Blood Test (Alex Delaware Novels) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jonathan Kellerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995 | Series: Alex Delaware Novels

It is a case unlike any psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware has ever encountered. Five-year-old Woody Swope is ill, but the real problem is his parents. They refuse to agree to the one treatment that could save this boy's life.

Alex sets out to convince Mr. and Mrs. Swope--only to find that the parents have left the hospital and taken their son with them. Worse, the sleazy motel room where the Swopes were staying is empty--except for the ominous bloodstain. The Swopes and their son have vanished into the sordid shadows of the city.

Now Alex and his friend, homocide detective Milo Sturgis, have no choice but to push the law to the breaking point. They've entered an amoral underworld where drugs, dreams, and sex are all for sale...where fantasies are fulfilled at any price--even at the cost of a young boy's life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dr. Alexander Davenport, a child psychologist in Los Angeles, is called in to evaluate the case of a leukemia patient whose parents want to discontinue chemotherapy. When the boy disappears from the hospital and his parents are found dead, the only leads are the boy's sensual older sister and a holistic-meditative cult called The Touch. Davenport's search for the child takes him to a small town near the Mexican border where he finally unearths the dark secrets kept by the boy's family and the townspeople. He also uncovers drugs and group sex in the commune and survives a few harrowing attempts on his life. (Particularly well-drawn is a failed assassination at the tale's end, which has intriguing mythic echoes.) As in his praised first novel, When the Bough Breaks, Kellerman draws on his experience as a clinical psychologist to enrich and broaden his considerable storytelling talents. Imbued with a vivid sense of place and featuring a strong supporting cast, including Milo Sturgis, Davenport's burly gay detective friend, this second adventure points happily toward an Alex Davenport series. Paperback rights to NAL.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A suspenseful thriller whose solution lies in the darker recesses of the human soul." -- The Wall Street Journal --The Wall Street Journal

"A suspenseful thriller whose solution lies in the darker recesses of the human soul." --The Wall Street Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553569635
• ISBN-13: 978-0553569636
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,103,527 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jonathan Kellerman is one of the world's most popular authors. He has brought his expertise as a clinical psychologist to more than thirty bestselling crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher's Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted,and True Detectives. With his wife, the novelist Faye Kellerman, he co-authored the bestsellers Double Homicide and Capital Crimes. He is the author of numerous essays, short stories, scientific articles, two children's books, and three volumes of psychology, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children, as well as the lavishly illustrated With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and has been nominated for a Shamus Award.

Jonathan and Faye Kellerman live in California and New Mexico. Their four children include the novelist Jesse Kellerman.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FRUITFUL VENTURE, January 29, 2002

By 

BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Blood Test (Alex Delaware Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fastpaced. Couldn't put it down!, April 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Blood Test (Alex Delaware Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN!, September 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Blood Test (Alex Delaware, No. 2) (Paperback)

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.