false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172964217m/233641.jpg 233641 24 Kellerman isn't just an Edgar Award-winning thriller writer, he's a prominent child psychologist, and it shows in <I>Billy Straight</I>. The hero is a 12-year-old runaway whose sharp mind and straitlaced moral sense make him fit to survive the lurid jungles of Hollywood. One night hiding in Griffith Park, Billy witnesses the butchering of Lisa Ramsey, the cokehead ex-wife of Cart Ramsey, a crummy actor-golfer once busted for pummeling Lisa. Did Cart knife Lisa, or was it his pathetic old football sidekick Greg Balch?<p> When O.J. was on trial, Kellerman said, "This wouldn't make a good novel," but some of Kellerman's toughest critics say this funhouse-mirror version of an O.J.-like case is his best, better than his famous Alex Delaware series. Psychologist Dr. Delaware has a bit part here, but the heroine is Detective Petra Connor, his distaff equivalent. Kellerman's main strength is his vivid invention of secondary characters and his skill at juggling subplots. When Petra's media-whore boss puts Billy's police sketch in the paper with a $25,000 reward, two marvelously sub-simian bounty hunters join the chase: a vicious Russian ex-cop and the vile biker boyfriend of Billy's stoned-out, trailer-park mom. <p> Like the kid hero of Russell Banks's <I>Rule of the Bone</I>, Billy enriches his author's customary milieu by viewing it from a new, low angle. The tale is more taut than Kellerman's 1997 bestseller <I>Survival of the Fittest</I> and more riveting than the O.J. case--the cops are smart and justice has a prayer. <I>--Tim Appelo</I> 226288 1978 Billy Straight (Paperback) total:1072|5:198|4:415|3:356|2:82|1:21| 1072 3903 1398 23 3 0 false false Mon Jul 09 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Feb 08 08:38:52 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 08 08:39:11 -0800 2009
]]> 0 0 false false Sat Jan 10 10:24:06 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 10:24:38 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Mon Jan 12 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 16:56:18 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 16:57:25 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Aug 27 13:23:40 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 27 13:23:58 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sun Jan 18 19:01:36 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 19:01:36 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 28 19:00:44 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 19:00:52 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Sep 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 28 09:28:23 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 28 09:32:27 -0700 2008 twice, actually A decent plot with a couple of twists. For the most part, the characters are quit...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 06 20:36:24 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 07 15:03:34 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Wed Jul 30 08:57:42 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 30 08:59:52 -0700 2008 1 0 false false Sun Jun 22 09:51:35 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 22 09:52:39 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Mon Feb 18 18:37:14 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 18 18:38:14 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Wed Jan 23 10:33:17 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 23 10:33:27 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Mon Jul 28 09:18:15 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 28 09:19:30 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Aug 15 11:46:21 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 11:47:25 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Thu Jan 24 22:01:45 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 24 22:02:35 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Sun Aug 05 10:41:04 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 05 10:41:47 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Sun Sep 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 02 07:28:41 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 02 07:29:51 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Tue Sep 30 12:54:32 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 30 12:54:59 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 11 07:27:27 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 11 07:27:58 -0700 2007 0 0 false false Sat Aug 16 06:32:33 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 16 06:32:33 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=233641