Rating: 
Summary: Kellerman Continues to Reign Supreme
Review: I've been a long-time fan of Jonathan Kellerman and always enjoy his spine tingling plot development as psychologist-come-sleuth Alex Delaware attempts to solve yet another crime with his friend Milo Sturgis, LAPD's only openly gay homicide detective, as he's so fond of saying. In this particular book, Kellerman still kept me guessing till fairly late into the book and continues his fine job of weaving new, quirky characters and plot-twists into the story without overwhelming the reader nor making the reader feel cheated by some last-minute revelation. The story, while good, is a bit weaker than previous works in that personal relationship issues with Alex's girlfriend and a troubled teen that saw Alex for two sessions ages ago take on a disproportionately large role in the story and at times I had a hard time believing that someone as squared away, mature, and sophisticated as Alex Delaware would be so engrossed by his former patient on the basis of their very short, if interesting relationship. But, to make a long story short, the patient is all grown up, appears back in Alex's life shortly --- apparently grown in all the right places and now a high-class prostitute --- and shortly thereafter turns up dead. The rest of the book, which moves quickly and is thoroughly enjoyable if occasionally a bit like a soap opera, details how Alex and Milo do what they do best: solve the crime. If you haven't read a Jonathan Kellerman title, I recommend you pick this or an earlier one up. I also frequently read James Patterson's works and, while I like both authors' works, often find that Kellerman is a more sophisticated story teller with more of a who-dunnit feel to the stories.
Rating: 
Summary: A losing streak continues
Review: Jonathan Kellerman is a good writer. The Alex Delaware series used to be good, which keeps me coming back hoping it would be good again. This is still not happening. All the recent Delaware novels have followed the same pattern. Delaware is presented with a mystery, he goes from person to person talking to them with a minimal amount of action, and finally there is a scene which presents some danger to Delaware as the murderer is revealed. In this case, Delaware doesn't really even solve the mystery but instead stumbles onto the killer, a minor character who physically appears in less than ten pages before the end. The big flaw is that Delaware has become a non-character, more of an observer than an actual personality. Even Kellerman's attempts to create a little personal tension in Delaware's love life fail because Robin is also a non-character. She basically has had walk-on roles in the past few books, and here her appearance isn't much greater (she hardly appears at all in the first half of the book). Kellerman still has talent, as evidenced in Billy Straight, but here he fails. I suppose he could revamp Alex, but that may actually be rather jarring. It would probably be better to start a new series altogether. Kellerman has enough marketability that he could easily do this. In the meanwhile, if you must read a Kellerman book, read one of his wife's instead: her series is actually getting better with time.
Rating:
Summary: Not a bimbo
Review: A former working girl is dead. She is bright, ambitious, and a student at the time of her death. She was notable for her detachment. Nonetheless, her death evidences the fact that somebody else was in control. Another blonde, a college student, a person considerably younger than the other girl, Lauren, is missing. Next, a person interviewed by the police in the course of the investigation turns up dead. Alex Delaware and Milo, the police officer, feel considerable chagrin. The author uses a ficitious lifestyle magazine and the founder of it as one of the storylines in the book. Although the subject of psychology arises since Alex Delaware is a psychologist, as subject matter it is peripheral to the main plot. What is suggested is that persons who pursue dangerous lines of work create chaotic zones around them as more and more people who surrounded Lauren Teague in life die. Mystery lovers will find this a satisfying yarn. The smooth writing is another reason to enjoy the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Just Average
Review: In the most recent installment of the Alex Delaware series, the upstanding psychologist is again paired up with his friend, gay detective Milo Sturgis, in Flesh and Blood. Alex only saw Lauren Teague twice as a patient, before her father terminated her sessions. He ran into her again, several years later, when she performed as a stripper at a friend's bachelor party. This attenuated relationship, however, doesn't stop him from being concerned when her mother informs him she's been missing. Lauren isn't missing for long - she soon shows up, murdered and left in a dumpster to be found by the police. Alex helps Milo investigate, and realizes that Lauren lived in a complex world. A straight-A psychology student at the University by day, Lauren continued to work in the sex trade. But, did that get her killed? Or was someone else responsible? Ultimately, the resolution of this novel seemed unbelievable - as if it was pulled from thin air. I've been a big fan of Jonathan Kellerman, both the Alex Delaware novels and others. However, Flesh and Blood did little to rise above mediocre. Kellerman has produced fantastic mysteries in the past, but I wouldn't recommend this one to any reader but a follower of the series.
Rating:
Summary: Kellerman recovers some of his old form
Review: Jonathan Kellerman is a very popular mystery author, but to my mind the last several books he's done with Alex Delaware haven't been that good. Alright, but nothing spectacular. In this, his latest book, the author redirects him to a simpler plot, keeping the action believable and the clues more convoluted, less confusing. The result, I think, is a better book. Delaware is called by a woman whose daughter he tried to treat a decade ago, when she was a teenager. She'd been bright, but uninterested in the therapy, and so when the child's father cancelled the treatment, he'd only half-heartedly argued. Several years later, Delaware saw the girl again (now over 21) working as a stripper at a bachelor party, and she then visited his office once. Now the mother calls, worried because her daughter has dissappeared, and wanting Alex to try and see if he can find her. He agrees, and finds that another young woman vanished about a year earlier under similar circumstances, which piques his interest. Things kind of logically follow from there. This is a very good book, not Kellerman's best, but still very good, and I would recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: A Chilling Psychological Thriller
Review: Dr. Delaware is contacted by the mother of Lauren Teague, a girl, he had seen years earlier for a couple sessions as a teenager. Lauren has disappeared and her mother is concerned. Alex remembers the girl well. Not only did see her as a teenager, he saw her years later at a bachelor party where she was a stripper. Both found themselves a little shamefaced. Later she'd gone by his office and told him that she was now studying psychology herself and was paying her way through school by stripping. Conversation turned to her family and after a heated discussion, she stormed out of his office.
Alex doesn't find Lauren for her mother, the police do as she turns up dead, the victim of a gangland-style killing. How did Lauren's body end up in a dumpster, apparently murdered execution style? As Alex and Milo begin to investigate, they find themselves led into the underworld of the sex industry, where nothing is what it seems. It seems like Lauren's death is tied with the brutal deaths of some of her former friends, work associates. To say nothing of the mysterious disappearance of her ex-roommate. Once again Jonathon Kellerman has written a chilling psychological thriller with a story that winds through the world of prostitution, psychological experimentation and big money. He is one of the best storytellers around today. He puts believable dialogue into the mouths of believable characters, he delivers non-stop suspense and usually, as with "Flesh and Blood", he gives you more twists and turns than a curvy mountain road. You won't be able to put this one down.
Rating:
Summary: His Best Since "Self-Defense"....
Review: The Alex Delaware of old is back in Kellerman's new novel. The last four in the series have been very disappointing to many of his long time fans, and Kellerman goes back to basics with this tale of a disappearance/murder that personally affects the good doc, since it happened to a former patient that he was never able to reach. In the novel, the old obsessive compulsive Alex Delaware surfaces again. He takes the crime personally, and continues to follow up some blind alleys, driving both Milo and Robin crazy with his inability to let it go. His instincts are basically good, however, and you second guess the multitude of possible outcomes all the way through the book's end. It feels as though Kellerman has decided to ground the doctor in the type of cases and well-intentioned investigations he crafted for Delaware in the early books of the series. It is good to have the real Alex back, and to have Kellerman fully flesh out a story, unlike the botched and tedious plots of "Monster" and "The Web". With this book, Kellerman wins back a fan!
Rating:
Summary: My first Kellerman book... maybe the last?
Review: As a person who keeps up with the various bestseller lists and recommended books, I had seen Kellerman's name many times. I wanted to see what the hype was all about, so I picked up the Audio CD for Flesh and Blood. The story was intriguing, and I kept listening, but I was happy to be listening to it, instead of reading through the book. My biggest complaint is that Kellerman seems out of touch with his characters. The most notable example of this is the dialogue between the various characters... the words he chooses to use and the way that they are written in sentence form are unrealistic. Real people do not talk this way! Also, as noted in one of the other reviews, Robin, Dr. Delaware's girlfriend, is a non-entity in the book, appearing at certain junctures, but making no contribution to the story whatsoever. As stated before, the story is interesting, involving the murder of a young girl, and the web of money, sex, and lies that surround her death. The story was not too predictable either, and that kept me interested. I may give Kellerman another chance... hopefully it will be a little better.
Rating:
Summary: Story great, tired of selfish women
Review: I'll tell you honestly, I love the mystery/psychology side of Kellerman's books, but these selfish women that inhabit the lives of the major characters in all the books, just defy realism. Robin is so self centered, so needy, even with her own business, that it's a major sidetrack from the real story. I wish Kellerman would get over this "woman" thing and find Alex a gal that appreciates all he does. Women are not all like the Robin character. I've noticed that this seems to be the case with all mystery/psych writers. The women are so self centered and egotistical, that they're fighting for the limelight. It really gets disgusting. Most women support their partners. There's no support in a great number of these writers' novels by the "modern day" women. Other than that, the stories are great and I enjoy every one of them.
Rating:
Summary: Just what I wanted for a long flight!
Review: Over the years, I've enjoyed the Alex Delaware novels, in the way that one enjoys hearing of the latest exploits of an eccentric uncle---nothing heavyweight, always entertaining. Preparing for a three week journey with 33 teenagers to the British Isles, including a nine hour flight, I knew just where to look on the bestseller racks, and this is the one I brought. Any reader of this series will begin to recognize some of the devices Kellerman always employs in his stories--detailed physical descriptions of each character that leave nothing to imagination, the travels throughout LA mentioned by another reviewer, and the backstory and references to events in previous novels in the series. I am convinced that everyone who has read two or more of these novels could, when asked, draw a picture of Detective Milo Sturgis, and regardless of artistic ability, all drawings would be identical. Despite these eccentricities of writing style, Kellerman again delivers what most of his readers seek, involved convoluted plots based on the patients child psychologist Alex Delaware has treated that ultimately dabble in the human psyche. In this one, a troubled young woman whom he treated briefly as a teen, but who apparently was deeply affected by her short time with him, turns up brutally murdered as a young adult. Detective Milo eventually takes on this case that was first brought to his attention by Alex when she turns up missing. The storyline takes twists and turns alternately between the worlds of the sex industry and experimental psychology, dovetailing the two worlds in a plot twist that Delaware fans will enjoy second guessing. Even being relatively unfamiliar with the personal details of Hugh Hefner's life, I also thought the similarity of Tony Duke was striking, and maybe a bit disappointing. Kellerman certainly could have invented a character that was a bit more original, but really, character is less his forte than plotting, so I forgive him that flaw. I think it is a credit to his plotting that although by this point in time I have read nearly all the Alex Delaware novels, I still needed to be at least two thirds through the book before I'd made most of the inevitable connections that are revealed in the last chapters of the book. After all, isn't that the mark of a good page turner? The ability to engage the reader into trying to figure out the plot before the last page? If that's what you as a reader are seeking, without having to challenge a jet-lagged, travel weary mind too much, look no further.
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