Rating: 
Summary: Solid start to the long running Delaware series
Review: It only took fifteen years, but I finally got around to starting the Alex Delaware series. I'm sorry I waited so long. This is a page turning introduction to the Los Angeles child psychiatrist/amateur sleuth. The plot involves children, doctors, and abuse. While not dark at a noir level, this is a heavy tale. It's interesting but not beach reading. (If you like your psychiatrists with a sense of humor, try the wonderful Stephen Walsh White series featuring Alan Gregory in Boulder, Colorado.)The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association voted this one of the 100 best mysteries of the 20th Century. As an individual book that may be generous but from what I've heard of the series, it is well deserved.
Rating: 
Summary: Sort of like Shag Carpet
Review: It's really sort of a trip back in time reading this book...so much of it probably worked pretty well in 1985 when this was written but the translation in 2004 doesn't quite make it. Trendy young Dr. Delaware, age 33, drives a Cadillac Seville and when it's disabled he rents a "boxy Japanese car". Lot's of amusing things crop up like that in this book which actually made me sort of nostalgic. I had to go listen to old Hall & Oates LP's to re-visit "Say It Isn't So" and "Maneater" again! It also has a central convention of the 80's that I'm currently sick to death of...struggling,impoverished minorities-Good Guys, White, affluent successful Christian Men who conspire-Bad Guys. Honestly, this formula is more stereotypical than "The Butler Did It" used to be. If you spot a successful white guy early in a story, especially if it's suggested that he's a Christian, he's probably the bad guy. If Kellerman wrote this book in 2004 it probably couldn't get published...it's way too formulaic! Consequenly a big part of my dislike of this book is because of this. It doesn't stop there however...many reviews here suggest that Jonathan Kellerman is a great writer. I think he's marginal at best. I think these characters are really pretty shallow and the whole idea of this psychologist single handedly solving crimes and beating up bad guys twice his size is goofy. Delaware points a gun at central villians on 2 separate occasions in the story and they admit to everything but their shoe size. Try to imagine Patrick Kenzie or Harry Bosch pointing a gun at a bad guy and having said bad guy collapse and outline every last element of the crime in great detail. It reminded me of those old Perry Mason shows where Perry always seems to get a witness to break down in open court and admit to his or her crime in front of a packed court room. Here's a suggestion: if you want to read a good mystery with child abuse as a theme read Dennis Lehane's "Gone Baby, Gone". Jonathan Kellerman should be writing scripts for TV detective shows...like Barnaby Jones
Rating:
Summary: Excellent buildup to a one-two punch ending
Review: Kellerman spins a pretty good yarn in the inaugural novel to the "Alex Delware/Milo Sturgis series." It's no wonder the series has gone on to become one of the most popular mystery/psychological series in fiction today. In this one, the two cross paths for the very first time when Deleware, the psychologist, does some counseling for victims of a child molester, as part of city (L.A.) grant. Sturgis is a detective who was on the case about the child molester. The mental stress of being a psychologist eventually drives Deleware to early retirement (he's only 33!); luckily, he's got enough money saved up to last him a while until he figures out what his next career move will be. Shortly after that, Sturgis asks for his help in a new case, because it involves a little girl who may have witnessed a double murder, but she's not saying much. Sturgis thinks that Deleware could be the right man to get something out of the girl, and suggests that Deleware work as a special psychological consultant to the LAPD. And a team is born! The girl still doesn't say much, but other clues lead Deleware to a very disturbing discovery. His connections in the psychiatric community of L.A. and knowledge of certain psychiatric practices prove very useful, so useful he does most of the work. He finds the murders to be linked to some other recent murders in very curious ways. I don't want to reveal to much about the ending, let's just say there are a lot of suprises, and Deleware's discoveries will shock the city of L.A., and bring down some of the city's most powerful: judges, doctors, lawyers, and more. The last three or four chapters were very good, I think that's what a book should do: save the best for last, build to a climax with some suprises along the way. His characterizations of some of the more evil people were strong. It may not be the best you've ever read but will likely hold your attention!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent buildup to a one-two punch ending
Review: Kellerman spins a pretty good yarn in the inaugural novel to the "Alex Delware/Milo Sturgis series." It's no wonder the series has gone on to become one of the most popular mystery/psychological series in fiction today. In this one, the two cross paths for the very first time when Deleware, the psychologist, does some counseling for victims of a child molester, as part of city (L.A.) grant. Sturgis is a detective who was on the case about the child molester. The mental stress of being a psychologist eventually drives Deleware to early retirement (he's only 33!); luckily, he's got enough money saved up to last him a while until he figures out what his next career move will be. Shortly after that, Sturgis asks for his help in a new case, because it involves a little girl who may have witnessed a double murder, but she's not saying much. Sturgis thinks that Deleware could be the right man to get something out of the girl, and suggests that Deleware work as a special psychological consultant to the LAPD. And a team is born! The girl still doesn't say much, but other clues lead Deleware to a very disturbing discovery. His connections in the psychiatric community of L.A. and knowledge of certain psychiatric practices prove very useful, so useful he does most of the work. He finds the murders to be linked to some other recent murders in very curious ways. I don't want to reveal to much about the ending, let's just say there are a lot of suprises, and Deleware's discoveries will shock the city of L.A., and bring down some of the city's most powerful: judges, doctors, lawyers, and more. The last three or four chapters were very good, I think that's what a book should do: save the best for last, build to a climax with some suprises along the way. His characterizations of some of the more evil people were strong. It may not be the best you've ever read but will likely hold your attention!
Rating: 
Summary: GOOD FAST READ.
Review: MY FIRST KELLERMAN NOVEL, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT. THE ACTION MOVED ALONG AT A GOOD PACE, BUT I FELT IT WAS LACKING JUST A LITTLE BIT. I'M NOT SURE WHERE. THE STORY WASN'T BAD, HOWEVER, I HATE TO READ ABOUT CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN
Rating:
Summary: Extremely well written but the most evil book I've read.
Review: The book was written very well. I couldn't but it down. However the whole idea was morbid and sickening. I read the book because of the child psychology connection but it was too evil for my liking.
Rating:
Summary: strange style
Review: The story isn't bad, but the reader makes the whole thing unrealistic. It does not seem right to have a successful psychologist speak and sound like Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe. Music reduces rather than increases the tension. There are really much better audio books out there.
Rating: 
Summary: A speed-read
Review: This book is so engrosing that you can't put it down!
The characters are real, and you just can't wait to find out what happens to them! I am so glad Kellerman made this a series!
Great writing! Fun! Interresting! Exciting!
Alex and Milo's relationship is cool!
You totally feel for the kid in the book.
Rating:
Summary: Next Please
Review: This guy is a good writer. I was completely into the first 80 pages of this book. His characters and relationships are well developed in the beginning and I was ready for another great series. But once the plot takes hold, the focus turns away from the characters and becomes a tedious investigation that conveniently results in an implausible outcome. I guess what I'm saying is that Kellerman is a great writer, but not quite the story teller I was hoping to find. I would have preferred that more time was spent with the core characters, and the plot was kept simple. As it turns out, the core characters may as well have not been developed because they weren't used after they were introduced. The plot plods on. Note: Every bad guy does Not have to be related in order to complete a story. Go ahead and leave some loose ends, just make sure the loose ends are intentional and not there because an important character (Milo) was forgotten. Or, unless you're Larry McMurtry, keep it simple so the story can be resolved naturally. (Read 'Lonesome Dove' to see a perfectly successful ending that has no resolution. All ends are left loose. Do I digress?) I may have read this book while I was half asleep which wouldn't be fair. But then again, I may have been half asleep because I was reading this book. As I got closer to the end, I became more convinced that the latter was true. I could not wait to get it over with. I will take into account that this was a debut book and intend to give the next 2 or 3 books in this series a run before I write it off. I've already been disappointed by one 'Billy Straight' by the same author (published in 1998) so I just don't know if this is going to work for me.
Rating:
Summary: Next Please
Review: This guy is a good writer. I was completely into the first 80 pages of this book. His characters and relationships are well developed in the beginning and I was ready for another great series. But once the plot takes hold, the focus turns away from the characters and becomes a tedious investigation that conveniently results in an implausible outcome. I guess what I'm saying is that Kellerman is a great writer, but not quite the story teller I was hoping to find. I would have preferred that more time was spent with the core characters, and the plot was kept simple. As it turns out, the core characters may as well have not been developed because they weren't used after they were introduced. The plot plods on. Note: Every bad guy does Not have to be related in order to complete a story. Go ahead and leave some loose ends, just make sure the loose ends are intentional and not there because an important character (Milo) was forgotten. Or, unless you're Larry McMurtry, keep it simple so the story can be resolved naturally. (Read 'Lonesome Dove' to see a perfectly successful ending that has no resolution. All ends are left loose. Do I digress?) I may have read this book while I was half asleep which wouldn't be fair. But then again, I may have been half asleep because I was reading this book. As I got closer to the end, I became more convinced that the latter was true. I could not wait to get it over with. I will take into account that this was a debut book and intend to give the next 2 or 3 books in this series a run before I write it off. I've already been disappointed by one 'Billy Straight' by the same author (published in 1998) so I just don't know if this is going to work for me.
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