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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Alex Delaware novel -- what else do you need to know?,
By Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: A Cold Heart: An Alex Delaware Novel (Hardcover)
Jonathan Kellerman has written yet another page-turner mystery thriller centered around psychologist Alexander Delaware. As usual, Kellerman vividly draws the cast of supporting characters and, as might be expected from an author who is also a psychologist himself, his depictions of \ interactions between the characters abound with rich detail. In the present novel, A Cold Heart, musicians and artists are being murdered, but are the possible connections between the crimes only illusions of coincidence or is a serial killer at work?Kellerman has taken pains over the past several years to ensure that this series of novels do not merely travel along in a comfortable rut. In Billy Straight Kellerman abandoned his usual first person narrative through the eyes of Delaware to use a third person voice to tell his story from the perspectives of his title character, a runaway boy, and of Petra Connor, a police detective. In that novel, Delaware was relegated to a minor role. More recently in The Murder Book Kellerman mixed his usual first person Delaware narrative with a third person voice from the viewpoint of Milo Sturgis, Delawares police detective friend. The author extends this technique in his latest novel, this time blending Delawares narrative with third person chapters primarily centered on Petra Connor, but occasionally switching to a broader viewpoint to depict other activities. Sporadically, the reader may become confused as to exactly who knows what at any given time, since there are multiple, overlapping investigations in progress, but eventually matters clarify on the way to a dramatic climax. There is another carryover from recent novels, too. Delawares relationship with his longtime live-in lover, Robin Castagna, has become increasingly strained and in A Cold Heart this storyline is carried forward against a crime background that this time affects Robin directly, through her connections to the music world. I enthusiastically recommend this novel to confirmed fans of Kellermans Delaware novels, but because of plot elements that continue and develop through the series, I suggest readers new to Kellerman start with earlier books in the series and work their way forward.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fast moving again.,
By A Customer
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: A Cold Heart: An Alex Delaware Novel (Hardcover)
The style of A Cold Heart brought back memories of Billy Straight which was the book that got me hooked on Jonathan Kellerman. I last read The Murder Book and was disappointed with its plodding style but not with this one. The sharp, quick action moves along at good clip and yet still adds descriptions which create vivid pictures in the mind. This story brings together all the characters in the other books and weaves them around a case which is solved by their cooperative work. I finished it in two sittings and was sorry it was over. This is my idea of a good read. I am glad there is a new love interest for Delaware finally. The on again, off again business with Robin was getting very boring. I look forward now to what ever comes next. Thanks, Mr. Kellerman for a good story, well told.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kellerman has produced another winner!,
By Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Cold Heart: An Alex Delaware Novel (Hardcover)
One of the most intriguing and attractive elements of Jonathan Kellerman's novels concerning psychologist Alex Delaware is Kellerman's willingness to change --- dramatically --- the elements of his characters' lives. While Kellerman's latest novel, A COLD HEART, begins somewhat violently, the mystery behind a series of murders occurring apparently at random is balanced nicely by the interplay between Delaware, his gradually burgeoning relationship with Allison Gwynn and his resolution of his feelings toward Robin Castagna, his ex-lover. It's hard to overemphasize how important this is, or how masterfully Kellerman accomplishes it. Leave out the potentially explosive chemistry of the relationships and what would be left is an unrelentingly grim novel about a mysterious serial killer; focus too much on the relationships and one risks wandering involuntarily into ripped bodice territory. Kellerman makes the story of one as interesting as the other and very neatly brings them together at the denouement.A COLD HEART begins with the murder of Baby Boy Lee, a legendary blues guitarist with a cult following who is attempting to make a final grab at larger fame and fortune, when he is mysteriously murdered during a cigarette break while playing a gig. When an up-and-coming painter and a promising concert pianist are also murdered shortly thereafter, it appears as if someone is marking performance artists for death. The victims however appear to otherwise be unrelated and, when the unsolved prior murders of a punk rock singer and a ballet dancer also seem to be related, the motive and the individual behind the murders become even more mysterious. Delaware, along with police detective Milo Sturgis and Sturgis's colleague Petra Connor, approach the investigation from different angles, all working gradually toward the same goal, with Delaware and Connor working through their own personal problems as well. No one is more surprised than Delaware, however, when he discovers that the solution to the investigation lies with him, personally. The result is a chase that ends, if not at Delaware's front door, somewhere close to it. Yet, A COLD HEART is ultimately hijacked by the introduction of a new character. Petra Connor is assigned a new partner, an enigmatic question mark named Eric Stahl. Stahl appears to be lacking emotion, warmth and personality, but as the reader begins to learn through bits and pieces sparingly fed by Kellerman, there is far, far more to Stahl than would otherwise be indicated. The truth is far more interesting --- and tragic --- than one would suspect. Stahl plays an important part in the ultimate resolution of A COLD HEART and it would not be surprising at all if he should someday be the leading protagonist in another of Kellerman's volumes. He is too strong and too interesting a character to continue to play a secondary role. Kellerman demonstrates in A COLD HEART that he is unafraid to bring changes and growth to his characters and in fact seems to relish the challenges that such changes bring to his work. In A COLD HEART he has wisely made Delaware more involved in the action and less of a mere observer. This is a pattern that hopefully will continue in future Delaware novels, even as the characters continue to change and grow. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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