A Cold Heart

An Alex Delaware Novel

By: Jonathan Kellerman

Narrated by: John Rubinstein

Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Jonathan Kellerman is a master at creating psychologically nuanced novels of suspense - an author whose name is synonymous with unrelenting action, intriguing plot twists, and penetrating insight into the criminal mind. Now, he ventures into bold, new territory with his biggest and best novel yet. A Cold Heart features Kellerman’s brilliant signature style - but in this tour de force, he mines even deeper the emotional landscape of his characters: psychologist-sleuth Alex Delaware, LAPD Homicide Detective Milo Sturgis, Milo’s colleague Petra Connor, and Alex’s ex-lover, Robin Castagna - bringing them all vividly to life as never before.

"I've got a weird one, so naturally I thought of you," says Milo Sturgis, summoning his friend Alex to the trendy gallery where a promising young artist has been brutally garroted on the night of her first major showing. What makes it "a weird one" is the lack of any obvious motive, and the luridly careful staging of the murder scene - which immediately suggests to Alex not an impulsive crime of passion...but the meticulous and taunting modus operandi of a serial killer.

Delaware's suspicion is borne out when he compares notes with Milo's associate, Petra Connor, and her new partner, a strange, taciturn detective with a past of his own named Eric Stahl. The Hollywood cops are investigating the vicious death of Baby Boy Lee, a noted blues guitarist, fatally stabbed after a late-night set at a local club. What links Baby Boy's murder with that of painter Juliet Kipper is the shadowy presence of an abrasive fanzine writer. This alias-shrouded critic's love-the-art/disdain-the-artist philosophy and his morbid fascination with the murders leads Alex and the detectives to suspect they're facing a new breed of celebrity stalker: one with a fetish for snuffing out rising stars.

Tracking down the killer proves to be maddening, with the twisting trail leading from halfway houses to palatial mansions and from a college campus to the last place Alex ever expected: the doorstep of his ex-lover Robin Castagna, whose business association with two of the victims casts her as an unavoidable player in the unfolding case. As more and more killings are discovered, unraveling the maddening puzzle assumes a chilling new importance - stopping a vicious psychopath who’s made cold-blood murder his chosen art form.

©2003 Jonathan Kellerman (P)2003 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Kellerman has done better ....

I have read (or listened) to almost all of Kellerman's Alex Delaware books and, in general, liked this one BUT would not call it anything like "gripping" or "tense" -- rather simply -- enjoyable and slightly predictable.

One major distraction was the narrators attempts to portray feminine voices - ALL of the women ended up sounding like the were dumb, whiney and helpless (particularly Robin) compared to the men -- NOT the way I imagined them from past readings!

a Cold Heart -- Weird title.

interesting story. liked the addition of these 2 cops. still trying to get used to Rubenstein. but prefer alexander adams. love Milo. still dislike Robin.

A Cold Heart Review

The book just did not keep me interested, I never finished it. I just seem to get lost when reading it.

Warm Hands for A Cold Heart

Fun read brought to life by an excellent narrator. Kellerman's original descriptives of both characters and locales puts you into the story. Plot was not elaborate, and the team of crime fighters had too much fall into their laps - but the story holds you. I think you'll like this book!

Couldn't Finish It

Too much talk and not enough action.

Choose a different book

What's always drawn me to Kellerman's books are first his characters' relationships and second the mystery. This book disappointed on both fronts.

Mostly good

I just finished listening to A Cold Heart and liked it for the most part. It was well read, and the voices for the characters were consistent and the pacing was good. The writing is a bit confusing at first, switching between first person and third person, but once you get used to it, it is ok. I haven't read any of Kellermans and after listening to this one, I am not going to download any more. That being said, it was an interesting serial killer, and a good basic detective story.

Wow, this was not a good one...

Listened to all Delaware books up to this on and this one is easily the worst. From a laughable serial killer, to awkward romance to Grocho Marx voices, this is really a stinker. Miss the old Delaware stories and original narrator. Don't let this be your first book in the series.

It was an okay kellerman novel

I have been a Jonathan kellerman fan for about 20 years. I usually look forward to Milo and Alex getting the job done. I'm tired of Robin and Alex and their relationship. This novel was good. Not a lot of exciting twists and turns but it was all around just good book to listen to while I was busy

Now I do have a problems with the performance. One of the things I look forward to with audiobooks is how the reader presents the different characters. In this one every black American character was made to sound like Amos and Andy or some caricature of a black person. I hated it when that would happen.

When a black person was imitated in this performance, the speech pattern consisted of really ignorant uneducated remarks and a southern drawl that was overly dramatic and amplified ignorant stereotypes.

Pass it by

Not really interesting. Badly read.