Obsession (Alex Delaware, No. 21)
by Jonathan Kellerman
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Book Reviews of Obsession (Alex Delaware, No. 21)
Book Review: Muddled and mediocre
Summary: 2 Stars
I am an FBI agent. Actually, I'm not, but there is one little moment in Jonathan Kellerman's Obsession when a minor character calls an FBI agent "Mr. Literal", an incident that I found amusing in a way that Kellerman hadn't intended. Unfortunately, there is not much else in this novel that I found really entertaining.
The muddled plot is kicked off by the death (by natural causes) of nurse Patty Bigelow. As she was dying, she gave vague hints of having killed someone at some point in her life. Her niece Tanya (who Patty raised as a daughter) is tormented by this semi-confession, bringing back her obsessive behavior that she had once gone to Alex Delaware for years ago. Now nineteen, she revisits Alex, hoping that he can help her solve the mystery with the assistance of his cop friend Milo Sturgis.
Because Alex loves to meddle in crime solving, he goes way beyond his psychological duty to investigate the possibility that Patty was a killer. Although initially fruitless, something is stirred up and a drug addict Milo and Alex questioned is murdered. They may be no closer to finding out the truth about Patty, but they do unearth other crimes and criminals, including a possible serial killer.
The problems with Obsession are common to many of Kellerman's most recent novels. Besides a plot that seems forced and overly complicated, there isn't much action in this story. Alex - with or without Milo or Petra Connor (another recurring Kellerman character) - just goes from one character to the next and talks. Only at the very end of the story do we get any real action and even that is minimal.
But the bigger problem continues to be Alex himself who continues to be a weak character. This wasn't always the case; in early novels, he was interesting, but now he is almost a non-character. His girlfriend Robin adds nothing of substance to the story and the few hints about his past seem tacked on to simulate depth of character without actually providing it.
There was a time when reading a Jonathan Kellerman book was a real treat, and it is only the hope that he will refind the old magic that keeps me reading him. It hasn't happened with Obsession. There's enough competence in the writing to keep this from being a one-star effort, but this book is unlikely to please any but his least demanding fans.
Book Review: A little too much psycho-babble
Summary: 3 Stars
Synopsis
Tanya Bigelow was a solemn little girl when she first met Dr. Alex Delaware for treatment of her obsessive-compulsive disorder. Now, at 19, she again turns to the doctor with a plea for help to discover the truth behind her mother's mysterious deathbed confession of a murder that happened sometime in her past. With the help of a detective from the LAPD, the trio sets out to discover the real events that may or may not have transpired, with no clues, witnesses or motive to go on.
Stepping into the sleaziest neighborhoods of Los Angeles, the trail leads them to discover unscrupulous real estate brokers, heroin addicts, and an affluent family that thrives solely on the trust funds from prior generations and the slumlord investments willed to them. * * *
My Two Cents Worth
I finally gave in to the badgering of my bookworm friends to "read a Kellerman." They have raved about his talents for as long as I can remember, so I plucked Obsession from the stack and settled in to see what all the fuss was about.
The result? I agree with them that Kellerman is an exceptional wordsmith - I found myself marking phrases and tagging words that I thought particularly appealing at a rapid pace.
However, the story went nowhere in a hurry.
I read the first 101 pages on the first sitting, set it aside, and felt like giving up on it. There was far too much psycho-babble that had nothing to do with advancing the story line. Nothing had happened so far. An obscure deathbed confession followed by psycho analysis and speculation.
"Let's assume she meant ..." and "What if she meant ..." was all we were subjected to, without any action by the characters to uncover the plot. I was bored.
The efforts to merge the events of the past with the questions of the present to solve the mystery took a back seat to the symptoms and treatment of OCD.
I stopped at page 208 - the beginning of chapter 24. I gave up. I felt the story was just about to get started, but I couldn't force myself to care enough. After 2 1/2 hours I picked up a Dean Koontz, desperate for a story. This is a very rare occurrence for me - happens only about 2-3 times a year.
Paperback
464 pages
2 1/2 hours - did not finish - indifference
Book Review: Amusing, if not his best
Summary: 4 Stars
Jonathan Kellerman's been writing Alex Delaware novels for a good long time now. I believe I read the first when it came out in paperback, and I've been a fan ever since. This latest entry is somewhere in the middle: not as good as his best books (lately I would rate Twisted the highest) but not as bad as some others. The author works the usual cameos into the main plot, mostly Petra Conner and Isaac Gomez, the main character of Twisted. This book mostly follows Alex and his long-time buddy Milo Sturgis, though Milo's partner Rick is also a character, more than he usually is.
One of the nurses who works in Rick's Emergency Room has died of cancer. The death is traumatic for everyone involved, because she was a steady, even-keeled woman who did a good job and was pretty much universally liked. She had raised her niece since the girl's mother abandoned the child with her sister and then went off and died in a motorcycle accident. The cancer victim's niece is concerned by a strange confession that her surrogate mother made on her deathbed, which seemed to imply that the lady had killed someone, somewhere in her past. Alex treated the nurse and mostly the daughter when they were younger, so when the young woman asks him and his friend Milo to investigate the claim, they dutifully begin to look into the circumstances of her life.
I enjoyed this book about as much as most of the Alex Delaware books. I will say that the plot is somewhat muddled and long, but those who aren't happy about that should note that with a detective story, the plot is always secondary to the characters and the atmosphere. Those are well-done here: Alex and Milo know where to get pancakes on Ventura Blvd. , and they move through a recognizable Southern California landscape. This is a good book.
Book Review: this is one of kellerman's better page turners
Summary: 4 Stars
Obsession, by Jonathan Kellerman (348 pgs., 2007). This is the twenty-first novel in the mystery/suspense series featuring Dr. Alex Delaware & his intrepid companion (now) LAPD Lt. Milo Sturgis. Perhaps, Kellerman is getting mellower as he ages. While this novel includes its usual share of gruesome murders & kinky sexual stuff, the graphically gruesome depictions are shortened or left out. Thank you.
Kellerman is a bestseller. He has the knack down pat for writing a page turner. This is one of his better ones. He relies less on thrills. His characters continue to be fleshed out & devoted readers care more & more about them, instead of getting tired of them. He throws in twists, just so we pay attention. A Gay Police Lt. who is Delaware's best friend. A nurse who was beloved by everyone, & who dies much too young from cancer. A 19-year old daughter (adopted) with strong obsessive compulsive tendencies, who is now left alone; but for Delaware & a boy who may or not be stable or a stalker or someone truly in love with her. A deathbed confession to a murder by an angel. Six degrees of Kevin Bacon connections stretching back years & entwining the good guys with the bad guys & for a time the bad guys seem to be winning. Interdepartmental cooperation. Cooperation between the LAPD & the FBI (even is just for a brief time).
The best part of this novel for me is the true caring & friendship between the characters; especially, all the characters on the good side. This is a truly character-driven mystery/suspense novel with a strong plot. The plot or the procedures used to solve the multiple crimes unearthed in this novel does not overshadow the characters. That's what makes this a winning novel, for me.
Book Review: Far-fetched premise, but still an engaging read
Summary: 4 Stars
This novel, the 21st in the Alex Delaware series, starts with a fairly fantastic premise: on her deathbed, a nurse considered by most to be a saint tells her daughter that she committed murder. That daughter, Tanya, turns to her former psychologist, Alex, and his long-time detective friend, Milo Sturgis, for help solving the mystery of her mother's supposed crime. Alex and Milo and mostly disbelieving at first, but as with all of the Delaware books, a more complex plot gradually unfolds. Readers are also treated to a few rare glimpses into Alex's own childhood here.
One consistent thing about the Delaware novels is a lot of time is devoted to Alex and Milo sitting around, conjuring up seemingly random theories and speculations, some of which actually turn out to be true. In Obsession, many of these scenes are expanded further to include sometimes-recurrent character Detective Petra Connor, and the hypothetical discussions can sometimes drag on for pages. However, this is the bread and butter of Kellerman's writing style, so if you don't like it, you shouldn't read these books.
Overall, I found Obsession to be one of the more engaging recent works in this series, especially with the small twist thrown in at the very end, and I'm definitely looking forward to continuing reading about fellow psychologist Dr. Delaware in the future.