Jonathan Kellerman - Gone

Another crime thriller centred on psychologist and police consultant Alex Delaware. As ever, the pleasure is largely in the discussions he has with the cop about possible explanations and motives, the fact that they come up with so many diverse possibilities. The thriller plot itself isn't terribly exciting, but it's ( Read more... )

Jonathan Kellerman - The Web

Anyone involved in solving murders shouldn't bother with a holiday, as crimes will follow them. To be fair, that is partly because the invitation to a tiny Micronesian island that takes psychologist Alex Delaware from LA has some secrets behind it. Pretty extraordinary ones, too. The interest is in the clues that the ( Read more... )

Jonathan Kellerman - Self-Defence

I love the psychology of his books, and the fact that psychologist Alex Delaware and his cop pal Milo Sturgis spin off countless theories and scenarios to explain what they learn. Mystifyingly, the critics focus at least as much on his plotting. This one overloads the deaths, coincidentally throws in two unrelated ( Read more... )

Jonathan Kellerman - When the Bough Breaks

This is the first of his novels starring child psychologist Alex Delaware, and Delaware's first involvement in solving crimes, when called in to talk to a child who may have witnessed a murder. It all escalates from there, into a big action climax that rather implausibly leaves out the police. Nonetheless, ( Read more... )

Jonathan Kellerman - A Cold Heart

I moaned a bit about the plot of the last of his I read, but this one avoids pushing convenient coincidences so far. On the other hand, much as it has the usual psychological insight, that has little relevance to the way the investigation plays out. As ever, a pleasure along the way, but he could use better plots.

Jonathan Kellerman - Flesh and Blood

I keep comparing him to Michael Connelly - I tried them close together, liked them a comparable amount and they are both crime writers setting their stories in LA. This one rather emphasises their differences: Kellerman is a better writer of prose and dialogue, and the psychological insight he brings to his books ( Read more... )

Jonathan Kellerman - Time Bomb

Another excellent crime thriller with protagonist psychologist Alex Delaware. It starts with a shooting at a school, and steadily escalates in complexity and scope. There's tension, interest and excitement all the way. I did feel like there was a need for a few more pages at the end to tie up one or two things, but I ( Read more... )

Jonathan Kellerman - The Murder Book

I tried Michael Connelly for the first time recently, and here's another new-to-me crime writer. Who turns out to be very similar: LA, a criminal psychologist and a homicide cop as leads, some police corruption at back of the story, an ancient murder case being exhumed. I think Kellerman is the better prose ( Read more... )

Rocky 1: The Big Payback by Martin Kellerman

Nothing to do with boxing, this is a strip by a Swedish cartoonist, somewhere between Fritz the Cat, Joe Matt and Peter Bagge's Buddy Bradley stories. It's a funny animal autobiographical slacker strip, Rocky stumbling through jobs, girls, friends and homes. Either he or translator Kim Thompson (who also ( Read more... )