Therapy

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: Psychologist and Police Consultant, Alex Delaware is back to help Homicide Detective, Milo Sturgis investigate the killing of two young adults murdered in a Lover's Lane type setting. The fact that a metal spike, along with a gunshot wound, impaled the woman indicates more than a routine killing. The woman remains unidentified, but the young man turns out to have had a personality change due to a recent car accident. He was seeing noted celebrity psychologist, Dr. Mary Lou Koppel, for his problems. Through the investigation, another similarly murdered patient of Dr. Koppel's comes to light. Before long, Dr. Koppel herself is found murdered. The killings seem to be linked; and Alex and Milo work to find what how.

I usually love the Alex Delaware series and this one started out well enough, but about half way through the book, it turned deadly dull. The characters were not likable and I could just not care what happened to any of them. It was bad enough that the plot was uninteresting, but it turned ridiculous as well. Alex Delaware's personal story was hardly explored at all. First time Alex Delaware readers will be at a loss to know anything about his backstory even though his girlfriend and ex-girlfriend both make an appearance in the story.

First half of the book was perhaps 4 stars and the second half 2 stars for an average of 3 even though it pains me to rate one of my favorite authors so low.

Rating:
Summary: Therapy
Review: The author of this book pulls from his own experience with Therapy, not by having Therapy but by giving others Therapy. With this in mind he can get into the minds of his characters and see through their eyes what would happen if this happened or that. He has written a great story here putting together that experience and the skill of his writing ability to create this thriller that will hold you on the edge of your chair until you finish the book. A red Mustang and two people dead and why, the rest is for you to find out. Larry Hobson -Author- "The Day Of The Rose"

Rating:
Summary: Downward path continues
Review: The Delaware series continues to worsen. Milo Sturgis and Alex Delaware are increasingly self-righteous, sanctimonious, and cartoon tough. I initially liked this series because Milo, at least, seemed to have conflicts and to be an unlikely police detective hero. However, increasingly the series seems to be a vehicle for exposing what must be Kellerman's own aversions and predilections. The characterization is cardboardy (even by the none-too-demanding standards of detective fiction) and the plot is diffuse and unsatisfying.

Rating:
Summary: Similar To Hansen's book?
Review: The writer Matthew Hansen has a book here called "Therapy" too, a fiction novel. Are they based on each other?

Rating:
Summary: Not his best
Review: THERAPY by Jonathan Kellerman
August 24, 2004

THERAPY is Jonathan Kellerman's latest Alex Delaware novel. In this novel, Alex and Milo Sturgis are on a mission to figure out the connection between a murder that has just occurred in Beverly Hills, and one that happened previously and left unsolved. The victims of the first murder are a man and a woman, found shot and stabbed in a car parked outside a Beverly Hills home. It almost appears to be a sexually motivated murder, judging by the positions the couple was left in at the murder scene. The male victim was seeing a therapist, Mary Lou Koppel, and that is where the investigation begins. The previously murdered woman was also found in a sexual position, and is later found to have been going to therapy as well.

The connection between the two is rather flimsy until Dr Koppel herself gets murdered. There is definitely a link between all three, and it is up to Alex and Milo to find out the connection.

I've only read a handful of Alex Delaware novels, and I have enjoyed them all, but this one was the least favorite so far. I found myself losing interest during parts of the novel, which were filled with a lot of political rhetoric. I didn't think there was a need to go into that much detail in a novel such as this. A few paragraphs would have sufficed. I also was not happy with the ending, feeling that there were some unanswered questions that could have been resolved. All in all, however, I do recommend THERAPY but for new fans of Jonathan Kellerman, I suggest starting with one of his older novels.

Rating:
Summary: Not his best by a long shot
Review: This book just does not have the vitality and snap of previous books. About half way through you wonder if you will have the energy to finish and, to some degree, regret purchasing same.
I learned that I will WAIT on new books and look at more of the reviews.
Not going to delve into the plot,you can see that with the editorial reviews but I recommend you pass on this one.

Rating:
Summary: Anxiety & fear make me feel alive......
Review: This is a solid Kellerman outing, and the 4 stars are for fans. Kellerman is once again examining the questionable ethics of many of those involved in his first calling, psychology and its many manifestations. I have always found refreshing his insights and criticisms of the pretenses and false assumptions, grandiosity and outright chicanery practiced by many in the profession. (His debunking of the "diminished capacity" defense in "Over the Edge" was unforgettable).

Alex Delaware is free from constraints now. Robin and her dislike of his avocation as police consultant is gone; his new girlfriend, Allison, shares his fascination with the dark side of human behaviour; and Milo is now a LAPD Detective Lt. and free to pick whatever cases interest him, which means he and Alex can free-range all over LA with abandon and pursue whatever Jonathan Kellerman wants them to.

In this outing, not only is Kellerman taking another hard look at psychological malpractice or, at the least, incompetence, but he has some other targets in sight as well. Kellerman seems to have become very aware of how much a certain international organization has become a feeding trough for corruption and greed (probably learned while researching "The Butcher's Theatre"), and he details that game quite well.

At any rate, he understands the world of grants, and the intersection of politics and social programs, and good intentions gone awry as well as anyone.

I will not divulge the plot other than to say that what at first appears to be a simple murder turns out to be much more than that. Having glanced at some of the negative reviews, I will concede that this isn't Jonathan at his most passionate, but umpty umpteen books into the series, that is to be sort of expected. But it is a solid effort, and if you enjoy his writing (I do) and if you enjoy his ruminations and insights on the world around us (I do), you will enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: New reader enjoyed this book!
Review: This is my first Johnathan Kellerman read. Although some of the other reviewers lamented over it not being one of his strongest, I enjoyed the audio immensely. It is not the most complex novel but I was entertained by the exchange between Milo and Alex. I will definately read Kellerman again and recommend him.


Rating:
Summary: Kellerman's Back In Form
Review: This is the best Jonathon Kellerman book in years. The beginning pulls you in, and the twists and turns and surprises of the plot keep you engrossed and guessing til the end. Due to his background he knows the ins and outs of psychology thoroughly, and does not hesitate to show its seamy underbelly, laced with the other more conventional criminal activity, in this fascinating book.
And the best Kellerman books are fun because they are so L.A. - anyone who does not wear designer clothes, have a perfect physique and drive a beamer is immediately presumed guilty of something. This book actually plays with that concept in one of its characters - I won't tell more, for fear of spoiling the book- but this character turns out to be one of the most touching individuals I've seen in any of his books. That character stayed with me after I stopped reading, and I hope he reappears in another Delaware book.
Even Delaware's girlfriend is starting to show a little personality in this book, which has never happened before with any of his girlfriends. And we have a hint of a potential "cat fight" between Allison and Robyn, which would really add spice to the next book, if it happens.
Looking forward to the next Delaware installment.

Rating:
Summary: Back to Mystery
Review: With Therapy, Kellerman returns to Alex Delaware and Milo as people trying to solve mysteries by understanding the motivations of criminals and those around them. This is at the heart of what makes the series work.

Seeing through people's lies and self-deceptions to find out what's really going on is the challenge of this novel - especially when many of the lies are shielded by the confidentiality invoked by therapists even when it's themselves, not the patient, they're protecting. Kellerman is a master at creating real and interesting characters. Nobody does it better, and I thought this was one of his best.

Those who want the soap opera of Robin to continue ... well, you get a tiny bit of it. But frankly, when she ditched him I thought he was well shut of her, and now that she won't leave him alone, I'm getting fed up...