Amazon.com: Compulsion: Jonathan Kellerman: Books
Compulsion: An Alex Delaware Novel and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more

Buy Used
Used - Very Good See details
$5.98 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
Kindle Edition
 
   
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Compulsion
 
 
Start reading Compulsion: An Alex Delaware Novel on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Compulsion [Unknown Binding]

Jonathan Kellerman (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.



Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed


Product Details

  • Unknown Binding
  • Publisher: Ballantine (2008)
  • ASIN: B001E7LWSM
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,609,586 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

89 Reviews
5 star:
 (14)
4 star:
 (26)
3 star:
 (17)
2 star:
 (18)
1 star:
 (14)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.1 out of 5 stars (89 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars 2008 Installment in the Alex Delaware Crime Series, March 25, 2008
It's early spring, time for Jonathan Kellerman's latest addition to his Alex Delaware crime novel series. For those who don't know Alex is an LA psychologists who often works with LAPD detective Milo Sturgis to solve crimes perpetrated by crazed psychopaths. The strength of these novels is Kellerman's clear crisp writing and his knack for describing LA life (in this latest novel Alex also makes a quick trip to Manhattan) for the poor, the mighty and those in between. The weakness is the preposterous elements of some of his latest plots though this years COMPULSION is actually better than last years really unlikely OBSESSION. Another weakness in many of the latest books in the series is Alex's ever annoying, "perfect", girlfriend, Robin, but thankfully she is off stage for most of this outing. Milo, Alex's gay detective sidekick is a much more interesting and sympathetic character.

The plot of COMPULSION involves a series of disparate murders and the victims include a twenty something shop clerk, a retired school teacher and two beauty salon workers. All these crimes seem to have in common is the murderer arrived in a large dark luxury car and the murders were especially brutal. Will Alex and Milo be able to tie the cases together and solve them with one suspect? Well, what do you think? There is also a subplot about a young boy who has been missing for years and of course our heroes are able to tie that crime up too. COMPULSION is a fast paced very readable novel and Kellerman is a good enough writer that this reader forgives his increasing "by the numbers" approach to plotting.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


50 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre outing -- even JK seems tired of our buddy Alex!, April 13, 2008
By 
Gerald M. Bull "Jerry Bull" (Fairview, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
We've read every single Alex Delaware novel, so are big fans, well-informed about this series. What started out great - the child psychologist by profession who consults with the police; specifically Milo Sturgis, a gay, very interesting, and persistent homicide cop; on murders where the police feel they need a consultant's help - has resolved into little more than two detective buddies, one paid, the other an amateur hardly more skillful than we at surfing the web, chasing clues until typical procedure dissolves into dénouement. Alex joins Milo seemingly whenever he wants (presumably being paid at premium consultants' rates), often as little more than a pastime, not because his skills are pertinent, which is pretty far-fetched in terms of the state of most public budgets! His relationship with live-in girlfriend Robin, always an on-again, off-again, "affair", barely gets a nod herein, with a silly custom musical instrument buyer paying too much attention to her a lame attempt at stalker suspense, resolved equally poorly in our opinion. Meanwhile, the excuse for the plot, a serious of murders involving luxury autos, barely holds our attention, and while we plodded along to see whodunit, we hardly cared by the time we got there.

To us, the series has run its course. While Milo per se is one of the more interesting police characters to come along over the last couple of decades, and while the original premise of Delaware's involvement was novel, there's virtually nothing left to excite or entertain us. It seems to us we're at that deadly state of an author not knowing what to do or where to go except to the bank, as he churns out contract-fulfilling installments of mediocrity. Sorry `bout that!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Compulsion, March 28, 2008
By 
Stephen Morange (California, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I have enjoyed all of Jonathan Kellerman's novel, particularly the ones featuring his Alex Delaware character. Unfortunately, this latest effort stretches the reader's imagination with some particularly convoluted plot logic. We are expected to accept the fact that an internet search for crimes committed with the perpetrator using a large black luxury car should readily yield a common denominator who is then found and brought to justice. No matter that years and continents have separated the victims and the circumstances. I've had many comfortable hours with Jonathan Kellerman's characters and I've been able to excuse most of the plot excesses in the past, but I'm afraid this one is just too much of a stretch.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews











Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ojo Negro, New York, Roland Korvutz, Tony Mancusi, Gordon Beverly, Beth Holloway, Monica Hedges, San Francisco, Ella Mancusi, Shantee Moloney, Sonia Glusevitch, Susan Appel, Santa Barbara, Dale Bright, Sharna Beverly, Barb Bruno, Soraya Hamidpour, West Thirty, Rianna Ijanovic, Bradley Maisonette, Mavis Wembley, Kat Shonsky, Detective Binchy, Light My Fire, Beverly Hills
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums





Look for Similar Items by Category