Victims: An Alex Delaware Novel (Random House Large Print) [Large Print] [Paperback]

Monday, March 19, 2012

Victims: An Alex Delaware Novel (Random House Large Print) [Large Print] [Paperback]

Product Details

Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: Random House Large Print; Lrg edition (February 28, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0739378449
ISBN-13: 978-0739378441
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

By : Jonathan Kellerman
Price : $17.92
You Save : $10.08 (36%)

Customer Reviews

As I have mentioned in previous reviews of Alex Delaware novels, I am a huge fan of Jonathan Kellerman who has been disappointed by the progressive deterioration in the quality of Alex Delaware novels. The nadir was the previous entry Mystery, which had an absurd and unpleasant plot, conventional gore to shock the reader rather than any chills and characters who had become entirely divorced from reality doing predictable shticks--while the author's main concern seems to be keeping alive plot lines from prior books and planned sequels.
I would not have even picked this one up, except it was available on Vine and I retain enough affection or the earlier and non-Delaware books to give it one more try. I am glad I did. From the first line of the book, "This one was different," it promises and delivers a fresh, exciting mystery, and an education to boot.
I don't know what happened to Mr. Kellerman, but Victims is as crisp and elegant as any books in this series. Milo and Alex are real people again, who can surprise you, and who you can imagine might be real. The plot turns on Kellerman's psychological expertise, both in the setting and the minds of the characters. There's gore aplenty, but the chills are honest and psychological, not pornographic. The plot is logical and compelling. The resolution is a surprise, but one that seems inevitable after it is revealed.
All-in-all, a classic mystery from a master. I'm not ready to say it's as good as my favorites, like When the Bough Breaks or Billy Straight, it takes time to make a judgment like that. But at least it's a candidate, and that is a tremendous pleasure. If you are new to Kellerman, start with his classics, but be sure you get to this one. If you are like me and have been disappointed by some recent books, forget your qualms and buy this one. If you loved the recent Alex Delaware's, I don't understand you enough to have any useful recommendations.

Reviewers have been concerned about some of the recent Kellerman novels, believing that JK has stumbled a bit and not been up to his former standard. Not to worry. This is a superb new novel, its success coming from its faithfulness to its core elements.
Those core elements lie in the central conceit: the usefulness of a trained clinical psychologist to a grizzled, gay Robbery/Homicide lieutenant. Alex and Milo seem to be opposites and in many ways they are, but they work together beautifully and almost seamlessly. In Victims we get great dollops of both. This is their case and their story. Robin and her luthier business are far off in the distant background. Puppy dog Blanche makes an appearance or two, but this is not her story either; it's Alex and Milo's.
The plot arc is a sequential investigation--talking to people, checking records, driving from point a to point b, digging up the elusive truth, testing hypotheses, avoiding blind alleys. The body of a middle -aged woman is found. She has been eviscerated in an exotic, violent fashion. Everyone hated her. Suddenly the body of a man is found. He has been eviscerated in the same fashion as the woman. Everyone loved him? What in the world has happened here? And why?
The answers are found in the past and they center on a now-closed hospital for the deeply troubled, including the criminally insane. Alex once interned there and his experience and skills will be of considerable use in the investigation. The hospital also had a `special' wing for `special' treatments. Alex was dissuaded from ever visiting it. Could it still exist, in some form or other?
The investigation is fascinating and the narrative sparkles with great one-liners. I never thought Jonathan Kellerman was gone, but for those who did think so--he's back. And he and Milo are walking down some very mean streets with some very dark inhabitants.