Time Bomb (Alex Delaware) by Jonathan Kellerman
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Book Reviews of Time Bomb (Alex Delaware)
Book Review: Another winner from Jonathan Kellerman
Summary: 4 Stars
TIME BOMB by Jonathan Kellerman
November 20, 2004
Here's an older Alex Delaware novel originally published in 1990, in which a sniper attacks a schoolyard and Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis are on the case trying to solve the crime. Alex's job is to help out the kids that were exposed to the violence that left the suspected sniper dead, by counseling both the children and their parents.
Meanwhile, the police are stumped as to why a young woman had tried to gun down children at a school, although it was also a coincidence that a local politician, State Assemblyman Samuel Massengil, was scheduled to speak at the school that same day. His political rival, Gordon Latch, also happened to be at the school before the shooting started, and it appears suspicious as to why they were both at the school when only Samuel had been expected to be there.
The mystery soon leads to the young woman's father, who turns out to be an egomaniac. Interviewing the neighbors brings up a young Black American that some say she had been dating, but in any case, had befriended her when she had no other friends. And subsequently, themes such as racism, the KKK and Nazism play central to the mystery of who the sniper was and why she did it.
I've only read a handful of Alex Delaware novels, but I feel this was the most complex of them all. What I like about these books is that although they do have continuity going for them (Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis, as well as some other minor characters, are the constants in these novels), one does not have to read them in order to enjoy them. For those who enjoy a good psychological thriller, TIME BOMB is recommended.
Book Review: Hard to put down.
Summary: 4 Stars
Time Bomb by Jonathan Kellerman is yet another great mystery with Alex and Milo, this time trying to make sense of a shooting at an elementary school. At first the shooter seems an unlikely candidate for the crime, but as Alex attempts to counsel the school's traumatized kids he begins to suspect the shooter was also suffering from the effects of a childhood trauma. When asked by the father to conduct a psychological autopsy he agrees even though there is little hope for the vindication the father is hoping for. He and Milo dig deeper into the senseless crime and discover it's all a lot bigger than it seemed. Old hippies, Nazis, and a narcissist genius, fill the pages along with radicals from the left and right, crooked politicians, fraudulent psychologists and a cop with questionable ethics. This story has something for everyone and a surprise ending that makes you smile.Book Review: the new German American Bund
Summary: 4 Stars
All hell brakes loose, when during a visit of two politicians, a sniper opens fire in a school. None of the children get hurt, but the sniper, a young woman, is killed by the bodyguard of one of the politicians. Alex Delaware is asked to help the children to overcome the stress and trauma. But when his work is being questioned by the two politicians, Alex and Milo are sure that there is a lot more going on then they originally thought.
As always Kellermans book is well constructed with a lot of action and an exciting plot. Friendship, broken relationships and corrupt politicians play a big part in this book. Fascism and rascism give this book a more dark side, with sometimes horrible descriptions and thoughts. You will really start thinking about these themes when you finished this book.
Book Review: Narcissm and modern day Gestapo
Summary: 4 Stars
Crimes committed by misguided souls is a fertile ground for the psychiatrist turned detective, Dr. Alex Delaware. In this particular story he involves himself with modern day Nazis who have the maturity of six year olds and the criminal mind of Count Dracula combined with racism doomed for failure. That's cliche of modern writers, when they depict the evil and it has become repetetively boring. However, the author uses fascinating English, is quite resourceful with words. The most colorful character is the narcistic father of the girl with the rifle in the schoolyard. Was the father in his self absorption and mad obsessions with technology the cause of the ticking timebomb?Book Review: Delaware Takes On The Far Right
Summary: 3 Stars
"Time Bomb" is Jonathon Kellerman's fifth Alex Delaware novel wnd was first published in 1990. Delaware is a psychologist based in LA who earns his living as a consultant - largely working with the courts and the police.
Alex is contacted at the book's beginning by Milo Sturgis, his trusty pet detective from the LAPD. There's been a shooting at the Nathan Hale Elementary School, in Ocean Heights - thankfully none of the children have been hurt. However, Milo feels that it would be a good idea for Alex to come down and help the kids work through the aftermath. The school had been in the news relatively recently : suffering from a siginificant drop in pupil numbers, it had started admitting inner city kids. This has caused a problem for for certain people, as the majority of these kids are Latino - broken windows, racist graffiti on the school walls...even pickets at the school gates. This `problem' has brought two local politicians to the school - State Assemblyman Samuel Massengil and City Councilman Gordon Latch - who had opposing views on the presence of the kids. It's believed that Massengil - who was far from happy about the kids attending the school - may have been the target.
The would-be assassin, a young woman called Holly Lynn Burden, was killed by one of Latch's men. The police can only guess as to who she intended to hurt, though the most ovious target would have been Massengil. This leap has also been made by LAPD's anti-terrorist department, which means that Milo's time on the case is going to be very limited). However, Alex is subsequently given an alternative line of inquiry when he is approached by Holly's father - who is convinced she wouldn't have been capable of acting in this manner. When he accepts, Alex discovers there's more to the race angle than he may have thought...
The book started out from an interesting - and not an entirely implausible - angle, and was pretty enjoyable for quite a while. I've only read two others by Kellerman, and thought - maybe, just maybe - I'd found one of his books that didn't rely on a certain amount of daftness. (Well, as further I got into the book, I realised that wasn't going to happen). The writing is pretty lame at times, too : Kellerman tends to get overdescriptive and labours on what a room looks like, or what somebody is wearing. (In the case of Dr. Linda Overstreet, the school's principal, Alex tends to focus on her long white legs). There's even a fair number of typos and spelling mistakes in the book - well, at least in this edition I have. (Given that the edition I have was printed in 2002 - 12 years after the book was first published - I'd doubt that I'm alone). It's therefore a little funny that Alex criticises a book written by another character - Terry Crevolin - for being 'typos and grammatical errors'. Easily enough read, but no classic.