Customer Reviews

Obsession (Alex Delaware, No. 21)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

Despite some of the misgivings in the editorial reviews you should not hesitate to buy and read this book. One of Kellerman's hallmarks is his consistency. The only weak character here is Robin and she is ongoing in her weakness. Why would Alex tolerate her betrayals? This is implausible. Plus, she is smarmy, like Spenser's Dr. Silverman. In each case, their dogs are always more interesting characters. Milo is dependably Milo; Petra is a welcome addition to the group in the recent novels, and Alex really gets a chance to play Alex, making concrete psychological judgments and handling a disorder that is of broad human interest.

The plot is complex but intelligible and the ultimate conclusion is satisfying. Handling the exposition and investigation through dialogue is perfectly OK, so long as you like the participants in the dialogue and what's not to like here?

Alex's patient and her physicist boyfriend are both interesting characters and the dysfunctional adults are sufficiently interesting to hold your attention. Jonathan Kellerman's writing seldom tends toward the extremes; his watchword is steadiness and evenness. OBSESSION is fine; go for it.

I've read every Alex Delaware novel Jonathan Kellerman has published and enjoy them for his great Southern California characters as well as the well realized LA settings. Lately I've noticed the books kind of start to fall apart and strain plausibility toward the conclusion. OBSESSION starts to fall apart quite early in the book and as others have said it is hard to suspend disbelief that the LA Police Department would take such an interest in what a respectable dying woman "confesses" with so little detail. And again like another reviewer I find Robin totally annoying and if I was writing the series would have never let Alex take her back.

I've been an avid reader of Kellerman and have always loved the stories with Alex and Milo. I couldn't wait to read this one. But I was bored, couldn't follow all the story lines, confused some of the characters, and to me the most telling thing------I was able to put it down at night and not stay up all night reading.Ha. I finished it but skimmed the last pages to get to the end.

As I think someone else mentioned before me, I can't see any police department taking a young woman seriously when she reports that on her death bed, the mother admitted to a possible crime. And it was a very sketchy crime at best. What criminal investigation teams would have the time to try to research something that "might have happened" in the past? Just doesn't make sense. So that part made me pretty suspicious of the plot. Guess I'm just too logical of a person.

I still like Kellerman's style of writing-usually. And I'll continue to read these books. But I do hope they get better and don't start going down hill from now on. I want to still look forward to the next book, the next story about Alex and Milo, the next "great page turner" that he's famous for writing. Please, Jonathan, take our critiques to heart and be careful so you don't lose your best fans.

Tanya Bigelow was a young girl when she first saw Dr. Alex Delaware for treatment of her obsessive-compulsive behavior (OCD). Tanya's OCD might have been a family trait since her adoptive mother (her biological aunt), Patty Bigelow also suffers from OCD behaviors.

Patty found toddler Tanya on her doorstep in the middle of the night. She had been left by her biological mother, who wanted a better life for her daughter. Later Tanya's mother (Patty's sister) died in a motorcycle accident.

Tanya is nineteen and studying to be a doctor. Her adoptive mother, Patty has recently died from cancer. On her deathbed, Patty confessed to murder and suggests that Tanya seek help from Dr. Delaware.

The people who knew Patty remember her as a hardworking, dedicated E.R. nurse who struggled to raise her child alone. No one who knew Patty could see her as capable of murder. To help Tanya, Dr. Delaware agrees to investigate and enlists the help of LAPD Det. Milo Sturgis and Officer Petra, in the search for a victim of a crime that may not have occurred.

Building on the smallest pieces of information Dr. Delaware, Det. Sturgis and Officer Petra follow a trail that goes from the sleaziest, low-rent districts of Los Angeles, to a mansion of grand proportions. They meet a former porn star turned business woman, addicts, murderers, a psychopath, a vengeful former wife and a thoughtful physics student who has more than a passing interest in Tanya.

All these people are connected to Patty and what happened years ago that could now jeopardize Tanya's safety. Patty was determined to protect her child, even if she has to confess to a crime and protect her from her grave.

Kellerman's Obsession is fast-paced and filled with twists and turns. He intimately examines the darker side of humanity with a deftness that is chilling. The novel is a bit long, but interesting enough to keep you turning the pages.

Armchair Interviews says: Obsession is interesting in that it's not necessarily a whodunit, it's more of a 'did it really happen'? It's worth a read.

This was a disappointing Kellerman novel. It starts off great, although the initial premise of a deathbed quasi-confession setting off this whirlwind investigation strains credulity. However, I agree with the other reviewers who have described the story line as too contrived and convoluted. Too much of the plot wrap up is delivered by someone doing report at police HQ. There are too many characters that are not really developed. The story doesn't unfold with the finesse,depth, and development we come to expect from Kellerman. Even the interactions between Robin and Delaware seemed cliche. Dog, Blanche, was my favorite character in this one!

Fans of Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware novels will be pleased that Obsession features lots of Alex Delaware playing judicious shrink (both to a patient and in solving crimes) and plenty of Milo investigating. For those who don't like Robin, she plays a tiny role in this story.

The story starts off with a very strong premise: A former patient, Tanya Bigelow, wants his help in contacting Milo to get some help in checking out what seems to be a death-bed confession from her adopted mother, Patty, a highly regarded ER nurse. Alex correctly points out that there may be no crime at all, but Tanya wants to know. Tanya becomes Alex's patient again as her obsessive-compulsive tendencies resurface in the wake of becoming an orphan for the second time. Part of the appeal of the story is that you'll be rooting for Tanya throughout. That makes it easier to emotionally relate to the mystery.

The book soon bogs down into an extensive procedural that involves checking out all of the crimes associated with the areas around the places where Patty and Tanya had lived. Very little of this digging turns out to be relevant to solving the Patty mystery . . . but new questions arise as the investigation triggers strong reactions that pull Alex and Milo toward different puzzles. Along the way, you'll meet some pretty unappealing (at best) and disgusting (at worst) characters who will usually surprise you by acting more unpleasantly than you expect. I felt like I needed a long shower with lots of soap to get the filth off me after reading this book.

The characters are either drawn in very simple terms, or stay exactly the same throughout the book, with the exception of Tanya. Thank God for that! Otherwise, you will often feel like you are reading an overly plot-driven novel where the characters don't matter.

If you like intricate plots, you'll feel like you've got a dandy here. For my taste, the plot development seemed like it was overdone. I would have been happier with a simpler plot that moved along faster in a shorter book.

If abnormal psychology is your thing, Obsession is rich in that vein. You'll get keen insights into at least two different types that you probably don't run across every day.

The book's charm is mostly wrapped up in many short sequences involving Blanche, Alex's dog. These sections are fine enough to make you want to see a whole book that revolves around Alex and Blanche.

For those who like intricate plots and adore abnormal psychology, Obsession will be a four- or a five-star book.

Although I have been a longtime fan of the Alex Delaware series, this one is clearly not up to Jonathan Kellerman's previous standards.

The story starts off like it might be quite good, but it quickly goes downhill. There are too many characters that are not well developed. It even gets to the point where it is difficult to keep track of them. Additionally, there are far too many implausible events.

Even the main characters of the series, Dr. Delaware and Detective Sturgis, are not nearly as interesting as normal. Delaware's girlfriend Robin plays such a minor role that it is hard to see why Kellerman even included her in this one.

Along with the problems mentioned above, the author even has some factual errors. One example is where he refers to the 'Black Mountains' of South Dakota. The Black Hills are a well known feature of that state, but I have never once heard them referred to as the 'Black Mountains'. I have no idea where he came up with that one. Perhaps his editor is to blame.

If you have not read any of this series, I would encourage you to avoid this one. Many of the early ones in the series are outstanding. This one is just mediocre.

Obsession by Jonathan Kellerman is the latest of (perhaps too many) books in the Alex Delware series. In this entry, a young woman, Tanya, comes to Alex to ask a favor after the death of her mother. Tanya's mother whispered something about a murder that Tanya wants to get to the bottom of in settling her mother's accounts. Alex and long-time cop friend Milo Sturgis investigate a crime that may not have been, but of course (otherwise there's not much of a book) quickly ends up in slums and mansions and with death at their heels. Kellerman, as always, manages to make LA seem like a small town where every reference and person met converge together in one large conspiracy. This is one of those books that's a bit like Chinese food, great going down, but ultimately not very satisfying. You'll end up craving one of Kellerman's earlier works or perhaps something by Anne Perry. It's kind of sad when the most appealing character in the book is Blanche, Alex and Robin's new dog. I enjoyed reading it, and it kept my interest, but the coincidences are red herrings were just a little too much. Skip this one and go back to the beginning with When the Bough Breaks when Kellerman changed the face of psychological thrillers.

I am an FBI agent. Actually, I'm not, but there is one little moment in Jonathan Kellerman's Obsession when a minor character calls an FBI agent "Mr. Literal", an incident that I found amusing in a way that Kellerman hadn't intended. Unfortunately, there is not much else in this novel that I found really entertaining.

The muddled plot is kicked off by the death (by natural causes) of nurse Patty Bigelow. As she was dying, she gave vague hints of having killed someone at some point in her life. Her niece Tanya (who Patty raised as a daughter) is tormented by this semi-confession, bringing back her obsessive behavior that she had once gone to Alex Delaware for years ago. Now nineteen, she revisits Alex, hoping that he can help her solve the mystery with the assistance of his cop friend Milo Sturgis.

Because Alex loves to meddle in crime solving, he goes way beyond his psychological duty to investigate the possibility that Patty was a killer. Although initially fruitless, something is stirred up and a drug addict Milo and Alex questioned is murdered. They may be no closer to finding out the truth about Patty, but they do unearth other crimes and criminals, including a possible serial killer.

The problems with Obsession are common to many of Kellerman's most recent novels. Besides a plot that seems forced and overly complicated, there isn't much action in this story. Alex - with or without Milo or Petra Connor (another recurring Kellerman character) - just goes from one character to the next and talks. Only at the very end of the story do we get any real action and even that is minimal.

But the bigger problem continues to be Alex himself who continues to be a weak character. This wasn't always the case; in early novels, he was interesting, but now he is almost a non-character. His girlfriend Robin adds nothing of substance to the story and the few hints about his past seem tacked on to simulate depth of character without actually providing it.

There was a time when reading a Jonathan Kellerman book was a real treat, and it is only the hope that he will refind the old magic that keeps me reading him. It hasn't happened with Obsession. There's enough competence in the writing to keep this from being a one-star effort, but this book is unlikely to please any but his least demanding fans.

I am a big Kellerman fan. Actually, the only reason I didn't give up on this book sooner is because he wrote it. What a letdown. The premise to the story was very dumb. A woman on her death bed makes some goofy remark and it sends all these people and all this time on an investigation. Even though nobody really knows what the crime supposedly was. Bad story.