Rating: 
Summary: Not Kellerman's Best
Review: "Billy Straight is Kellerman's best work yet. An engrossing tale in lean, straightforward prose," says Kirkus Reviews. Twelve-year-old Billy Straight lives in a trailer park with an alcoholic mom and a scumbag biker, Moron, who beats Billy and Mom. Tiring of abuse, Billy runs away to Los Angeles and become a homeless kid, sleeping in a park. One night, a car stops near his hideaway. A man and woman get out and talk for a few minutes. Suddenly, the man starts slashing and stabbing her. Twenty-four wounds. Though Billy can't see a face, but does memorize the license plate, PLYR 1. The car belongs to TV star and celebrity, Cart Ramsey, and the murdered woman is his ex-wife, Lisa. Investigating is Petra Connor, a Los Angeles homicide detective. Through a series of small clues, she discovers that an unknown boy watched the murder, but has no clue where to find him. Lisa's father offers a $25,000 reward for Billy's capture and now all of Los Angeles searches for him. He's in a quandary; fears the police and afraid the killer will find him. Kellerman slips in enough red herrings that I didn't know who the bad guy was until the climatic ending. His writing style is unique; first person from Billy's viewpoint and third person with other characters. I enjoyed that. The characters are well developed, scenes descriptive, but the plot plods right along (you're right, I said plod). This novel barely held my attention, though the ending was thrilling and ended on a high note. Take heart, Kellerman fans, Billy Straight enjoyed eight weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list, so guess I'm a maverick on this review. To show you that I'm not the only dissenter, "Entertainment Weekly" said, "This ambitious new novel by an old pro lacks the gritty feel of Hollywood sleaze that writers like Elmore Leonard live and breathe. . .In the end, the busy but thin plot can't shake the underlying saccharine tone. Billy's surname says it all." Kellerman has authored twelve Alex Delaware novels, including, When the Bough Breaks, Devils Waltz, and Survival of the Fittest. His wife, Faye Kellerman, is also a novelist. (Harry Odum is a published author and president of The Literary Review Service)
Rating:
Summary: Pleasing and proficient thriller
Review: Billy Straight is a 12 year old homeless person ,living on the streets and in the open spaces of Los Angeles .He is escaping an abusive homelife with a feckless mother and her numbskull boyfriend. Billy witnesses a murder ,and the book then becomes essentially a tale of two hunts.The hunt for the killer of Lisa Ramsey ,under the leadership of LA detective Petra Connor ,and there are two principal suspects--her former husband ,the TV star Cart Ramsey and his business manager ,Greg Baulch.Then there is the search for Billy ,a srearch involving the killer ,the boy friend , the police and others after the reward posted for information on the killing.The case is not solved until there have been further killings and some narrow escapes for Billy. Kellerman is a big seller with a loyal readership and has not achieved these feats without being able to produce page turners of some quality .The book is strong on narrative and there is a good depth of characterization not to mention some sharp criticism of police bureaucracy and the way in which fear of publicity in potential high profile cases can retard a police investigation.The juggling of the two searches is dexterously handled
My only real reservation is an old bugbear of mine -excessive length .The book runs nearer 600 pages than 500 and much of this is due to what strikes me as padding --for instance ,the domestic worries of Petra's partner contributes nothing to the evolution of the plot and merely serves to slow proceedings down. Good solid read and fans of the regular series character Alex Delaware may like to know he makes a cameo appearance in the last chapter
Rating: 
Summary: Billy Straight
Review: Billy Straight is a thrilling, story that manages to carry two plots at once. Its about a 12 year old boy that runs away from his abusive home to the streets of L.A.. During one of these homeless nights in a L.A. park he witnesses the murder of women. The books turns in to a man hunt to find the killer of Lisa Ramsey, and the search for Billy Straight. The women murdered happens to be the ex-wife of a television celebrity, with a history of abuse. Billy soon come to the center of attention in the media, and begins to run for his life. This book will catch your attention at page one and keep you hooked till the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Has potential but falls flat
Review: Fine writing style, quite creative really, with good character development. But the story was a bit weak. The situations and resolutions were a bit too convenient. Flipping back and forth between the sub plots was ok, but they didn't cohere very well. Billy Staight's situation had little contribution in the end. The Ramsey investigation was small. What did Stu's character have to do with anything other than an attempt to show a considerate, domestic side of Petra. I really expected Stu to play a major role but he became unnecessary to the story. So some of the sub plots went nowhere. The Grandmother? Overall there was some real potential with this book but too many loose ends and lack of build up. However, I am really looking forward to starting on the Alex Delaware series. Looking forward to finding a character as strong as Sanford's Lucas Davenport.
Rating: 
Summary: The worst book ever!!
Review: I am reading the other reviews and I cannot believe my eyes!!
My friend loaned me this book, I don't usually read this kind of cheap paperback although I was desperate for something, anything to read.
The story I admit was fine, some very interesting twists etc. My main problem, and something that prevented me from enjoying this book, or the author was the very loose and carefree manner in which the author strung together the threads of the investigation. I have read many crime novels and watched many on television and have always enjoyed the intelligent way in which authors write these stories. In this book the detectives seemes to just "guess" important information to the case. It seemed like Kellerman couldn't be bothered to think about how to make it seem plausible and instead just GAVE the clues, leads etc to the detectives.
When I put this book down after reading it I felt like I had just wasted my time. Don't read this and certainly don't buy this!!! There are so so many other great books out there, this is one you can definitely afford to miss.
Rating:
Summary: All in all an entertaining book.
Review: I must say, this is the first Jonathan Kellerman novel that I have ever read. The book was quite entertaining, although I find his writing style somewhat awkward (so is Stephen King's - and he sells millions of books!), even at times boring. The ending was definately not a surprise, and it happened so quickly I was left wondering: "Is that it! " There were too many references to O.J., which wasn't really needed (once was enough - but to go on and on about the case, come on, we've had enough!). Billy's character was strong and the writer made you care for him, as he went through his homeless life through the mean urban streets of LA - although I found Kellerman's characterization of Petra kind of flawed, especially the overuse of references to her past. I also found it bothersome and annoying all of the very simple character thoughts throughout the book (she thought, he thought, I thought, etc. etc.). All in all the book was entertaining - although I don't recommend it as the book of the year. But I'll read some other of Kellerman's work and see if it'll change my mind about his writing style and lack of "depth" in the characterization.
Rating:
Summary: Too Many Plot Holes to Recommend
Review: I thought the premise of this novel sounded similar to Grisham's, The Client but I thought maybe Kellerman could craft a better novel out of the intriguing premise. Unfortunately, this novel, although much better written than The Client, covered much of the same territory and had many of the same shortcomings as that book. Billy Straight the character was well written and was by far the most believable character in the novel. Unfortunately, the murderer, whose thoughts and crimes become increasingly unbelievable made some deductions and guesses that put the Psychic Hotline to shame.The ending of the novel was so far fetched and improbable you'll be glad that you can move on to another author say Harlen Corben or Jeffrey Deaver who really know how to close the deal.
Rating: 
Summary: I loved "Billy Straight"!
Review: Jonathan Kellerman is one of my favorite authors. I've read all his books including "The Butchers Theatre", the Alex Delaware novels and I've just finished reading "Billy Straight". If I had to pick my favorite Kellerman book it would have to be "Billy Straight". Billy is so lovable and moral and I cared so much for and about him. He's a 12 year old runaway from an abusive home who witnesses the murder that sets off this exciting read. I also admired and respected Petra Connor, the very professional and caring LAPD detective handling the case. "Billy Straight" is a great mystery story and much more. The characters are very well defined, there's lots of suspense and so much human interest. What else can an avid reader like myself ask for!! I recommend this book to all my friends and thank Mr. Kellerman for creating "Billy". I hope we'll be reading more about him and also Petra in the near future.
Rating:
Summary: Super Thriller by a Superb Writer
Review: Spunky twelve-year-old Billy Straight is a runaway managing to survive in L.A.'s Griffith Park. Billy is a remarkable boy who ran away from an abusive home life in a mobile home. He spends his time sneaking into libraries to read and planning and plotting how he'll get an education and get along in the world. Then he unexpectedly witnesses a brutal murder. He decides not to reveal what he has seen for fear he will be returned to the trailer with his alcoholic mother and her brutal boyfriend. Los Angeles homicide detective Petra Connor is the lead detective on what turns out to be a high profile murder case. The victim, Lisa Lee Ramsey, is the gorgeous ex-wife of a prominent TV actor, Cart Ramsey, who stars in the syndicated TV detective show "The Adjuster." The investigation takes a lot of delving behind the scenes of the precarious, competitive, sometimes sleazy world of television and the police administration is terrified of a media circus. Petra is told to solve the killing quietly and quickly, but while she is trying to do just that Billy is being pursued by a pair of wackos in the park who scare him into hiding. Then a media slip reveals there has been a witness to the murder and he is in deep trouble. BILLY STRAIGHT, a solid mystery adventure loaded with suspense and good, old fashioned police work. It's a super way to while away a quiet evening by the fire.
Rating:
Summary: This is the best Kellerman of all!
Review: This book grabs your attention from the first page. It never boggs down as it races to the finish. There are not a lot of characters to keep track of, and best of all, Alex Delaware's personal life is kept to a minimum. (You don't have to suffer through reading about what Alex and Robin had for breakfast and dinner!!)
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