Monster (Perfect Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: tardive symptoms, blood walk, many madmen, Rob Ray, Heidi Ott, Derrick Crimmins (more...)

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 394 pages
• Publisher: TIME WARNER PAPERBAC (December 7, 2000)
• ISBN-10: 0316853585
• ISBN-13: 978-0316853583
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (141 customer reviews)

• This is item 13 in The Jonathan Kellerman: Alex Delaware Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book, December 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Monster: A Novel (Hardcover)

I usually grab a Dean Koontz novel and am satisfied, but I read the description of this book and dove right into it. I must say, I didn't think I could fall in love with another novelist!

Usually, I can pick out the bad guys in a mystery. Not in this book. I was surprised right up until the end. I kept this book near my bed, and would read it until I couldn't keep my eyes open.

On another note, I work in the mental health field and Kellerman really did his research. Descriptions of everything from medication types to the behavior of patients with various disorders were extremely accurate. I was also happy that he didn't demonize the mentally ill.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The usual serial killer whodunit., January 9, 2000

By	E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Monster: A Novel (Hardcover)

Kellerman breaks no new ground in his new thriller "Monster". The books starts interestingly enough with our heroes Milo Sturgis and Alex Delaware trying to solve a series of grisly murders. They have a hard time figuring out how the murders are connected and whether or not a pathetic mental patient who has been locked up for many years has some connection to the killings. Milo and Alex are likeable enough, but the book has some big weaknesses. It is too long. The descriptions of the mental hospital/prison (Starkweather) are lengthy and tedious. Every scene is described in exhaustive detail. The middle of the book is slow-moving and the ending is convoluted and not particularly suspenseful. If Kellerman's writing had been tighter, the book would have packed a greater wallop. As it is, my interest waned at least 100 pages before the long-awaited end.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not up to his usual standards, September 26, 2000

By	Old Fisherman "Jim" (Orange, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monster (An Alex Delaware Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

Monster is Ardith Peake. A psychotic, near-vegetable who's been locked up in a maximum security hospital for the last sixteen years. Yet suddenly, the Monster is predicting murders before they occur. Alex Delaware and detective Milo Sturgis must try to unravel a mystery that goes back twenty years or more to the time that Monster wiped out a wealthy family in the small northern community of Treadway. But how does this ancient history tie in to the grisly murders being committed today?

I'm a huge fan of Jonathan Kellerman and especially of his Alex Delaware series. I've read and enjoyed them all but this one seemed to lack the spark of the others. The premise is great and the book starts out strongly, but I didn't feel it was as captivating as some of his earlier Delaware novels. In fact, the end started to drag a bit.

However, all that said, Jonathan Kellerman still is a strong presence in the psychological thriller genre. He can write with authority when he discusses medication side-effects, neuroses, and psychoses since he really is a psychologist himself. All this information may sound boring but it really isn't. It all ties in to the plot and plotting is where he usually excels. I just felt the plot ran out of steam toward the end of the book. Still a good book from a good writer. Head and shoulders above a lot of what passes for mysteries these days.