The fourth in the Delaware series, we meet the affable Alex Delaware, resolute that he should be “…focusing on my patients, determined not to let my own garbage get in the way of work.” Alex D is faced with his most challenging case as yet (couple this with the recent emotional upheaval Delaware is facing, what with his long term girl friend Robin Castagna having left him) - when he is invited to a party he’s reluctant to go to (given the fact that the host is a man he detests - Dr. Paul Kruse, the new head of the University’s Psychology Department and sexologist who believes pornography is a legitimate sexual aid) - where he meets an ex-flame Sharon Ransom (leggy and buxom), who tells him she is seeking his help. Alex evades her, even though she tells him she is bothered by something and needs to confide in him. When he does make up his mind to meet her - he changes it again, leaving her a voice message, wishing her luck.
This is where things take a turn for the worse - Sharon is found dead the next morning, the prima facie evidence declaring it to be a case of suicide. Guilt–ridden, Delaware finds it hard to accept that she could’ve been driven to kill herself because of him. On digging further, he sees a side to Sharon he never thought existed. As he is caught in the web of investigations, he unearths aspects of her life he could not believe-illegal abortion networks, megalomania, doctors and their sexual exploits, academic pretense - just a whole lot of muck, too many sub-plots boggle the reader and a host of “now you see them, now you don’t” characters dot the horizon.
Delaware uncovers an unsavory sex tape of Sharon’s mum, triplets,(or the ‘three twins’ as they are referred to in the book) a journey that shows him the excesses of the rich and the lowdown on a family with some really sordid secrets. Schizophrenic flashbacks spaced over forty years, cold hearted business tycoons, ultra rich and immoral capitalists - boggle the mind. The underlying themes of depravity and sexual violence, murders and abuse unfold a little too frequently for the reader’s liking - making the story more bleak and cynical, and very noirish in approach, the extended plot can be especially trying for the reader.
In defense of the story-line, though, to be fair, the sexual improprieties mentioned – professor and student, then student and clients - have a realistic background. Kenneth Pope (renowned psychologist) in a 1979 survey came to the conclusion that 25% female graduates (then) had sexual contact/relations with their academic supervisors (professors, in most cases). Ofcourse the kind described in the book, lack believability only because they are so far-fetched.
Another big disappointment is the ‘lack of Milo’ in the book, he’s in and out of scenes only to raid the fridge and drop one liners. Missed him in this one! In fact the book is more about AD and his life - before his years of active sleuthing got the better of him! We get an insight into the man, as opposed to Delaware, forensic psychologist. The book has also been adapted as a graphic novel in 2012, scripted by Ande Parks (Union Station & Capote in Kansas), illustrated by Michael Gaydos, whose repertoire precedes him - Marvel and DC Comics. Not Kellerman’s best, yet.
+-+Authored+by+Jonathan+Kellerman.jpg)
This is where things take a turn for the worse - Sharon is found dead the next morning, the prima facie evidence declaring it to be a case of suicide. Guilt–ridden, Delaware finds it hard to accept that she could’ve been driven to kill herself because of him. On digging further, he sees a side to Sharon he never thought existed. As he is caught in the web of investigations, he unearths aspects of her life he could not believe-illegal abortion networks, megalomania, doctors and their sexual exploits, academic pretense - just a whole lot of muck, too many sub-plots boggle the reader and a host of “now you see them, now you don’t” characters dot the horizon.
Delaware uncovers an unsavory sex tape of Sharon’s mum, triplets,(or the ‘three twins’ as they are referred to in the book) a journey that shows him the excesses of the rich and the lowdown on a family with some really sordid secrets. Schizophrenic flashbacks spaced over forty years, cold hearted business tycoons, ultra rich and immoral capitalists - boggle the mind. The underlying themes of depravity and sexual violence, murders and abuse unfold a little too frequently for the reader’s liking - making the story more bleak and cynical, and very noirish in approach, the extended plot can be especially trying for the reader.
In defense of the story-line, though, to be fair, the sexual improprieties mentioned – professor and student, then student and clients - have a realistic background. Kenneth Pope (renowned psychologist) in a 1979 survey came to the conclusion that 25% female graduates (then) had sexual contact/relations with their academic supervisors (professors, in most cases). Ofcourse the kind described in the book, lack believability only because they are so far-fetched.
Another big disappointment is the ‘lack of Milo’ in the book, he’s in and out of scenes only to raid the fridge and drop one liners. Missed him in this one! In fact the book is more about AD and his life - before his years of active sleuthing got the better of him! We get an insight into the man, as opposed to Delaware, forensic psychologist. The book has also been adapted as a graphic novel in 2012, scripted by Ande Parks (Union Station & Capote in Kansas), illustrated by Michael Gaydos, whose repertoire precedes him - Marvel and DC Comics. Not Kellerman’s best, yet.
+-+Authored+by+Jonathan+Kellerman.jpg)
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