Compulsion: An Alex Delaware Novel (Alex Delaware) | Jonathan Kellerman

Compulsion: An Alex Delaware Novel (Alex Delaware) | Jonathan Kellerman | Another really good Alex Delaware novel

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Compulsion: An Ale...

	Compulsion: An Alex Delaware Novel (Alex Delaware) Jonathan Kellerman Ballantine Books, 2008 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 57 reviews view larger image
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Once again, the depths of the criminal mind and the darkest side of a glittering city fuel #1 New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman?s brilliant storytelling. And no one conducts a more harrowing and suspenseful manhunt than the modern Sherlock Holmes of the psyche, Dr. Alex Delaware.

A tipsy young woman seeking aid on a desolate highway disappears into the inky black night. A retired schoolteacher is stabbed to death in broad daylight. Two women are butchered after closing time in a small-town beauty parlor. These and other bizarre acts of cruelty and psychopathology are linked only by the killer?s use of luxury vehicles and a baffling lack of motive. The ultimate whodunits, these crimes demand the attention of LAPD detective Milo Sturgis and his collaborator on the crime beat, psychologist Alex Delaware.

What begins with a solitary bloodstain in a stolen sedan quickly spirals outward in odd and unexpected directions, leading Delaware and Sturgis from the well-heeled center of L.A. society to its desperate edges; across the paths of commodities brokers and transvestite hookers; and as far away as New York City, where the search thaws out a long-cold case and exposes a grotesque homicidal crusade. The killer proves to be a fleeting shape-shifter, defying identification, leaving behind dazed witnesses and death?and compelling Alex and Milo to confront the true face of murderous madness.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

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A nice addition to the Alex Delaware series

Compulsion is author Jonathan Kellerman's 22nd offering in his series about Alex Delaware, a child psychologist who assists police detective Milo Sturgis in solving murder cases. Being a psychologist myself, I've read and generally enjoyed all of the books in the Dr. Delaware series, although I felt that somewhere around the 15-20th books or so, Kellerman began to lose some steam. However, with this newest novel as well as the previous one, Obsession, Kellerman seems to again found what works.

In Compulsion, Detective--now Lieutenant Sturgis--is back from an extended vacatinon after sustaining a serious injury in the line of duty. Just as he is complaining about having nothing to do, an old woman is murdered in broad daylight. At the same time, a luxury car is reported stolen, and a young woman goes missing--could these events be related? As usual, Alex and Milo slowly brainstorm possibilities and track down long-shot leads until a suspect emerges. What is unusual about Compulsion, however, is that Kellerman also introduces a subplot which runs throughout the book and continues even beyond the resolution of the main plotline; this adds an extra element of interest.

While Compulsion is not the best novel in the Dr. Delaware series, it is a suspensful, solid story, and definitely a cut above some of Kellerman's other recent offerings.

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Another really good Alex Delaware novel

As usual, this latest installation of the Alex Delaware novels co-starring stalwart Detective Milo Sturgis, is a page turner from beginning to end.

Making the streets of Los Angeles come alive with his description of the ordinary denziens, we watch Delaware and Sturgis pull together all of the pieces of the mysterious killer without a face.

Great summer read.

Classic Delaware.

So glad to see a return to the strong Alex Delaware books of yore after being disappointed in the last few entries in this series. Readers can expect psychological thrills, violence, mayhem, and some serious sleuthing by Delaware, Milo, and friends as they track an apparent homicidal "do-gooder" who takes it upon himself (herself?) to rid the world of those he (she?) deems unworthy of life.

I figured this one out early on, but still enjoyed the plot twists that kept me guessing. Great characters, even for those who make minor appearances. I still take issue with Robin's two-dimensional character -- I'd like to see her as more than a convenient helpmate who has no wants or needs of her own.

All the same, a good read for fans of Kellerman and psychological thrillers.

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