Rating: 
Summary: Well-written psychological thriller
Review: Dr. Delaware, serves as a psychiatric consultant to the police department. He and Detective Milo Sturgis set out to solve the crime of a psychologist who worked at a hospital for the criminally insane. The head of the facility tells them that the Dr. was safe when she was there--it was in the outside world that she met her untimely end. The victim had been working with Ardis Peake, a young man who had brutally murdered his own mother and another family many years ago. Her interest in him was spurred by dark family secrets in her own past, which are uncovered as the plot proceeds. More murders occur which bear a grisly resemblance to the Dr.'s murder and which are eerily foretold in the psychotic mutterings of Peake. There are many twists and turns until the final solution is revealed. Kellerman writes of the inmates with stark realism, but also with a great amount of understanding. An interesting book!
Rating: 
Summary: Not quite the perfect mystery.
Review: I'm a big fan of Stephen White, who, like Kellerman, writes mysteries with a psychologist main character who helps the police track down the bad guy. I really hoped that I would like Mystery as much as I like White's books, and as much as I have liked Kellerman's other books, but this one wasn't quite up to that level. For one thing, I failed to understand why Dr. Delaware was involved in the investigation; by all accounts, he really shouldn't have been a part of the process. The premise of the book is that a heavily medicated psychotic who is locked up in a secure mental hospital is able to predict horrific murders. Dr. Delaware and Det. Sturgis are called in to solve the crimes. It becomes clear that the murders are part of a pattern, and apparently involve snuff films, but it isn't until the end of the book that we learn how it is that the inmate (the Monster) is involved in the crimes. It's a race against the clock as Dr. Delaware tries to uncover the truth before more people are murdered. The jacket describes the book as "incomparably deft characterizations and dazzlingly dark plot twists." I didn't see any of that in this book, which was too bad, but for long-time Kellerman fans, you shouldn't pass this one up.
Rating: 
Summary: Is There a New Monster In Town?
Review: One day in small town of Treadway Ardis Peake ambled into the kitchen and calmly cut off his mother's head, then he went upstairs where the couple of the household lay asleep and brutally dispatched them as well. Not finished with his killing spree, he went down the hall to visit the children's room. The five-year-old girl was found without her eyes and, as for the baby boy, the police followed Ardis' bloody footprints out of the house to the shack where Ardis lay peacefully asleep. A pot was boiling away on the stove. The baby was in it.They locked Ardis "Monster" Peake up in the Starkweather State Hospital for the Criminally Insane where he remained for fifteen years non-verbal, non-responsive, non-violent, probably because of his Thorazine diet. However on two different occasions he spoke, but only long enough to predict two violent deaths. The doctors at the asylum swear there is no way Ardis could have gotten out. But Dr. Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis are certain there's a deadly link between Peake and the deaths, the murders are too similar. Is there a new monster? And if so is he somehow communicating with the old one? The clues lead them back to Treadway where the Peake had gone on his rampage, but the trail is old and cold as the town is gone, in its place now, a retirement community. However, maybe that trail isn't quiet so cold as first thought, maybe there is a clue or two around, but can Alex and Milo figure them out before someone else is brutally murdered? In "Monster" Alex and Milo are into one of their most gruesome cases yet, a case full of surprises, red herrings and lots of twists and turns. The book is fast-paced, tense, powerful and an excellent read.
Rating:
Summary: Is a monster born or made?
Review: Alex Delaware returns .... again. In this novel, Alex's best friend, LA cop Milo Sturgis, requests his company on a visit to the facility housing some of the state's criminally insane while investigating the macabre death of a resident psychologist. Before long, they get caught up in a bizarre web of family secrets, revenge and deeply psychotic behaviour, culminating in the "life or death" scene we expect from Jonathan Kellerman. Unlike a lot of reviewers, I was grateful for the small amount of character development achieved in this novel. Maybe that's because Kellerman is now writing for a particular audience of Delaware fans, and can assume familiarity with his characters. For the first time I can remember, Milo's sexual preferences were implied rather than proselytised and Alex and Robin's relationship seems to have settled into a comfort zone, thank goodness. Her work as a luthier was interesting at first, but I don't need in-depth descriptions in every novel - there was just enough in this one to show she's an independent gal. After all, these novels are supposed to be thrillers, not guitar making manuals, whatever the author's personal interest. And, thankfully, the house is finished, so we are done with endless building details. Some reviewers say "Monster" forms a departure from the child psychology more usual in Kellerman's Delaware novels, but just consider when most of the victims/suspects suffered the trauma that lead to their adult behaviour. I don't know how many police forces would grant a civilian, albeit an occasional consultant, as much investigational liberty as Delaware enjoys with the LAPD - they seem to be better served by a psychologist than trained officers. Happily for them, Delaware set off on the right trail almost immediately, while Milo first pursued the obligatory red herrings and chased the wild geese. I'm no rocket scientist, but I had the "monster" pegged pretty early on. I once collected Kellerman novels (both J & F), but after the awful "The Web", happily donated them to my local library some years ago. I bought this one as part of a selection (give Delaware one more try, I thought) to gain bonus shopping points at a city department store and read it in one day just over a week ago - I've almost forgotten it already. Either I'm losing my taste for this kind of thriller (I hope not), or Kellerman is losing his edge. Still, even a journeyman Kellerman novel is usually better than the average thriller, though I'm probably biased since I'm a bit of a fan of Milo and Alex, and enjoyed seeing what these familiar characters were up to. And it was great to see Kellerman return to this milieu after the extremely ordinary "Billy Straight". If you need something that will keep you turning the pages on a long flight or for holiday or vacation reading, you could do a lot worse.
Rating:
Summary: Fast-paced, first-rate suspense
Review: I'm a long-time Kellerman fan, and "Monster" is one of his best. This is a fast-paced novel of contemporary suspense. Albeit there are some loose ends and unlikely plot mechanisms, the suspense is of the old-fashioned nail-biting variety. The cast of characters -- a motley crew of twisted doctors, calculating nurses, amoral rich people, the has-been actress, etc. -- is well crafted and believable. We don't see much of Robin or Spike in this story, while Milo the cop plays second fiddle to Alex without having to fight the rest of the Police Dept. every step of the way. This is Dr. Delaware's mystery to solve, more so than in some of the previous Alex Delaware novels in which he does little more than consult. The alert reader will find himself rooting for the nominal "Monster" as the action picks up. The series of murders is particularly gruesome but, hey, that's the nature of this genre. The ultimate unveiling of the "Monster" is almost anticlimatic if you've been paying attention and catching the clues, but what a hellava good read getting there!
Rating:
Summary: Is There a New Monster In Town?
Review: One day, in the small town of Treadway, Ardis Peake ambled into the kitchen and calmly cut off his mother's head, then he went upstairs where the couple of the household lay asleep and brutally dispatched them as well. Not finished with his killing spree, he went down the hall to visit the children's room. The five-year-old girl was found without her eyes and, as for the baby boy, the police followed Ardis' bloody footprints out of the house to the shack where Ardis lay peacefully asleep. A pot was boiling away on the stove. The baby was in it. They locked Ardis "Monster" Peake up in the Starkweather State Hospital for the Criminally Insane where he remained for fifteen years non-verbal, non-responsive, non-violent, probably because of his Thorazine diet. However on two different occasions he spoke, but only long enough to predict two violent deaths. The doctors at the asylum swear there is no way Ardis could have gotten out. But Dr. Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis are certain there's a deadly link between Peake and the deaths, the murders are too similar. Is there a new monster? And if so is he somehow communicating with the old one? The clues lead them back to Treadway where the Peake had gone on his rampage, but the trail is old and cold as the town is gone, in its place now, a retirement community. However, maybe that trail isn't quiet so cold as first thought, maybe there is a clue or two around, but can Alex and Milo figure them out before someone else is brutally murdered? In "Monster" Alex and Milo are into one of their most gruesome cases yet, a case full of surprises, red herrings and lots of twists and turns. The book is fast-paced, tense, powerful and an excellent read.
Rating: 
Summary: Give me a break
Review: As one implausible scene after another played out (OK they had their moments) I got the nasty feeling that the payoff would be weak and sure enough the ending fizzled like a wet firecracker. A moronic serial killer/movie maker who isn't even detected--let alone pursued or caught--for 15 years? A dabbling psychologist who leads a star LA detective by the nose? A gorgeous girl friend who lets the hero run off at all hours to insane asylums? Two hot, achieving, apparently normal chicks who are attracted to a greasy Ichabod serial killer--one of whom is persuaded to participate in killings? I don't think so. Add to that Kellerman has an an annoying Balzacian habit of obsessing on furniture and clothes. C'mon man it's page 46 and the guy has a moustache, is wearing jeans, and there's a calendar on the wall...let's get on with it! Kellerman is superb when he sticks to Planet Earth scenarios, the gritty LA milieu, and hard-nosed conflict. But sometimes his plotting is just weird. His characters are real enough, but like talented actors caught in a very bad play. You almost expect one to cry out, "where's my motivation?" OK I admit I've read and liked a half dozen of his books and did finish this one, but afterward I felt tricked. I skimmed many scenes and just tossed the book at the end. What a cheat. It reminds me a lot of that "Island of Dr. Moreau" book he wrote, can't remember its name. Gotta give the guy credit for his work ethic though. If it's so boring to read some of these scenes, how much more boring must it be to write them?
Rating:
Summary: This book is poorly judged.
Review: This novel, I admit is a little disturbing, but it is very well thought out, and is poorly judged because of some of the gruling descriptions of some events, but I think it is neat how he really doesn't hold back on anything. The book Monster, by Jonathan Kellerman is a really twisted book. I'm not saying I don't like it, because I do, and I think it is a truly unique book. It is about a cop and a detective who are in search of a killer, who committed two murders, but for all they know, it could be two separate killers, and everyone is a suspect. They investigate the victims backgrounds to come out with several different outcomes of suspected killers. This book is recommended to anyone who really enjoys a good thriller. I like the way all the plot lines tie together in the end, and somehow all relate to each other. It is very well written, and the ending, in my opinion, is unexpectedly the best part. This is one of my favorite books, and I very strongly reccommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Let's be honest: not a very good book...
Review: Per other reviewers, "Monster" just lacks that overall drive. It's really slow, the surprises really aren't all that surprising (I just knew one key character was clearly in on it) and to be honest, I want to tell you right now whodunit! Honestly, don't waste your time on this especially when there are so many other better reads (particularly anything by Ellroy).
Rating:
Summary: Painfully laborious!
Review: Picked up the audio version and struggled through it. Apart from the unimaginative redition, I found the content itself to be less than riveting - considerably so. Give me Sanford any day. In fact, I might even go so far as to say that Alex Comort is more interesting than Delaware. And that's saying something.
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