Therapy

An Alex Delaware Novel

By: Jonathan Kellerman

Narrated by: John Rubenstein

Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's Summary

"Been a while since I had me a nice little whodunit," homicide detective Milo Sturgis tells Alex Delaware. But there's definitely nothing nice about the brutal tableau behind the yellow crime-scene tape. On a lonely lover's lane in the hills of Los Angeles, a young couple lies murdered in a car. Each bears a single gunshot wound to the head. The female victim has also been impaled by a metal spike. And that savage stroke of psychopathic fury tells Milo this case will call for more than standard police procedure. As he explains to Delaware, "Now we're veering into your territory."

It is dark territory, indeed. The dead woman remains unidentified and seemingly unknown to everyone. But her companion has a name: Gavin Quick, and his troubled past eventually landed him on a therapist's couch. It's there, on familiar turf, that Delaware hopes to find vital clues. And that means going head-to-head with Dr. Mary Lou Koppel, a popular celebrity psychologist who fiercely guards the privacy of her clients...dead or alive.

But when there's another gruesomely familiar murder, Delaware surmises that his investigation has struck a nerve. As he trolls the twisted wreckage of Quick's tormented last days, what he finds isn't madness, but the cold-blooded method behind it. And as he follows a chain of greed, corruption, and betrayal snaking hideously through the profession he thought he knew, he'll discover territory where even he never dreamed of treading.

As provocative as it is suspenseful, Therapy is premier Kellerman that finds the award-winning author firing on all creative cylinders and carrying readers on an electrifying ride to a place only he can take them, for an experience they won't soon forget.

©2004 Jonathan Kellerman (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"Compassionate, intelligent protagonists, interesting secondary characters (including complex villains), strong plot lines, and clear, unpretentious writing. Kellerman delivers all these once again." (Publishers Weekly)

Fun Listening

It had been awhile since I'd had a good Kellerman book to enjoy. I started this on audio...got so hooked that I bought the $25 hardcover to read on a plane...then went back to audio when I got home.

This was enjoyable and well written. Great mystery and recommended.

A good story with a great reader

Kellerman always writes entertaining stories - some better than others. This was one of his better ones, though a bit on the long side. Milo is another great character, and Alex is 'real'. The plot coincidences were a stretch in places, but all in all, enjoyable.
The reader, Jonathan Rubenstein, is the best audio reader I have ever listened to (and I probably have listened to at least fifty books). His uses his voice, his inflections, intonations, accents - all of it - as if it were an instrument being played by a maestro. I guess it runs in the family, just not the piano!

Therapy needs therapy

I am an avid fan of Jonathan Kellerman and am always the first to praise and recommend his books to my friends. However, this one came across to me as a real bomb. Neither Alex nor Milo had his usual sparkle and their back-and-forths, usually so lively and entertaining, were dull, to say the least. The writing, itself, was not up to par but was better than a lot of writers on their good days. I guess what I objected to most was that the author went on and on about the characters' pasts and maladies rather than advancing the story. The killer identified himself halfway through the book and the rest was merely filling. I would rather read a short, really great book than a long, repetitive one.

I will, of course, listen to more of Mr. Kellerman's books and I'm sorry I felt compelled to write this review but when my favorite author, at least in this genre, fails I had to tell you about it.

Decent book

this was a decent book. not very fast paced ,but decent. and not jonathan's best work either. I found that the process to how Dr. delaware arrived at some of his conclusion to be far fetched and reaching which is why when he turned out to be correct it sort of killed it for me . I was expecting more of a twist to the plot. A bit more natural flow with some logic to it. instead you get these giant leaps , that turn out to be true.

One of his Weaker Books

There are a few good moments in this installment of Alex and Milo's crime solving partnership. Unfortunately there are very few of these and the storyline running through the middle of the work is so long, convoluted and unpleasant that it was a struggle to stick with it. I found this audio long on venom and short on plot with hardly anyone coming off well in the telling. If not for my personal determination to listen to all the Alex Delaware novels I'd have given up on it.

Too much detail

For me, this is a rare case where the abridged version would have been better. The book was just took too long to get to the finale, and I thought there was way too much detail with the dialog.

I would say it would be worth 5 hours of my time, but not 10!

Kellerman strikes again

An interesting begining, good characters, but the usual Kellerman laziness in wraping up the story line. The reader is excellent however.

Bring back Robin!

OK, I liked the book, but I really miss the girlfriend Robin and Spike. While they made a modest appearance in this novel, it wasn't enough. The new chick's OK, but she's no Robin. Kellerman has crafted yet another, "can't wait to see how it finishes" mystery. I found myself driving a bit more slowly as I approached home because I didn't want to stop listening to the story. Milo is very present in this novel and as a result you get to know his character better, although Rick was hardly mentioned. The more I learn about this detective with the big, meaty paws, the more I like him.

Involved

Kellerman involved me in the book Therapy as he habitually does with his stories. Jerry Quick was a particularly well-drawn character. I continue to appreciate the collaboration of Milo and Alex. Sonny provided good interest as did all the dramatis personae. Get absorbed in a good tale.

Up there with Davinci Code

I'm surprised by the overall rating of this book, but I know everyone has different tastes. This book got my attention from the very beginning (usually it take 1 or 2 CD's before the story gets going) and has continued to add new twists and turns with each chapter. I recommend it and am going to request more content by this author.