Compulsion: An Alex Delaware Novel (Jonathan Kellerman) by Jonathan Kellerman
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Book Reviews of Compulsion: An Alex Delaware Novel (Jonathan Kellerman)
Book Review: Mediocre outing -- even JK seems tired of our buddy Alex!
Summary: 2 Stars
We've read every single Alex Delaware novel, so are big fans, well-informed about this series. What started out great - the child psychologist by profession who consults with the police; specifically Milo Sturgis, a gay, very interesting, and persistent homicide cop; on murders where the police feel they need a consultant's help - has resolved into little more than two detective buddies, one paid, the other an amateur hardly more skillful than we at surfing the web, chasing clues until typical procedure dissolves into d?nouement. Alex joins Milo seemingly whenever he wants (presumably being paid at premium consultants' rates), often as little more than a pastime, not because his skills are pertinent, which is pretty far-fetched in terms of the state of most public budgets! His relationship with live-in girlfriend Robin, always an on-again, off-again, "affair", barely gets a nod herein, with a silly custom musical instrument buyer paying too much attention to her a lame attempt at stalker suspense, resolved equally poorly in our opinion. Meanwhile, the excuse for the plot, a serious of murders involving luxury autos, barely holds our attention, and while we plodded along to see whodunit, we hardly cared by the time we got there.
To us, the series has run its course. While Milo per se is one of the more interesting police characters to come along over the last couple of decades, and while the original premise of Delaware's involvement was novel, there's virtually nothing left to excite or entertain us. It seems to us we're at that deadly state of an author not knowing what to do or where to go except to the bank, as he churns out contract-fulfilling installments of mediocrity. Sorry `bout that!
Book Review: Kellerman just gets worse and worse.....
Summary: 1 Stars
About one third of the way through this book I considered putting it in the "I just can't read this garbage bin". I wanted to give Kellerman another shot; however, there were three more almost visits to the "bin". finally, at page 242 the loud thump of book hitting the wall and into the bin resounded throughout my apartment. When I put this one up for resale, I will list it as "Like new, never finished".Book Review: Compulsion is not compelling
Summary: 2 Stars
Did J.K. get tired of writing this one part way through? Did he realize how much he was reaching to come up with the premise to begin with? Did he have a contract deadline and have to write a book, however bad?
I don't know, but "Compulsion" is not worth the money as far as I am concerned. Cross-dressing, killing for no particular reason sometimes, money sometimes, who know why othertimes, Kellerman's bad guy in this one is someone we don't even get the "joy" of getting to know. He/she is just a paper villain, and we are left at the end, wondering what the heck happened to make this person the way they were. No explanations were given.
The subplot with Robin and a customer who may or may not be starting to stalk her is thin, too.
And, oh, by the way, why don't Robin and Alex get married already?? Or something. Instead of drifting in and out on each other. Commit, you two!
Book Review: Some problems
Summary: 3 Stars
Compulsion is evoking diametrically opposed responses. Some say it's JK's best, some say his worse. I think the answer lies in between. The relationship between Alex and Milo is handled well and it's good to see Milo's assistant, Sean. The relationship between Alex and Robin, which is not to my taste, is here handled very nicely, with a touching coda at the end. The problem with the novel is that the plot is somewhat disjunct in the second act. The beginning is fine and the resolution is fine. It's simply a little difficult to follow in the middle. We need some more signposts--not to tip us off but to keep us clear on the who's who and the possible relationships between people and events. The book is still very readable. It's not perfect, but neither is it awful.Book Review: for shame, jonathan, for shame
Summary: 1 Stars
I've been a fan of Kellerman's work for a long time and have read every single book he's written. I have to say that this is not only the worst Kellerman novel to date, but it's one of the worst books I've read in a long time.
Disjointed, confusing, not suspenseful in the least. There was little to enjoy and even the series distinguised and well-developed stars, Alex and Milo, came across dull and one-dimensional.
The story starts slow and convoluted. With a number of "seemingly" random crimes that are obviously connected yet fail to deliver a compelling backbone to the story. Then there's the other mystery the duo follows involving a death row inmate's deathbed confession. Cliche, obvious, and little more than a distraction to an already dull story.
I was looking forward to this novel after the surprisingly good Obsession but I would not recommend this book, escpecially for anyone discovering Kellerman for the first time. Read some of his earlier works instead. This book was a disappointed.