Rating: 
Summary: Painful to read and idiotic!
Review: In real life, detectives have to track down every possible lead and interview everyone with the slightest possible information about their case. Most of it amounts to nothing...which is why we read thrillers. Unfortunately, Kellerman takes us along on all the useless interviews and dead ends while protagonist Alex Delaware uses psychobabble to speculate about possible motives. And whenever the investigation stalls, Delaware decides to jump in his car and go for a ride "to clear his head" -and amazingly stumbles upon a hot new lead each time! Overwritten and tiresome, FLESH AND BLOOD will try your patience. For a truly taut and exciting thriller, I strongly recommend PURSUIT by Thomas Perry.
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: This is another book by Jonathan Kellerman with the further adventures of Dr. Alex Delaware,Milo Sturgis, and Robin Castagna, all of whom we are very familar with.This book,although very readable,falls short of his past narratives. It is just a bit unbelievable that Alex Delaware would become so obsessed with a woman he only saw twice, years earlier, when she was an adolescent. Her death releases a torrent of investigative behavior that seems highly unlike the Alex we know so well. It's no small wonder that Robin soon tires of this,leaving him. His diligent pursuit into the murder of this elusive ghost that haunts him so is a bit far-fetched. The other characters are fully dimensional,which Jonathan Kellerman does so well. His portrayal of sleeze is excellent. There is an additional subplot that both adds to and confuses the main plot. It is well written,but I feel the story line falls short of his past books.
Rating: 
Summary: A Rolls-Royce of a thriller. Classy !!
Review: Many writers produce thrillers. To use an analogy with cars, most writers give us VW Beetles; they are adequate, do the job, the finish is OK, they get you to the journey's end. Kellerman, however, has the ability to give us a Roll-Royce of thrillers; his books are well-written, fast, comfortable, exceedingly well-detailed, and we get to the end of the journey wishing we still had miles to go! This latest book is a fine example of Kellerman at his best. Other reviewers have precis-ed the plot, so I want to just comment of the fluent writing style that Kellerman possesses. His characters are well-drawn, three dimensional and fleshed-out. When a character is introduced the descriptions enable every reader to create him/her in his mind's eye, filling out the stage of imagination wonderfully. Even the principals are added-to. We learn more about the Delaware character, more about Milo the scruffy gay detective, and for those of us that don't live there more about the geography of the LA area. A first rate read. A first rate thriller. A first rate author.
Rating: 
Summary: Spoiled by Billy Straight
Review: My first Kellerman read was "Billy Strait". It was a well rounded, well written novel. I found it engaging and descriptive, with a thoroughly believable young protoganist. The flow of the plot was natural,and hard to leave. "Billy" had consistantly good character and plot development, and was altogether a great read. You cared.
Going back to see what else Kellerman had done, I saw it was pretty much an ongoing series about psychologist/amateur sleuth Alex Delaware. Flipped through a few, but didn't see much there.
I admit to somewhat of a problem with ongoing series with the same main character, at least of recent vintage (we're not talking Sherlock Holmes here). These days, they are most often done by one-note authors of limited ability (Patricia Cornwell), or once talented writers who have gotten lazy, and just want the check in the mail (Stuart Woods).
At any rate, Flesh and Blood is a story about the fairly stressed out, guilt driven character of Alex, with the accompanying cast and crew. Most of the book involves Alex and his detective friend, Milo, interviewing and discussing potential suspects and scenarios for an ever increasing list of brutal murders of hookers and those close to them, while driving around various traffic jams in Los Angeles.
The plot and characters were, while descriptive and well written (he meticulously spends several pages describing a character, where they are and what they're wearing) , boring and predictable. If you need a book involving both rich and trailer trash characters, with absolutely no redeeming qualities or ambitions, this one's for you.
I can't help but believe that Kellerman needs to lose this tired Delaware character and go back to the drawing board for another Billy Straight.He's really just wasting his talent with this garbage.
Rating:
Summary: Back on track
Review: The author is back to doing what he does best, giving us characters to care about. A little too much analysis between Alex and Milo, but when the action begins, the wait is worth it. The series has regained its zip.
Rating:
Summary: ON THE MYSTERY TRAIL
Review: Jon Kellerman has done it again. The Michelangelo of Mysteries has once again crafted a superb, tautly written mystery. Dr. Alex Delaware comes in contact with a former client. At one time, he treated Lauren Teague, then 15 and her parents. Lauren was belligerent and performing poorly in her classes. She appeared flippant and nonchalant during her two sessions with Dr. Delaware. He feels he has made no inroads nor has he tapped into her psyche. After two sessions, the girl's father terminates treatment. Some five years later, Dr. Delaware attends a bachelor party for a doctor he works with. An adult party is being held replete with women staging a lesbian love show. One of the girls is...Lauren! Mortified, both doctor and former client try to pretend they don't recognize one another. One day after the stag party, Lauren pays a visit to Dr. Delaware with a sketchy update of the direction her life has taken. Which direction DID Lauren turn? Shortly after her reunion with Dr. Delaware, her body is found in a dumpster. Who killed her? Her roommate, Andrew, professes not to know about her career in prostitution. Her professors claim to have minimal memories of her, yet her transcripts show high marks and a goal oriented approach. Her mother and stepfather beseech Dr. Delaware and his friend, Officer Milo Sturgis to try and find her killer. Lauren's father, remarried with young daughters, claims Lauren had always been hostile to him and it came as no surprise she turned to prostitution as a career. Lauren's death takes Dr. Delaware and Milo down some very strange roads. A character bearing a close resemblance to Hefner of Playboy infamy and his family also appear to have an interest in Lauren's murder. A girl from a small town bore a personality resemblance to Lauren; a bright, attractive girl, the former Miss Olive Festival enrolls in a large university in Los Angeles and dedicates herself to her studies. Within weeks of enrolling, Shawna, the former pageant winner disappears. Are the girls' disappearances linked? Did Shawna and Lauren know one another? What of Tony Duke, the skin mag mogul and his family? Do they have any part of the girls' disappearance? Who kills several people who knew Lauren? Is this the work of one person? As usual, Jon Kellerman manages to stay several steps ahead of his readers and the conclusions will catch readers off guard. I like the maturation and full literary development of his characters. I also liked the fact that Robin, Dr. Delaware's long time lover had more or less receded to the background because I never liked her in the first place. I found her irritating and selfish and I plain didn't like her. Jon Kellerman writes with a keen sense of humor; his descriptions of people and his characters' impressions of one another are witty and very cleverly done. This is a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Very Sexy. Men Will Love It.
Review: Flesh & Blood is another great issue in the Alex Delaware series by Jonathan Kellerman. The murder victim, a young and prior patient -- like many of Kellerman's characters -- is strong and intelligent. She's killed early, but the warmth of her being is brought forth during the rest of the story. As a native of Los Angeles, the series holds a special appeal for me, especially as LA's Westside (where I grew up) is highlighted. Almost all of the investigation is conducted, as usual, by Alex and his macho, gay detective friend, Milo Sturgis (both of whom are interesting as individuals). In the Kellerman tradition, the ending is a surprise, but satisfying nonetheless. The prostitution theme makes the reading very sexy. Men will love it.
Rating:
Summary: Good Plot, Bad Action
Review: I've read every Kellerman (both husband AND wife!) book, so eagerly snapped this one up a week ago. I thought the plot was reasonable and interesting, but when Alex Delaware starting running around like an idiot, tailing potential criminals, rescuing their family members from drowning, and posing as a romantic date to get inside information, that's too far-fetched for me. There's a fair amount of tension with his life partner, Robin, over his antics and involvement in a case not even officially assigned by the police; and even Alex's detective buddy Milo joins in getting fed up with our otherwise usually oh so professional psychologist. That's the trouble -- when you've spent years developing a character people love, you can't have that character go out of character. Get that? I wish the Editor had.
Still, not a bad read, just uncharacteristically implausible.
Rating:
Summary: Set you expectations right, and you might like it.
Review: This is the first Jonathen Kellerman I've read. I was really engrossed after reading the first few chapters, but my interest kind of waned somewhere mid-way through the book. Perhaps my expectations were set up wrong. The back page blurb did such a good job of exaggerating what I was going to find out about the underground world of sex and whoring that it was too good to pass up ;). Instead what I did find was the dynamic duo of Alex and Milo going around town interrogating people (i.e. not much action). I guess that's what a psychological thriller is all about, and the plot twist at the end was pretty clever. Nonetheless, I was less impressed leaving the book as I was starting it. Perhaps this book does merit a 3.5~4, but reviews are subjective and the more I write about it the more convinced I am that a 3 fits. All I'm saying is that you might enjoy this book more if you don't go in expecting to find insider information on illicit activities of the underground world, or a deep love story between two people. I'd be interested in seeing what other adventures Alex Delaware has gone through.
Rating:
Summary: Kellerman is BACK!
Review: After a couple of less-than-satisfying tries, Jonathan Kellerman is back. That means that Alex, Milo and Robin are back also. In this novel Kellerman introduces Lauren Teague, builds her into a multi-dimensional character, and then summarily kills her off. I guess that's how it goes. The plot is well-conceived and fast-paced and keeps the reader turning pages. Actually, there are several sub-plots that keep reader interest at a high level. Alex becomes somewhat obsessed with this case and alienates Milo and Robin before it's all over. All in all this is Kellerman at his best.
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