psychologist whose practice seems to be more focused on tinsel than treatment and who is loath to reveal either the secrets of her clients or her methods of treatment, whether the client is dead or alive. Delaware learns that another client of Koppel's had been murdered several months previously, in a manner very similar to that of the unknown woman who was found murdered with Quick. When Koppel herself turns up dead, it becomes clear that her practice, and her treatment, is the nexus of the murders --- the question of who is responsible for the killings and why.

Kellerman's pacing throughout THERAPY is absolutely marvelous; he reveals a piece here, a bit there, dropping brightly colored bread crumbs through the trail of his narrative, small enough that they don't point in any particular direction but big enough to keep the reader going. An added bonus to THERAPY is Kellerman's focus on Sturgis. Sturgis is an engaging if taciturn character who has always been an interesting supporting player in the Delaware mythos and who steps out a bit more in THERAPY. It becomes clearer, after reading this book, why these two men are friends, both because of and in spite of their divergent backgrounds and lifestyles.

Kellerman continues to challenge his own standard of excellence and not only meet but also exceed his own mark. If he is not yet on your "must read" list, THERAPY will be the work that will carve his name in stone. Highly recommended.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Rating:
Summary: Just an ok murder mystery. His other books were more.
Review: I've been a fan of Jonathan Kellerman because his books are not only well written with intriguing plots, they also are real novels with real characters and pyschological insights from the protagonist Alex Deleware. Therapy, the latest book, is written well and has a good plot, but that's it. I didn't learn anything from the book. It didn't get me thinking. It is just an OK murder mystery. The other books in the series were much more than that.

Rating:
Summary: boring and simple-minded plot, script, acting...whatever
Review: i've found kellerman and his wife's stuff were all mediocre and bored to death. he's one of the writers who i've dumped long time ago with tony hillerman, james patterson, jeffrey parker, lawrence block....since they've been dumped by me so long ago, i just couldn't remember the full rejected list. to me, they are small-timer writers, could only deliver small-timer-like characters with small-timer-like formatted stories with lame-duck-like plots, not even worth to burn the oil and lose your balance sheet. to me, james patterson is just like a lousy serial killer who could not do the real serial killings by himself but found out a way to ask the clueless readers to pay for his imaginery kills. as to kellerman, well, if i really got any psychi problem, i won't go to him to seek cure either. before he telling me time's up, i've already left long time ago. so far, his only great creations are his books' titles.