Customer Reviews

Blood Test (Alex Delaware, No. 2)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Dr. Alex Delaware is still on a high from having successfully solved a series of interlocking mysteries from "As The Bough Breaks." In this installment, set in 1986, Alex must beat the clock to save a 5-year-old boy with treatable cancer.

The boy, Heywood "Woody" Swope appears to be the one normal foil for his reclusive, fruit obsessed parents and hostile 20-year-old sister, Nona. Named for an apple, Annona Blossom Swope is described in almost feral terms.

Matters come to a painful head when Woody is kidnapped from the hospital. The boy's parents and sister also disappear, and Dr. Alex Delaware is immediately in pursuit of this mysterious family.

Dr. Delaware and his long time friend, Officer Milo Sturgis travel down some very seedy and unsavory roads in Southern California. A cult called the Touch is high on the list of suspects. Members of the cult would visit Woody's family in the hospital and were bringing fresh, organic fruits. A doctor who sympathized with the Touch was high on the list of suspects as were a disgruntled male model/escort who worked with Nona at a messenger/escort service.

The clever detective work and the chapters detailing Dr. Delaware's expose of the Touch and their compound, a converted monastery in the fictitious border town of La Vista make for very compelling reading. The theme of bearing fruit is rampant throughout the book and is very effectively used. Dr. Delaware's live in girlfriend, the selfish and tiresome Robin is barely mentioned in this story, which is also good. I never cared for her.

Questions still abound. Where are the Swopes? And what of Woody? How was the Touch involved? And what of the doctors who worked at the hospital where Woody was being treated? A well crafted mystery that will certainly leave a lasting impression.

An excellent read! Once again Jonathon Kellerman has outdone himself. The book has very interesting characters, a fast pacd plot, and suspense. I couldn't put it down.

I'VE READ SEVERAL OF KELLERMAN'S ALEX DELAWARE NOVELS AND HAVE NOT BEEN DISAPPOINTED YET. BLOOD TEST IS NO EXCEPTION. IT GRABS YOUR ATTENTION FROM THE START AND IS DIFFICULT TO PUT DOWN. I DIDN'T WANT IT TO END.

Kellerman is a master of mystery and suspense; he just cannot write a bad book!!!

In this edition of the series, it is a case psychologist Dr Alex Delaware has never encountered before. Five year old Woody Swope is sick, but that is not the REAL problem.

It is his parents.

They refuse to any treatment that could save their child.

Alex embarks on a mission to convince the Swope's-only to discover they have boplted from the hospital-and taken their ill son.

Worse, the motel room where they were staying is empty , except for a shocking bloodstain.

The Swopes and their ill son have disappeared into the corrupt shadows of the city.

Now Alex and his homicide investigator friend Milo have no choice but to pursue them. They have entered a realm where drugs, fantasies, and sex are for sale.

Kellerman has scored another touchdown with this book and those that enjoy suspense with a twist, enter Kellerman's world if u dare.

You immediately realize that this is an early Delaware novel. It seems as if Kellerman was still practicing then. He did not create the convincing characters we can find in his later novels when he wrote this book. And the plot is a little heavy, too. The climax is somewhat forced and improbable and comes before the actual ending, which is too transparent and obvious. We know exactly what is coming. Nevertheless, the book is quite a good read, a simple thriller, not too demanding, and it cannot cope with later novels by Kellerman.

Child abuse, juvenile cancer, drugs, prostitution, and a quasi-religious cult built on perverse notions of sexual liberation make up the plot of Jonathan Kellerman's second novel, Blood Test. Despite the dark subject matter, this second book to feature child psychologist turned part-time criminal investigator Alex Delaware is as well written and enjoyable as the first.

When Alex Delaware agrees to assist a former colleague in convincing an angry family not to remove their cancer-stricken child from hospital care, he quickly discovers that all is not as it appears. When the patient disappears, Alex is quickly swept up in a complex web of conspiracy and deceit ultimately leading to a showdown with a cult guru and a fight to the death with an ax-wielding maniac.

If the plot sounds a tad far-flung, that's because it is. Yet Kellerman's deft first-person narrative style and tight prose tie the various story threads together into a suspense-filled and surprisingly emotional tale about the misuse of power and the unintended effects of so-called victimless crimes. Basically, though the author probably didn't intend this, it's a story about the far-reaching consequences of sin.

As a psychological thriller, Blood Test succeeds. It is exciting and creepy and satisfying. Readers should be aware, however, that it contains rather graphic depictions of the evil acts carried out by some of the characters, including drug use, prostitution, and physical and emotional abuse, along with one very disturbing description of a sex ritual. It should also be noted that Alex Delaware's best friend is gay, though the author primarily uses this very likeable character not to promote a homosexual lifestyle but as a means of exploring prejudice and social injustice.

Though it not a "issue book," Blood Test certainly tackles several issues that are if anything more prevalent today than when the book was written over two decades ago. The disturbing elements of the story may offend some readers, and certainly caution should be exercised in reading, but Alex Delaware's heroism and Kellerman's eminently readable writing make this book worthwhile for those who are able to stomach some of the nastier parts and grasp the story's message that good--at least "good" as seen from a purely secular perspective--ultimately triumphs over evil.

Shakespeare's suggestion regarding the legal profession doesn't fare much better under the early scrutiny of Jonathan Kellerman. He paints the 'good' lawyers as shallow, amoral, money chasing, well dressed bottom dwellers and the bad lawyers . . . . well, far worse.

Here a younger Alex Delaware is asked to address the parents of a 5 year old cancer sufferer whom they are trying to remove from medical care stating that they can treat the child better on their own. Of course the idiocy of the parents lets us know within a chapter that there is a horrid evil lurking close to the surface and indeed there is. Dr. delaware must address murder, sex, evil lawyers and misleading police professionals. But his love for Robyn, who gratefully does not make an appearance here (sorry folks; tired of the super hero having the normal relationship in the face of unspeakable evil) remains unabated, and his closest friend Detective Milo Sturgis, remain anchors for what he must face.

A few sketchy scenes but enough to know that Kellerman and Delaware were going to be moving forces for the next two decades. There is a scene in the last third where Dr. D sneaks into an abandoned house that will leave you on the edge of your seat. And there are a number of twists I never saw coming. Worth the read. 4 stars. Larry Scantlebury

Kellerman takes it, and passes it with ease.

The book is original and ingenious. The solution is very clever and very shocking. He builds a story with characters you care about and events you just can't fathom. He unfolds it gradually, at great pace.

Writing is nothing special as to quiality, but its enjoyable prose and Delaware is a likeable and well drawn characters. Shame not to see Robin again this time round.

Great mystery novel, great solution. Unexpected and shocking, very effective.

This was the 6th Delaware book I read and I am still very impressed. This book is a easy one to read and to understand. It keeps the readers interest threw out the book. This book will entertain your mind to whole way threw. Be prepared to live on no sleep until it is finished.

Blood Test, while a quick read, was an interesting and well-developed book. The plot centers upon a young boy whose parents refuse cancer treatment. Dr. Delaware, the star of several of Kellerman's books, is called in by the treating physician to convince the parents to consent to treatment. Before he can meet with the parents, however, the boy is taken from the hospital. Dr. Delaware's concern with the young boy throws him into an adventure, focused on finding the boy, where he stumbles upon horticultural prowess and cultists that may be more than what they seem. There is less of a psychological twist in Blood test than in some of the other Kellerman books, but plot interest will keep you reading until the end.