Finished reading Compulsion by Jonathan Kellerman. This is the 22nd novel in the Alex Delaware series, about a child psychologist who had been enlisted to help the LAPD by his friend Milo Sturgis. One would think that a series 22 books in by the same author would get old and repetitive? Not the case at all! The characters have been been being developed over the years in a masterful style that keeps you not only interested in the characters but feverishly tearing through the pages to see what happens.
In Compulsion, a murderer is apparently randomly killing people while using expensive cars. It’s very vague and the evidence linking everything together doesn’t give any idea of a suspect and barely ties the cases together. Milo and Alex of course find the thread curious enough to follow and it leads them to a great end that ties everything together. As the investigation continues the body count starts to add up with ‘possibly’ other murders being connected to this one. When the end comes though there is no dues ex here and the hints actually allow you to get an idea of who the killer is before the final act comes to a close. My main fault with Kellerman’s previous novels is that I could barely guess ahead of time who the murderer is and this time we have suspects which end up giving you the ability to think it through. (Not a real fault as I’m obviously addicted to the books being 22 in and still buying them! You usually get enough of a hint 3/4th of the way through but this is the first that you could start making serious guesses 1/4th in.) The problem with writing on any murder/mystery is you can’t really go into details without starting to give away key ones and I know at least 2 of the people who follow this blog are fans of the series.
The subplot in the novel felt a bit under developed and there was low character development between Alex and woman he loves (Robin) however you do get so sucked in by the main plot that these are really much room for the usual subplots to get fleshed out. More than worth picking up if you follow the series. If you don’t, do yourself a favor: Buy the first one and read through it!
Facebook
Twitter
Linked In