Fun to get books from Kellerman without Alex
345001
Alex was mentioned but not really a character. Fun to get books from Kellerman without Alex.
3107572
I was really enjoying my first read of a Kellerman novel about someone OTHER than Alex Delaware and his constant companion Detective Milo when, just as I got to the climax, I got a real shock:  "Hey, I've READ this book before!"  Sure enough, I distinctly remembered one small part of that scene and knew what would happen right after that.  And nothing else.  Not a single thing.  And I'm still scratching my head about when I read it the first time.  Still, it was quite a good read the second time, and that's a pretty good recommendation by itself . . . isn't it?

At any rate, this book was good enough to make me want to read more of Kellerman's non-Alex Delaware novels, such as "Butcher's Theater" and "Twisted" . . . if only to discover that I've read those books before, too.
920026
Once again, Dr. Alex Delaware, the white knight shrink rushes to the rescue. With his trusty cop sidekick,Milo(remember tho, the rule of sidekicks? Spock was cooler than Capt. Kirk and Ilya was cooler than  Napoleon Solo? Well it works here too, Milo is much more intriguing a  character than the blue eyed wishy washy Alex). The two of them are  investigating a grisly murders with years old tie-ins. Who did it? The  thorazined wreck in the William Castle-esque nut house? His cruel  attendants? Or someone from the not so distant past? Your guess is as good  as mine, and Kellerman weaves his usual conspiracy laden story. Robin the  cutesy girl friend is there as well as Spike the even cuter dog. Nice fast  read. thumbs up
4120627
Another great one for Alex Delaware fans despite not being a Delaware book.
3973032
The Alex Delaware series is one of the more reliable series today. Ive been sampling Kellermans books now for quite a few years finding them all a fine read save one which wasn't in the Delaware group. Heartbreak Hotel fits right into the mold which is its strong suit and also, in a way, its weak side.

Although billed as a thriller, this is really a police procedural with a good deal of the procedure being historical research. A women just shy of her hundred year birthday is killed. Shes a rather mysterious but very well liked long term (over 50 years) resident of a hotel which is slowly fading into seediness. Why was she killed and for that matter, how can a simple retiree from the county assessors office afford the over $80,000 year rent to live at this hotel?

The mystery lies in the past rooted in the world well depicted in 1997 move, L.A. Confidential  the world of Mickey Cohen in L.A. and his counterparts around the time Parker arrived to clean the city up.  The good doctor Delaware in cahoots with his investigative partner Milo of the LAPD dig into the L.A. of 70 or more years ago to find current players with criminal commonality in that long ago turbulent past.

The book wanders a bit in the middle as the two pull one then another thread together to form a picture of what happened to the victim and why more victims are piling up. Things pick up right at the end when the team, aided by more L.A. police, decide on a plan of action and swing into action  if a bit of an odd set of action choices. In the end the book wraps up the loose ends if not spelling out each and every part of what happened to lead to the first victims murder, at least enough to satisfy a reasonable reader while also feeling like real life where there are no fully pat answers.

I did some lite research here on Amazon finding that the Alex Delaware character apparently goes back to 1988 in a book now out of print. The current series goes back maybe ten years and this is a bit of the strength and weakness mentioned earlier. The strength is that we have our old reliable friends back on the scene: the doctor, his wife a music instrument maker, Milo from the LAPD, the doctors dog, usually off stage Milos romantic partner, Rick and wrapping up the ensemble, the doctors ancient car.

The weakness is these players never change. Its as if all the books take place in a few months time. The only evolution I can remember in the series is Milo at first being shunned by his fellow cops now seems to be accepted. Nobody grows old including the dog. Nobody gets cancer or has a child or even takes a vacation. Theyre all book after book right where we expect them to be and just as we left them last time.

Still, this is a solid entry in the series and due to the static nature of the players, it makes no difference if this is the first Delaware book read or youve read the entire series. Also the never changing players mean you can go back to earlier books and not encounter a spoiler. So like I said there is good with the bad. In sum, a nice diverting read for those who enjoy a solid, professional procedural.
3002277
Feeling that the Alex Delaware series has lost a great deal of zest in recent books, we snapped up this latest Kellerman on learning it featured a completely new leading man, psychologist Jeremy Carrier.  This doc practices on staff at a regular hospital; and we were surprised to learn how busy he was with the care and concerns of fairly normal patients whose current medical conditions were mostly other than mental difficulties.  Carrier himself is dealing with the unsolved murder of his former serious nurse girlfriend, a case that has brought suspicion against himself by cop Bob Duresh.  Soon a couple more killings suggest a possible link between Carrier's girlfriend and the other victims, a thought that once again sics Duresh onto his trail.  Then another mysterious character, pathologist Arthur Chess, befriends Jeremy and invites him to an elaborate dinner meeting of some sort of secret society interested in dark human deeds.  A series of follow-up clues from Chess to Carrier set our hero in pursuit of who might be the real perpetrator of these crimes.  The clues continue to unfold and confound as Kellerman sets a nice pace of action and reaction throughout this suspenseful mystery; and of course our hero catches the bad guy in the end.
We felt mixed emotions about this novel.  We almost always enjoy Kellerman's writing, even though his last few books seemed a little stale.  Our problem with this one is that while the mystery per se was entertaining enough, the characters were almost lookalikes to the Delaware clan:  Jeremy for Alex, new girlfriend Angela for Robin, and cop Duresh for Sturgis, though the latter mostly an adversary instead of an ally.  We find the speculation of other reviewers that maybe this manuscript was a precursor to the Delaware series as mildly amusing, but not impossible.  So -- reasonably good novel, but not great.
2791261
I read Jonathan Kellerman because of his exquisite mastery of the English language. Unfortunately, in the early books, Alex Delaware is too much of a superhero. He is injured, beat up, shot, and he bounces back. The later books are more cerebral, and Alex uses his skill as a psychologist to deal with threatening situations. SPOILER: This book contains not one but two endless monologues summarizing what really happened. And both contain facts new to the reader. I gave this one a better review than the book deserved only because of the excellent writing and Kellerman's ability to keep the reader engaged.
1240794
The Kellerman's ... Jonathan, Faye and now their son (though I haven't read any of his novels) have been favorites for over a decade.  Conspiracy Club is a fresh new suspense novel.
2671906
This is just another top rate Kellerman detective story. It sort of takes you by the hand and walks you through the mystery in a most compelling manner. It's a relaxing "escape" book and escape, relax and enjoy you will. A lot of good reading but little stress or tension in these Alex Delaware novels
3458933
With his writings so familiar,  I joyfully and quickly read through another of Jonathan's books. After struggling through a far different style of mystery recommended by my daughter,  I was glad to be back to the comfort of Kellerman.  The only reason I didn't rate this one quite as high as his other mysteries was the conclusion. Wrap up was too fast and too "cutesy".
69656
When a Harvard graduate becomes a detective in the Greenbury Police Department of upstate New York, people assume hes there to get background for a screenplay. They certainly don't think hes serious about police work as a career, and his condescending arrogance does nothing to change their minds or endear them. Former LAPD detective Peter Decker is willing to take him on the challenge of working with him, though. The drunken college kids and small town capers are boring to a seasoned detective and McAdams finds no use for his pre-law background and iPad skills in Faye Kellermans Murder 101.

The two become a viable team rather than an adversarial duo once they begin investigating a theft of Tiffany panels stolen from a cemetery. When a college student and visiting professor both turn up dead, Deckers homicide skills and McAdams intellectual curiosity provide the brain power needed to dig into a crime that is more than it seems to be.

Kellerman is a skilled, experienced mystery writer. Since this is a series, her stock characters actions and reactions are predictable. We return to a series because we love the characters and well only tolerate superficial changes in them. The freshness comes from the new situation Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus find themselves in and the unexpected challenges of two murders in one small town. Kellermans blend of the familiar and the new works. Although some of the repetition surprised me, the story is well worth reading whether you're a Kellerman fan or are simply looking for a good detective story.

With 26 books to her credit Faye Kellermans latest mystery, Murder 101, introduces new elements into her Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series. Whether you're looking for adventure, imagining retirement, intrigued by art, or just looking for a tightly written story, you should get a copy online or at a brick and board bookstore.

This review originally ran on Writer Advice, www.writeradvice.com
3597683
Summer reading exercise as it moves very quickly.  I find other earlier works by Kellerman much more psychologically interesting, dare I say terrorizing, to read.  Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis remain a good pairing, but this not Kellerman's best in my opinion.
3164841
As I've stated before, i'm a Kellerman fan and i've read them all. That said, there's no question there's been a decline in the quality of his Delaware novels since the Flesh & Blood/Murder Book days a decade ago. I can't really put a finger on the issue, but the recent novels just seem less intricate, and written as if they were rushed out without the care most earlier editions contained, when the novels seamlessly blended psychology and crime thriller.

Guilt is another example of the boilerplate efforts we've come to see with Kellerman of late. The premise is interesting, in that baby bones were found in a park some sixty years apart in age. However, the plot turned really awful towards the end with the whole "Branjelina" storyline involving the actress and her deadbeat husband. Even the magic reveal, which usually saves a Kellerman novel, were so easy to spot for both cases that there wasn't much suspense leading up to the end.

Overall a major disappointment for a devoted fan and longtime reader, and for me Guilt rates right up there with The Web as Kellerman's biggest clunkers.
306662
Excellent book if you're fan of Alex, otherwise you might feel that this goes too much in to details.
1022137
This was my first Kellerman book, and I enjoyed it.  The plot was not as intricate as those of Richard North Patterson or David Baldacci, but this was perhaps more believable.  I'll definitely try some of the author's  other books.
2516211
Good Alex Delaware mystery.  And Milo Sturgess is always fun.
2219674
I enjoy Kellerman's writing with each book being different from the others. I learn more from his books and this one with all the exotic fruit was very interesting.  It's hard to put his books down even at the end, I want more.