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Alex Delaware #27
Victims
“With his latest, [Jonathan Kellerman] not only brings his ‘A’ game but also ratchets it up a notch or three. . . . Victims will keep you up at night.”—Bookreporter Acid-tongued Vita Berlin hadn’t a friend in the world, but whom did she cross so badly as to end up meticulously arranged in such a gruesome murder scene? One look prompts LAPD detective Milo Sturgis to summon his expert in homicidal maniacs, Alex Delaware. But even Alex is stymied when more slayings occur in the same ghastly fashion—with no apparent connection among the victims. And the only clue left behind—a blank page bearing a question mark—seems to be both a menacing taunt and a chilling cry for help from a tortured, savage soul. To end the bloody spree and prevent citywide panic, Alex navigates the secretive world of mental health treatment, from the sleek office of a Beverly Hills therapist to a shuttered mental institution where he once learned his craft. As each jagged piece of the puzzle fits into place, a portrait emerges of a sinister mind at its most unimaginable—and an evil soul at its most This edition includes an excerpt from Jonathan Kellerman's Guilt. “Expertly crafted, judiciously paced and echoing with larger social concerns.”—The Star-Ledger “The combination of Alex Delaware [and] Detective Milo Sturgis . . . makes for the most original whodunit duo since Watson and Holmes.”—ForbesIncludes an excerpt of Jonathan Kellerman’s Guilt.
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 28, 2012
1418 people are currently reading
5429 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Kellerman
308 books5,710 followersJonathan Kellerman was born in New York City in 1949 and grew up in Los Angeles. He helped work his way through UCLA as an editorial cartoonist, columnist, editor and freelance musician. As a senior, at the age of 22, he won a Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award for fiction.
Like his fictional protagonist, Alex Delaware, Jonathan received at Ph.D. in psychology at the age of 24, with a specialty in the treatment of children. He served internships in clinical psychology and pediatric psychology at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles and was a post-doctoral HEW Fellow in Psychology and Human Development at CHLA.
IN 1975, Jonathan was asked by the hospital to conduct research into the psychological effects of extreme isolation (plastic bubble units) on children with cancer, and to coordinate care for these kids and their families. The success of that venture led to the establishment, in 1977 of the Psychosocial Program, Division of Oncology, the first comprehensive approach to the emotional aspects of pediatric cancer anywhere in the world. Jonathan was asked to be founding director and, along with his team, published extensively in the area of behavioral medicine. Decades later, the program, under the tutelage of one of Jonathan's former students, continues to break ground.
Jonathan's first published book was a medical text, PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER, 1980. One year later, came a book for parents, HELPING THE FEARFUL CHILD.
In 1985, Jonathan's first novel, WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS, was published to enormous critical and commercial success and became a New York Times bestseller. BOUGH was also produced as a t.v. movie and won the Edgar Allan Poe and Anthony Boucher Awards for Best First Novel. Since then, Jonathan has published a best-selling crime novel every year, and occasionally, two a year. In addition, he has written and illustrated two books for children and a nonfiction volume on childhood violence, SAVAGE SPAWN (1999.) Though no longer active as a psychotherapist, he is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Psychology at University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.
Jonathan is married to bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman and they have four children.
Like his fictional protagonist, Alex Delaware, Jonathan received at Ph.D. in psychology at the age of 24, with a specialty in the treatment of children. He served internships in clinical psychology and pediatric psychology at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles and was a post-doctoral HEW Fellow in Psychology and Human Development at CHLA.
IN 1975, Jonathan was asked by the hospital to conduct research into the psychological effects of extreme isolation (plastic bubble units) on children with cancer, and to coordinate care for these kids and their families. The success of that venture led to the establishment, in 1977 of the Psychosocial Program, Division of Oncology, the first comprehensive approach to the emotional aspects of pediatric cancer anywhere in the world. Jonathan was asked to be founding director and, along with his team, published extensively in the area of behavioral medicine. Decades later, the program, under the tutelage of one of Jonathan's former students, continues to break ground.
Jonathan's first published book was a medical text, PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER, 1980. One year later, came a book for parents, HELPING THE FEARFUL CHILD.
In 1985, Jonathan's first novel, WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS, was published to enormous critical and commercial success and became a New York Times bestseller. BOUGH was also produced as a t.v. movie and won the Edgar Allan Poe and Anthony Boucher Awards for Best First Novel. Since then, Jonathan has published a best-selling crime novel every year, and occasionally, two a year. In addition, he has written and illustrated two books for children and a nonfiction volume on childhood violence, SAVAGE SPAWN (1999.) Though no longer active as a psychotherapist, he is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Psychology at University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.
Jonathan is married to bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman and they have four children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,049 reviews
January 26, 2020
I have read books off and on in this long running series. I have not read them in any particular order; most books work well as a stand-a-lone book.
Our protagonist is Alex Delaware, a child psychiatrist who is a LAPD homicide consultant. He primarily works with Detective Milo Sturgis. This story deals with a serial killer, in fact, two serial killers working together. The victims and killers came in contact with each other at the now defunct Ventura State Hospital. Sturgis and Delaware are under pressure as the bodies pile up.
The book is well written. The characters are interesting. I have the feeling that the story at times is sort of melodramatic. I was given this book by a friend, otherwise, I probably would not have read it. I am so tired of stories about serial killers.
I read this as a paperback book published in 2012 by Ballantine Books. The book is 419 pages.
Our protagonist is Alex Delaware, a child psychiatrist who is a LAPD homicide consultant. He primarily works with Detective Milo Sturgis. This story deals with a serial killer, in fact, two serial killers working together. The victims and killers came in contact with each other at the now defunct Ventura State Hospital. Sturgis and Delaware are under pressure as the bodies pile up.
The book is well written. The characters are interesting. I have the feeling that the story at times is sort of melodramatic. I was given this book by a friend, otherwise, I probably would not have read it. I am so tired of stories about serial killers.
I read this as a paperback book published in 2012 by Ballantine Books. The book is 419 pages.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2014
When a shrewish, combative woman named Vita Verlin is murdered, L.A. homicide detective Milo Sturgis is called to the scene. When he sees that the victim has been ritualistically disemboweled, he calls in his friend, psychologist Alex Delaware, to consult. Alex and Milo have been working together through twenty-seven books, spanning a period of nearly thirty years, and this is the most gruesome case they've ever seen.
There's certainly no shortage of suspects. The victim apparently didn't have a friend in the world and alienated virtually everyone with whom she came in contact with, from her own psychiatrist, to her landlord and even to the people she casually encountered at the local diner.
Initially, the challenge seems to be simply sorting through the people the woman had offended and coming up with the one who hated her enough to have killed her so savagely. But then another victim is killed, obviously by the same person, and this victim is the polar opposite of Verlin. He's the nicest guy on the planet, and everyone loved him.
Of course, this complicates matters enormously, and unfortunately, as the body count keeps rising, the clues do not. This is a very careful, systematic killer, who's leaving virtually nothing behind that will serve as evidence, save for an enigmatic taunt that he or she leaves at each crime scene.
I've been a bit disappointed with some of the later books in this series in which Alex simply tags along with Milo when there's no real apparent reason for him to be involved in the case. Here, however, it seems clear that the means to finding the killer is through the psychology involved in the case and, as in the earlier books, Delaware actually has a believable and useful role to play. As a result, this book is much more fun to read and turns into an intricate puzzle that only someone as talented as Alex Delaware will ever be able to solve.
There's certainly no shortage of suspects. The victim apparently didn't have a friend in the world and alienated virtually everyone with whom she came in contact with, from her own psychiatrist, to her landlord and even to the people she casually encountered at the local diner.
Initially, the challenge seems to be simply sorting through the people the woman had offended and coming up with the one who hated her enough to have killed her so savagely. But then another victim is killed, obviously by the same person, and this victim is the polar opposite of Verlin. He's the nicest guy on the planet, and everyone loved him.
Of course, this complicates matters enormously, and unfortunately, as the body count keeps rising, the clues do not. This is a very careful, systematic killer, who's leaving virtually nothing behind that will serve as evidence, save for an enigmatic taunt that he or she leaves at each crime scene.
I've been a bit disappointed with some of the later books in this series in which Alex simply tags along with Milo when there's no real apparent reason for him to be involved in the case. Here, however, it seems clear that the means to finding the killer is through the psychology involved in the case and, as in the earlier books, Delaware actually has a believable and useful role to play. As a result, this book is much more fun to read and turns into an intricate puzzle that only someone as talented as Alex Delaware will ever be able to solve.
February 27, 2023
This one was a notch above the last Alex Delaware book I read, Deception, but all that means is that it met my expectations. Man, how does Jonathan Kellerman bore me so much?
In this one, a fifty-something woman is found horribly dismembered in her apartment - Jack the Ripper style. Milo and Alex team up again to figure out who's behind the murder. Then another victim is found, just as mutilated as the first. Then another. Then another...
There was so much potential in this one to be capital-g Good, but there was never any tension! Milo makes fun of his boss; Alex is deadpan as always (but laughs politely at Milo's wisecracks). There were a couple of good interviews where my interest was piqued, but Kellerman just doesn't sustain it from one chapter to the next.
I stepped away from Jonathan Kellerman for a long time, and I'm starting to remember why.
In this one, a fifty-something woman is found horribly dismembered in her apartment - Jack the Ripper style. Milo and Alex team up again to figure out who's behind the murder. Then another victim is found, just as mutilated as the first. Then another. Then another...
There was so much potential in this one to be capital-g Good, but there was never any tension! Milo makes fun of his boss; Alex is deadpan as always (but laughs politely at Milo's wisecracks). There were a couple of good interviews where my interest was piqued, but Kellerman just doesn't sustain it from one chapter to the next.
I stepped away from Jonathan Kellerman for a long time, and I'm starting to remember why.
August 3, 2012
Alex Delaware is in for a particularly gruesome ride in this, the latest thriller from Jonathan Kellerman.
As bodies keep turning up, all laid out neatly, tidily, but extremely dead, the only clue is an almost blank sheet of paper, and in the middle is a question mark... ? ...
Detective Milo Sturgis has seen it all, or so he thought. The clock is ticking, the clues are few, and the bodies are mounting. Alex, criminal psychologist, and charged with helping the police read those clues, wonders if this time he’s out of his depth. But those finely honed skills keep working, drawing on his knowledge, and the evil depths of the criminal minds. Haunting him, both day and night, his dreams are dark and dreadful.
Thinking back to when Alex was a medical student, he feels there might be a link there? Can he work out what it is? Can Milo and his team, along with Alex and his skills, his intuition, solve the crime and stop the brutal murders before there are more?
A wonderful, page turning thriller, full of psychological suspense, and brilliant entertainment. Highly recommended.
As bodies keep turning up, all laid out neatly, tidily, but extremely dead, the only clue is an almost blank sheet of paper, and in the middle is a question mark... ? ...
Detective Milo Sturgis has seen it all, or so he thought. The clock is ticking, the clues are few, and the bodies are mounting. Alex, criminal psychologist, and charged with helping the police read those clues, wonders if this time he’s out of his depth. But those finely honed skills keep working, drawing on his knowledge, and the evil depths of the criminal minds. Haunting him, both day and night, his dreams are dark and dreadful.
Thinking back to when Alex was a medical student, he feels there might be a link there? Can he work out what it is? Can Milo and his team, along with Alex and his skills, his intuition, solve the crime and stop the brutal murders before there are more?
A wonderful, page turning thriller, full of psychological suspense, and brilliant entertainment. Highly recommended.
July 29, 2012
**SPOILER ALERT**
While just as riveting as some of his others-- the crime details that is -- this one falls flat for the aspects that are not concerned with the crime(s). For those of us dedicated to the series, there are unanswered questions. Are Milo and Rick no longer together? Why was Rick so obviously absent? Just a passing reference to his name and "surgery" in general. Milo makes a sandwich from ingredients that would have not been present in their refrigerator if Rick had been living with him. No mention of Milos' being gay. No, it's not important to the story, but it is to the series and to those of us who "know" him.
Re Robin & Alex... too light, though okay. I wonder how this reads for new readers. I don't think there was mention of how Robin refurbishes band instruments (which I think is a really unique skill to give to a character).
And about the **victims** in the book. The beginning held me close, but I have to say that as Alex (more than Milo) got closer to discovering the connections, history and identities of everyone involved, the prose became boring. it was more like reading "the file" than being entertained by the story. It is as if the story was so complex (it was) that it needed long passages of explanation -- not because the reader is stupid -- but because all the stuff Kellerman had in his head had not made it into the text.
The victims of the book (and there are plenty of them) eventually lose specificity. The first victim is drawn big and bold, with a supporting history and other ancillary (and ultimately connecting) co-characters -- all of which make the reader like/love/hate her. The 2nd-4th victims begin to blur. There are pets thrown in for good emotional measure, and in the end there is some redemption for some victims and survivors. Not formulaic, but predictable. The horror involved in the commissions of the crimes is soon diluted by predictability.
I liked this one. I might recommend it if asked by a fan of the series. I would NOT recommend it to a person first taking on the Delaware books. Another reviewer here asked "who is Alex Delaware?" I have to agree that there is too little personality in all the characters to generate a real interest. Again, more like a procedural or a psych report, it was reportage more than tale-spinning.
**SPOILER ALERT** I think JK came up later with and then added a co-conspirator. It didn't feel natural or inevitable. I think the story would have been stronger if the bad guy had masterminded all of it alone -- He certainly had enough time and practice. By adding a sponsor/guardian to the equation, Grant is reduced to an accidental criminal (another victim). If JK is making a point here about the failure of "the system" to care for people when signs of insanity are first emerging, and if he is trying to advertise the existence and damage caused by incompetents in the medical and psych fields, I wish he would do it in nonfiction. For this, a crime story of major magnitude, let's keep it real and gritty.***
But I did like it, and I am glad I got it and I can't wait for the next one because I am optimistic that JK will come back down to earth and write a thriller not a treatise.
An aside: It occurs to me when I read Kellerman and Grisham (lately) that popular writers who have gained much popularity and financial success seem to strut their stuff in their books. Naming designer labels and the prices of clothing and "possessions" is frequent. Trips taken by the characters (in this book through the Panama Canal) are not the vacations of the average book buyer. I get the feeling, though I have no proof of this, that the writers are flaunting the knowledge they have acquired by their own experiences. And there is nothing wrong with writing about things and travels that the average reader will not acquire. However, I think there is a problem with it when the majority characters in the book are also "average." In the above example, a retired psych recounts his former riches, travels, cars and houses. I felt as if Kellerman invented that character to talk about what HE owns, what he does and what he values. I am not sure there is anything inherently wrong with that, but it's sort of like an intrusion.
I have felt the same way about Grisham's novels for years. That does not detract from a good story, nor does it enhance a poor one, but it is abrupt in the reading and sort of causes a displacement from the people in the book. Yes there are rich lawyers in Clanton and in L.A., but the people that we care about (in the stories) seldom get to experience life on that side of the tracks.
So, it's a rhetorical complaint. There is nothing wrong with showing a contrast between characters' lots in life, and that's a good device to accentuate the "downtrodden" aspect of the victimized, I'm just saying that there is some sense of its being "added on," like an extra-rich frosting to a creation that would stand quite well on its own basic ingredients. We KNOW the lawyers and doctors and psychs are wealthier than most of their clients. We KNOW the old saw about police being terribly underpaid. I am questioning why the writers go so far to separate the high from the lower economic characters. It feels like the writer is separating himself from "those people," regardless of how benevolently he seems to treat them in the text. For the perpetrators of terrible things, as in Kellerman's **Victims** there is the requisite story of the abandoned and befuddled pre-adolescent whose life went whacko and pushed him into insanity. That's what we need to know about in detail. The other is filler.
While just as riveting as some of his others-- the crime details that is -- this one falls flat for the aspects that are not concerned with the crime(s). For those of us dedicated to the series, there are unanswered questions. Are Milo and Rick no longer together? Why was Rick so obviously absent? Just a passing reference to his name and "surgery" in general. Milo makes a sandwich from ingredients that would have not been present in their refrigerator if Rick had been living with him. No mention of Milos' being gay. No, it's not important to the story, but it is to the series and to those of us who "know" him.
Re Robin & Alex... too light, though okay. I wonder how this reads for new readers. I don't think there was mention of how Robin refurbishes band instruments (which I think is a really unique skill to give to a character).
And about the **victims** in the book. The beginning held me close, but I have to say that as Alex (more than Milo) got closer to discovering the connections, history and identities of everyone involved, the prose became boring. it was more like reading "the file" than being entertained by the story. It is as if the story was so complex (it was) that it needed long passages of explanation -- not because the reader is stupid -- but because all the stuff Kellerman had in his head had not made it into the text.
The victims of the book (and there are plenty of them) eventually lose specificity. The first victim is drawn big and bold, with a supporting history and other ancillary (and ultimately connecting) co-characters -- all of which make the reader like/love/hate her. The 2nd-4th victims begin to blur. There are pets thrown in for good emotional measure, and in the end there is some redemption for some victims and survivors. Not formulaic, but predictable. The horror involved in the commissions of the crimes is soon diluted by predictability.
I liked this one. I might recommend it if asked by a fan of the series. I would NOT recommend it to a person first taking on the Delaware books. Another reviewer here asked "who is Alex Delaware?" I have to agree that there is too little personality in all the characters to generate a real interest. Again, more like a procedural or a psych report, it was reportage more than tale-spinning.
**SPOILER ALERT** I think JK came up later with and then added a co-conspirator. It didn't feel natural or inevitable. I think the story would have been stronger if the bad guy had masterminded all of it alone -- He certainly had enough time and practice. By adding a sponsor/guardian to the equation, Grant is reduced to an accidental criminal (another victim). If JK is making a point here about the failure of "the system" to care for people when signs of insanity are first emerging, and if he is trying to advertise the existence and damage caused by incompetents in the medical and psych fields, I wish he would do it in nonfiction. For this, a crime story of major magnitude, let's keep it real and gritty.***
But I did like it, and I am glad I got it and I can't wait for the next one because I am optimistic that JK will come back down to earth and write a thriller not a treatise.
An aside: It occurs to me when I read Kellerman and Grisham (lately) that popular writers who have gained much popularity and financial success seem to strut their stuff in their books. Naming designer labels and the prices of clothing and "possessions" is frequent. Trips taken by the characters (in this book through the Panama Canal) are not the vacations of the average book buyer. I get the feeling, though I have no proof of this, that the writers are flaunting the knowledge they have acquired by their own experiences. And there is nothing wrong with writing about things and travels that the average reader will not acquire. However, I think there is a problem with it when the majority characters in the book are also "average." In the above example, a retired psych recounts his former riches, travels, cars and houses. I felt as if Kellerman invented that character to talk about what HE owns, what he does and what he values. I am not sure there is anything inherently wrong with that, but it's sort of like an intrusion.
I have felt the same way about Grisham's novels for years. That does not detract from a good story, nor does it enhance a poor one, but it is abrupt in the reading and sort of causes a displacement from the people in the book. Yes there are rich lawyers in Clanton and in L.A., but the people that we care about (in the stories) seldom get to experience life on that side of the tracks.
So, it's a rhetorical complaint. There is nothing wrong with showing a contrast between characters' lots in life, and that's a good device to accentuate the "downtrodden" aspect of the victimized, I'm just saying that there is some sense of its being "added on," like an extra-rich frosting to a creation that would stand quite well on its own basic ingredients. We KNOW the lawyers and doctors and psychs are wealthier than most of their clients. We KNOW the old saw about police being terribly underpaid. I am questioning why the writers go so far to separate the high from the lower economic characters. It feels like the writer is separating himself from "those people," regardless of how benevolently he seems to treat them in the text. For the perpetrators of terrible things, as in Kellerman's **Victims** there is the requisite story of the abandoned and befuddled pre-adolescent whose life went whacko and pushed him into insanity. That's what we need to know about in detail. The other is filler.
August 13, 2012
I like Jonathan Kellerman books; I have read most of them (I believe this is #27 in the Alex Delaware series). It is with regret that I cannot give this one an effusively enthusiastic review. I read a couple other reviews where readers said things like "Kellerman must HATE Dr. Delaware and gay LA Police Detective, Milo, by now, but I still like them" and a review that suggested that Kellerman just phones them in now. I love the L.A. locations (because I live there now)but I did not find this novel to be an enthusiastic study of his beloved characters. The plot was far out--and I like that--but I wasn't feeling it. As an example of the issues, the dialogue between cliche characters, the security guard at the subdivision for rich people, who doesn't want to be seen talking to the real policeman (who cannot color-match his clothing) is quite tedious. The security guard wishes he was a policeman so he's a little bit insecure, while denying the fact that any crime could ever occur on his watch because they have such good security. Meanwhile, the reader suspects that the serial killers are lurking nearby. This scene causes the reader to daydream about what to read next while he is reading here. Yawn.
One other reviewer complained he didn't like reading about Dr. Delaware and his relationship with his woodworker girlfriend (or wife, I forget if they're married now) and dog. Well, I did not notice any description whatever about this relationship. He may have mentioned having dinner together once. I would like more intimate details of the family relationship and tender feelings; this would serve to make the story believable. I suggest a scene where Delaware sits and cries while he rinses blood off his hands in his koi pond while his bulldog barks and growls behind him, then he turns around and catches Milo stroking his penis through his new gabardine trousers because he's become unintentionally aroused after taking a class in L.A. Fashion for the Professional Man and he now has young surfers hitting on him because he is so fashionably dressed. Girlfriend Robin helps solve the crime by devising a way to hide a corpse in a cello.
Please, jazz it up a little! Give us something that makes us laugh and groan in recognition and dismay, make us cry a little.
One other reviewer complained he didn't like reading about Dr. Delaware and his relationship with his woodworker girlfriend (or wife, I forget if they're married now) and dog. Well, I did not notice any description whatever about this relationship. He may have mentioned having dinner together once. I would like more intimate details of the family relationship and tender feelings; this would serve to make the story believable. I suggest a scene where Delaware sits and cries while he rinses blood off his hands in his koi pond while his bulldog barks and growls behind him, then he turns around and catches Milo stroking his penis through his new gabardine trousers because he's become unintentionally aroused after taking a class in L.A. Fashion for the Professional Man and he now has young surfers hitting on him because he is so fashionably dressed. Girlfriend Robin helps solve the crime by devising a way to hide a corpse in a cello.
Please, jazz it up a little! Give us something that makes us laugh and groan in recognition and dismay, make us cry a little.
March 3, 2012
The thing to know about Jonathan Kellerman's books and me, is that I'm done with them and should have stopped a few back. I was bored and restless while I read this book. I used to be a big fan, but either I've changed, or the author has. His work no longer seems fresh and new, exciting. Perhaps if he wrote something else, different genre, different characters, he could recapture the "zing" that seems to be missing for me.
October 9, 2021
Victims captivated me more the first time I read it, and that's totally normal as the plot unravels, for the first time, and we root for Milo and Alex to put a stop to the killings. This book brought more insight into the mechanism of how some mental institutions were run in the past.
These days, I re-listen to the Jonathan Kellerman books in audio-format, first for their quality of story-telling by Kellerman, and as important, for the quality of nuanced narration by John Rubinstein. I know I'll have a wonderful time listening, while I do house chores.
These days, I re-listen to the Jonathan Kellerman books in audio-format, first for their quality of story-telling by Kellerman, and as important, for the quality of nuanced narration by John Rubinstein. I know I'll have a wonderful time listening, while I do house chores.
May 7, 2018
3.5 stars
September 15, 2013
Jonathan Kellerman's "Victims" is the 27th novel in his Alex Delaware series (coincidentally, it was written in 2012, the 27th year since the series had started). 27 books in a series is a ridiculously high number and the repetitiveness of the setup makes it impossible for the author to say anything new about the recurring characters. Apparently, many readers crave familiarity and come back to Alex and Milo for the same old stuff, reheated over and over again, like in TV sitcoms. It took me a while to figure out why I can read essentially the same book twenty something times even if I am tired with Dr. Delaware's and lieutenant Sturgis' shtick, and totally fed up with Robin and some other recurring characters. I just like meeting the supporting cast, which is different in each book, and Mr. Kellerman, a competent writer, is usually able to create interesting supporting characters and portrays them well.
The plot of "Victims" begins when a body of a middle aged woman is found, decorated with a necklace of her own intestines. Further murders with similar signatures occur and Milo and Alex work hard to find the disemboweler and prevent the citizens of Los Angeles from full-blown panic. The plot is quite interesting for the first half of the novel. About mid-book, though, my interest began to wane. As is the case with most mystery writers, Mr. Kellerman is more skillful in setting up the mystery than in providing a satisfactory solution. The coincidences become too convenient, and - what's worse - the mystery begins to unravel mainly through conversations between Alex, Milo, and Petra. Instead of writing about solving the case, the author writes about characters talking about solving the case. It is, admittedly, a well-known (and overused) detective fiction gimmick, yet it takes away the punch, and makes the plot seem theatrical rather than realistic.
Despite Mr. Kellerman's impeccable credentials as a psychologist, I find the ending implausible. The climactic scenes happening in the vicinity of SeaBird Estates have the feel of belonging in a cheap movie rather than in real life. The unfulfilled promise of the premise disappoints. A month from now, I will not remember much about this serial killer procedural written by a prolific serial writer.
Two and a half stars (mostly for a really interesting first half).
The plot of "Victims" begins when a body of a middle aged woman is found, decorated with a necklace of her own intestines. Further murders with similar signatures occur and Milo and Alex work hard to find the disemboweler and prevent the citizens of Los Angeles from full-blown panic. The plot is quite interesting for the first half of the novel. About mid-book, though, my interest began to wane. As is the case with most mystery writers, Mr. Kellerman is more skillful in setting up the mystery than in providing a satisfactory solution. The coincidences become too convenient, and - what's worse - the mystery begins to unravel mainly through conversations between Alex, Milo, and Petra. Instead of writing about solving the case, the author writes about characters talking about solving the case. It is, admittedly, a well-known (and overused) detective fiction gimmick, yet it takes away the punch, and makes the plot seem theatrical rather than realistic.
Despite Mr. Kellerman's impeccable credentials as a psychologist, I find the ending implausible. The climactic scenes happening in the vicinity of SeaBird Estates have the feel of belonging in a cheap movie rather than in real life. The unfulfilled promise of the premise disappoints. A month from now, I will not remember much about this serial killer procedural written by a prolific serial writer.
Two and a half stars (mostly for a really interesting first half).
March 10, 2012
There has always been a fair amount of gore in Kellerman’s books but this one in particular was particularly gruesome. Vita Berlin is a malicious and unpleasant woman whose eviscerated remains are found in her apartment. It is the start of a spate of killings where the level of violence shocks even hardened detectives from the LAPD and hints at a level of mental illness from the perpetrator.
A link is discovered with a former state psychiatric hospital where a specialised care unit was set up, a hospital within a hospital, to house the most disturbed patients away from others. It emerges that a patient with a grudge against medical staff is picking off victims to atone for past mistreatment.
The strength of Kellerman’s previous books was his knowledge of psychology, particularly when it relates to disturbed children. He brings his experiences of working as a clinical psychologist back into this book and the sections where he talks about mental illness amongst young people and inappropriate mistreatments that were administered are well written. The characters slot into their normal roles although this book is more a police procedural than others, as the private lives of the two central characters are kept to a minimum.
Given that this is his 27th book Kellerman has, I think, attempted to return to the roots of his early books with the focus on the psychological. But I found the extremity of the violence unpleasant because it was so excessive. There is a convincing explanation for it and the wounds, I suppose, are not dissimilar to those inflicted by Jack the Ripper in nineteenth century London. I think I found it distasteful because although the shock of the discoveries on the characters is made clear, the plot would have worked equally well without such extreme violence.
A link is discovered with a former state psychiatric hospital where a specialised care unit was set up, a hospital within a hospital, to house the most disturbed patients away from others. It emerges that a patient with a grudge against medical staff is picking off victims to atone for past mistreatment.
The strength of Kellerman’s previous books was his knowledge of psychology, particularly when it relates to disturbed children. He brings his experiences of working as a clinical psychologist back into this book and the sections where he talks about mental illness amongst young people and inappropriate mistreatments that were administered are well written. The characters slot into their normal roles although this book is more a police procedural than others, as the private lives of the two central characters are kept to a minimum.
Given that this is his 27th book Kellerman has, I think, attempted to return to the roots of his early books with the focus on the psychological. But I found the extremity of the violence unpleasant because it was so excessive. There is a convincing explanation for it and the wounds, I suppose, are not dissimilar to those inflicted by Jack the Ripper in nineteenth century London. I think I found it distasteful because although the shock of the discoveries on the characters is made clear, the plot would have worked equally well without such extreme violence.
May 20, 2014
Jonathan Kellerman is one of those authors whose work I keep seeing every time I go into a bookshop and whose books I’ve wanted to pick up for a very long time. Being an avid reader of crime fiction – and fast paced thrillers in particular – I felt they would be something I’d enjoy but somehow I never got around to actually picking them up. When Victims landed on my doorstep a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t wait to get started.
There are currently 29 books in the series featuring The Crime Reader, that is, forensic psychologist Alex Delaware, out of which Victims is the 27th. As much as I was looking forward to reading the book, a small part of me was worried whether I’d miss anything by not being familiar with the previous 26 books. With long series like this, authors often cut to the chase and don’t go into details about their characters, their past, their personalities, leaving you to figure out the relationships between them and everything else yourself. Which is understandable. If you’ve read 26 books with the same couple of characters, you probably know all about them. But, being a newbie to Alex’s world, I was a tiny bit worried.
Well, I shouldn’t have been. I didn’t for one second feel as if I was missing something. A few chapters in I felt as if I’ve known Alex and his friend and work partner, Milo Sturgis, for a long time. In fact, their dialogues and their chemistry is one of the things I think makes this book as good as it is. But characters alone don’t make an excellent book – you need a killer plot and compelling writing as well. Kellerman’s Victims ticks all these boxes. His writing draws you in at the very beginning and you won’t be able to put the book down or stop guessing right until the very end.
Read more >>
There are currently 29 books in the series featuring The Crime Reader, that is, forensic psychologist Alex Delaware, out of which Victims is the 27th. As much as I was looking forward to reading the book, a small part of me was worried whether I’d miss anything by not being familiar with the previous 26 books. With long series like this, authors often cut to the chase and don’t go into details about their characters, their past, their personalities, leaving you to figure out the relationships between them and everything else yourself. Which is understandable. If you’ve read 26 books with the same couple of characters, you probably know all about them. But, being a newbie to Alex’s world, I was a tiny bit worried.
Well, I shouldn’t have been. I didn’t for one second feel as if I was missing something. A few chapters in I felt as if I’ve known Alex and his friend and work partner, Milo Sturgis, for a long time. In fact, their dialogues and their chemistry is one of the things I think makes this book as good as it is. But characters alone don’t make an excellent book – you need a killer plot and compelling writing as well. Kellerman’s Victims ticks all these boxes. His writing draws you in at the very beginning and you won’t be able to put the book down or stop guessing right until the very end.
Read more >>
April 10, 2012
Well, here we are at #27 in this series, and everything is still the same. One of the reasons I like this series is that it is a solidly-written, formulaic police procedural. It's like watching "Law & Order: You Pick the Series." You know what you're going to get. In this series, we have broody, complicated child psychologist Alex Delaware and his friend, homicide cop Milo. Alex's minor character girlfriend, Robin, who is used by Kellerman so we readers can follow Alex's thought processes. (Dialogue between the two vs. paragraphs of exposition.) All the "good" guys are solidly good. All the "bad" guys are freaky creepy. The reasons I like this series are also my criticisms though -- formulaic, episodic, the characters are all status quo with no real growth and no real surprises. Nonetheless, I keep reading.
This one keep me involved but I was able to put it down when I was finished and haven't thought about it much since. Like many of Kellerman's novels, this one has a fair amount of (post-mortem) inflicted gore. (The killer dispatches his victims quickly and when they are solidly dead, meticulously dissects them.) So -- it's not at all for the squeamish or those who prefer their murder victims done away with off-stage, ala Agatha Christie.
This one keep me involved but I was able to put it down when I was finished and haven't thought about it much since. Like many of Kellerman's novels, this one has a fair amount of (post-mortem) inflicted gore. (The killer dispatches his victims quickly and when they are solidly dead, meticulously dissects them.) So -- it's not at all for the squeamish or those who prefer their murder victims done away with off-stage, ala Agatha Christie.
July 14, 2013
In this 27th Alex Delaware mystery, Kellerman takes us all the way back to Ventura State Hospital where Alex trained and some flowers of evil had their birth. Robin and Blanche put in cameo appearances, and most of the text is given over to Alex and Milo, Petra and Raul ratiocinating an entire criminal history before any attempt is made at apprehension. For Alex Delaware fans, this one will bring a welcome sense of a circle finally closed, and readers of Kellerman's Savage Spawn will trace the lineaments of his thought on this unhappy subject. Suggestion: build an index of all characters, all names mentioned as you read. For such highly cerebral subject matter, you'll be glad you did.
December 1, 2021
This continues to be a solid, if not spectacular, mystery series that I am enjoying quite a bit. The case in this one was crazy and I did not see many of the twists coming at all. I'll be listening to more of these between bigger and denser physical sci fi and fantasy reads.
July 24, 2012
This review originally published in Literary Treats
Alex Delaware is back! I’m a huge fan of Jonathan Kellerman’s mystery series featuring child psychologist/consulting detective Alex Delaware. I’d been disappointed by the last few books in the series, because they felt more like police procedurals with Alex being a fairly generic amateur detective instead of the psychology expert that made me love the series in the first place. However, I’m happy to say that Victims, the latest in the series, is the Delaware series at its best. We have the creepy psychopathic killer, and Alex Delaware providing psychological insights that, at times, are almost uncanny.
Alex and his friend, Detective Milo Sturgis, are called in to investigate the murder of Vita Berlin. A thoroughly unpleasant woman, Vita had had a lot of enemies, but even the people who hated her admitted she didn’t deserve such a gruesome (think Jack the Ripper) death. Alex is struck by the clinical nature of Vita’s disembowelment; he is reminded of a child he’d once counselled who cut up animals not because he took pleasure in it, but because he’d been curious.
Here is the Dr. Alex Delaware-type insight that I’d been missing from the more recent books in the series — Kellerman may have put them in, but it hadn’t felt as essential to the storyline for a long time. So when I read that, and I knew Alex and Milo were hunting a truly disturbed mind, I knew Victims was going to be classic Kellerman. More victims are then discovered, and none of them are linked, as far as Milo’s team can tell. Who is the killer, how is he choosing his victims, and why is he killing in the first place? It’s a dark, twisted, creepy psyche, which gives Alex lots of opportunities to use his psychology training.
Victims is a very chilling book. I made the mistake of beginning it at night, and I ended up reading until about two in the morning. I very reluctantly went to bed only because my eyes were literally closing, despite my mind still racing ahead and trying to figure out the solution to the mystery. I was also sufficiently creeped out by the killer that I had to gather up the courage to go into the kitchen for a glass of water. Granted, I’m a major chicken, but somehow the idea of a person who would kill others not because he is sick enough to enjoy killing, but because he is fascinated by human biology just makes me shiver.
Victims made me realize how much creepier human monsters are than supernatural ones. Then, as I learned more about the motivations behind the killings, the book just got even scarier. This feels much darker and more disturbing than previous Delaware novels, and I think it’s just because the antagonist here seems so much colder and more monstrous than I remember from Kellerman’s other books. Alex Delaware fans — this book is definitely recommended. New to Alex Delaware – Victims is a good place to start.
Alex Delaware is back! I’m a huge fan of Jonathan Kellerman’s mystery series featuring child psychologist/consulting detective Alex Delaware. I’d been disappointed by the last few books in the series, because they felt more like police procedurals with Alex being a fairly generic amateur detective instead of the psychology expert that made me love the series in the first place. However, I’m happy to say that Victims, the latest in the series, is the Delaware series at its best. We have the creepy psychopathic killer, and Alex Delaware providing psychological insights that, at times, are almost uncanny.
Alex and his friend, Detective Milo Sturgis, are called in to investigate the murder of Vita Berlin. A thoroughly unpleasant woman, Vita had had a lot of enemies, but even the people who hated her admitted she didn’t deserve such a gruesome (think Jack the Ripper) death. Alex is struck by the clinical nature of Vita’s disembowelment; he is reminded of a child he’d once counselled who cut up animals not because he took pleasure in it, but because he’d been curious.
Here is the Dr. Alex Delaware-type insight that I’d been missing from the more recent books in the series — Kellerman may have put them in, but it hadn’t felt as essential to the storyline for a long time. So when I read that, and I knew Alex and Milo were hunting a truly disturbed mind, I knew Victims was going to be classic Kellerman. More victims are then discovered, and none of them are linked, as far as Milo’s team can tell. Who is the killer, how is he choosing his victims, and why is he killing in the first place? It’s a dark, twisted, creepy psyche, which gives Alex lots of opportunities to use his psychology training.
Victims is a very chilling book. I made the mistake of beginning it at night, and I ended up reading until about two in the morning. I very reluctantly went to bed only because my eyes were literally closing, despite my mind still racing ahead and trying to figure out the solution to the mystery. I was also sufficiently creeped out by the killer that I had to gather up the courage to go into the kitchen for a glass of water. Granted, I’m a major chicken, but somehow the idea of a person who would kill others not because he is sick enough to enjoy killing, but because he is fascinated by human biology just makes me shiver.
Victims made me realize how much creepier human monsters are than supernatural ones. Then, as I learned more about the motivations behind the killings, the book just got even scarier. This feels much darker and more disturbing than previous Delaware novels, and I think it’s just because the antagonist here seems so much colder and more monstrous than I remember from Kellerman’s other books. Alex Delaware fans — this book is definitely recommended. New to Alex Delaware – Victims is a good place to start.
November 13, 2013
Being a fan of Jonathan Kellerman I always look forward to the next Alex/ Milo case. I find the relationship between the two interesting and really like their witty interaction. And of course, reading more about the “noir” L.A. side.
Victims, is the 27th book in the series…..wow…pretty amazing it’s been going for so long!!!
I have to admit that this one just lacked something for me. The mystery, the crimes, the investigations, the grittiness, the build-up to solving the case is here, but I found myself unable to connect totally into the plot and the characters involved in the crimes.
The crimes are violent and brutal and I did find the part of the abused victims in the hospital interesting.
What failed it for me was the way the whole story came to its conclusion. It felt flat and somewhat a let-down. After all the build-up and the step-by-step Alex & Milo decoding of the clues and their follow-ups…wham…in a few pages, we get the bad guy…..
And still loving Bella
Naturally, I am so looking forward to the next book and if you are a fan of this series, then you have to read this book. It’s not a bad one, just not one that I loved like some of this author’s previous books.
Victims, is the 27th book in the series…..wow…pretty amazing it’s been going for so long!!!
I have to admit that this one just lacked something for me. The mystery, the crimes, the investigations, the grittiness, the build-up to solving the case is here, but I found myself unable to connect totally into the plot and the characters involved in the crimes.
The crimes are violent and brutal and I did find the part of the abused victims in the hospital interesting.
What failed it for me was the way the whole story came to its conclusion. It felt flat and somewhat a let-down. After all the build-up and the step-by-step Alex & Milo decoding of the clues and their follow-ups…wham…in a few pages, we get the bad guy…..
And still loving Bella
Naturally, I am so looking forward to the next book and if you are a fan of this series, then you have to read this book. It’s not a bad one, just not one that I loved like some of this author’s previous books.
August 29, 2014
A satisfactory read; tempted to 4-star-stamp it as a decent page-turner~ until the last 1/5 of book, which contained too many mistakes for this lay person to overlook.
Although many reviewers note too much familiarity re main characters, its comfort reading for me. The longstanding camaraderie between Alex and Milo makes the storyline flow. Robin and Rick were not really involved; fine by me, since they are low on my appreciation list. Plenty of gory crime scenes for even the hard core thriller addicts.
I could have appreciated the ending just fine, as it wrapped up and disposed of the bad guys in acceptable ways~ EXCEPT~ for the glaring mistakes that pi$$ed me off! One being: Bad guy has Milo in a head death grip, preparing to snap his neck. Alex to the rescue, kicks bad guy behind knee -gets no reaction... so what does Alex do? No, he doesn't go for a balls-kick, eye gouges, or reach in for a good balls-grab/twist. Foolishly, he simply kicks the other knee, same useless results.. Moving on to the tunnel, and the two horribly emaciated dogs, so weak they can hardly stand... we're told said dogs emerge from said tunnel. Fine, EXCEPT.. then we're informed said tunnel has a 10 ft drop down from opening, floor of which is accessible by a 10 ft ladder... Hmmm. So... two starved, ribbed-out weak dogs are exiting/entering this tunnel hole using a ladder??? Hey, they can hardly walk, remember!! (that just ain't a-gonna happen!) Then we're told there's like eight sacks of dried dog food in the tunnel...Hmmm again.. any starving animal ~or human~ would sure as heck availed themselves of that. OK.. Enough of mistake-grousing now. Sure, its fictional writing, but still... a bit of common sense is always welcome.
Although many reviewers note too much familiarity re main characters, its comfort reading for me. The longstanding camaraderie between Alex and Milo makes the storyline flow. Robin and Rick were not really involved; fine by me, since they are low on my appreciation list. Plenty of gory crime scenes for even the hard core thriller addicts.
I could have appreciated the ending just fine, as it wrapped up and disposed of the bad guys in acceptable ways~ EXCEPT~ for the glaring mistakes that pi$$ed me off! One being: Bad guy has Milo in a head death grip, preparing to snap his neck. Alex to the rescue, kicks bad guy behind knee -gets no reaction... so what does Alex do? No, he doesn't go for a balls-kick, eye gouges, or reach in for a good balls-grab/twist. Foolishly, he simply kicks the other knee, same useless results.. Moving on to the tunnel, and the two horribly emaciated dogs, so weak they can hardly stand... we're told said dogs emerge from said tunnel. Fine, EXCEPT.. then we're informed said tunnel has a 10 ft drop down from opening, floor of which is accessible by a 10 ft ladder... Hmmm. So... two starved, ribbed-out weak dogs are exiting/entering this tunnel hole using a ladder??? Hey, they can hardly walk, remember!! (that just ain't a-gonna happen!) Then we're told there's like eight sacks of dried dog food in the tunnel...Hmmm again.. any starving animal ~or human~ would sure as heck availed themselves of that. OK.. Enough of mistake-grousing now. Sure, its fictional writing, but still... a bit of common sense is always welcome.
March 4, 2017
"Keep your goals specific and realistic, be happy when anything goes well."
This was a very dark book, a very twister crime scene and a lot of mystery. I think this is, so far, the best Jonathan Kellerman book I've read.
In this case, former child psychologist and LAPD consultant Dr. Alex Delaware gets a call from Lt. Milo Sturgis informing him of a murder. The crime is unlike any other, as the victim, a woman named Vita Berlin, was disemboweled in her apartment. The killer left behind a note, taunting the police.
I enjoyed this book a lot, it had a lot of mystery, suspense and twisted moments to make it memorable. The killer's identity wasn't revealed until almost the end, which I really liked. Also, there was a twist in there.
Alex and Milo's friendship is one of the best that I have ever read. They are funny, they understand each other and don't hesitate to tell each other their problems. Milo is, by far, the best character in the series. As Alex likes to say, he has a way with words that makes you laugh a lot.
My favorite book in the series, can't wait to read the rest :)
This was a very dark book, a very twister crime scene and a lot of mystery. I think this is, so far, the best Jonathan Kellerman book I've read.
In this case, former child psychologist and LAPD consultant Dr. Alex Delaware gets a call from Lt. Milo Sturgis informing him of a murder. The crime is unlike any other, as the victim, a woman named Vita Berlin, was disemboweled in her apartment. The killer left behind a note, taunting the police.
I enjoyed this book a lot, it had a lot of mystery, suspense and twisted moments to make it memorable. The killer's identity wasn't revealed until almost the end, which I really liked. Also, there was a twist in there.
Alex and Milo's friendship is one of the best that I have ever read. They are funny, they understand each other and don't hesitate to tell each other their problems. Milo is, by far, the best character in the series. As Alex likes to say, he has a way with words that makes you laugh a lot.
My favorite book in the series, can't wait to read the rest :)
March 24, 2012
If you're the type of reader who has to read every word and someone who doesn't like grotesque descriptions of people being disemboweled, you might want to skip this one. I know I barely saw a word in the first chapter.
I've read this series from the beginning and they vary in gory content, from mild to overload. The tank is full in VICTIMS.
Personally, while I don't normally do skip sections in my books, I found myself scanning over the gruesome details of the murders and focused instead on the characters and the case. I like how well Milo and Alex work together. It's been 27 books, so I'm sure they've got the routine down. Unfortunately, this is an anything but routine case.
It starts with one murder and then escalates into several victims. The thing is, had it been a single case, they'd have few clues. The more people die, the more there is to work with in terms of connections. Because in serial killings it's nearly always about connections.
I liked the book, but I would've preferred less focus on the guts and more on Alex and Milo.
I've read this series from the beginning and they vary in gory content, from mild to overload. The tank is full in VICTIMS.
Personally, while I don't normally do skip sections in my books, I found myself scanning over the gruesome details of the murders and focused instead on the characters and the case. I like how well Milo and Alex work together. It's been 27 books, so I'm sure they've got the routine down. Unfortunately, this is an anything but routine case.
It starts with one murder and then escalates into several victims. The thing is, had it been a single case, they'd have few clues. The more people die, the more there is to work with in terms of connections. Because in serial killings it's nearly always about connections.
I liked the book, but I would've preferred less focus on the guts and more on Alex and Milo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2012
Being a dyed in the wool Kellerman fan (both Jonathan and Faye) I didn't bargain for what I got in picking up this read. As always it was fast moving, complex and well written. For me it was also unsettling. The repeated telling of the exploits of a serial disemboweller, one whose unsympathetic victims (whose own travesties were told in detail)...the repeated telling of "mans inhumanity to man" in the mental health and medical insurance industries made this,for me, the darkest Kellerman mystery I've encountered.
Usually the crimetale is relieved somewhat by "normality" in the antics of the pets, being exposed to new learnings, the playing out of the main character's personal lives, or the heroism of side characters. Not totally absent here, but very sparse, and dwarfed into irrelevance by the sheer horror of brutality heaped on brutality.
I think it was loyalty and the fact that it was well written that had me reading until the end hoping for my more usual Kellerman experience. Finishing it, I felt slimed.....
Usually the crimetale is relieved somewhat by "normality" in the antics of the pets, being exposed to new learnings, the playing out of the main character's personal lives, or the heroism of side characters. Not totally absent here, but very sparse, and dwarfed into irrelevance by the sheer horror of brutality heaped on brutality.
I think it was loyalty and the fact that it was well written that had me reading until the end hoping for my more usual Kellerman experience. Finishing it, I felt slimed.....
April 15, 2023
Considering I had this on my nope shelf, I liked it more than I anticipated..
April 15, 2012
Enjoyed this latest entry in the Alex Delaware mystery series with its psychological overtones. This episode seems more of a police procedural and less of a psychological case study than usual, though Alex's insights do assist the case. The story moves along at a fast clip, with all the back up characters who have become familiar over the years. Alex's significant other, Robin, plays almost no role in this outing.
So, plus for the plot development but some minus for limited character development this time out. But I still enjoyed this book a lot and enjoyed watching the tale play out. The murder is grisly, so be forewarned, but Kellerman's thriller's aren't intended for the faint of heart mystery-wise
Rating 3.5.
Now back to some more serious fare.
So, plus for the plot development but some minus for limited character development this time out. But I still enjoyed this book a lot and enjoyed watching the tale play out. The murder is grisly, so be forewarned, but Kellerman's thriller's aren't intended for the faint of heart mystery-wise
Rating 3.5.
Now back to some more serious fare.
June 25, 2017
Apparently five years is long enough for me to forget a mystery book--even one as riveting as this one. Finishing Victims for the second time in June 2017, I experienced a few echoes of deja vu, but he plot and characters were as compelling as they always are in this series.
Having recently become a dog owner, I was newly intrigued by the fact that Kellerman depicts distinctive canine characteristics as deftly as he does human ones.
Having recently become a dog owner, I was newly intrigued by the fact that Kellerman depicts distinctive canine characteristics as deftly as he does human ones.
May 28, 2012
A series of murders occur, where the victims are knocked unconscious and then neatly gutted. Milo Sturgis and Alex Delaware are initially baffled by the apparent randomness of the victims until they find a common thread tying all of the deceased back to a California state mental hospital and a severely misdiagnosed patient, who is not properly treated. Much better than the last one ... whew.
November 4, 2012
Jonathan Kellerman's books aren't great, are formulaic, and blend into one another, but they're mind candy of the perfect kind, hence the five star rating.
May 15, 2020
We have just a handful of the (currently) 35 novels in J. Kellerman’s Dr. Alex Delaware set to polish off – mostly ones published in just the past few years. Unfortunately, the books are taking on a sameness that reduces faithful readers’ engagement, other than familiarity with the Doc and LAPD Homicide Lt. Milo Sturgis. Milo has been paired throughout with Alex, sometimes relying on the Doc’s knowledge of psychology, but as often as not merely using him as an unofficial sidekick. The main puzzle in “Victims” (#27), in addition to who is perpetrating a series of really gruesome but careful murders, is what the motive could be for killing people that seemed to just have “offended” the killer, maybe decades ago.
As usual, Alex and Milo visit person upon person to delve into the case – and that dogged series of inquisitions can often tire until the clues finally coalesce into some semblance of sense to the whole thing. These days, Milo has some police helpers who can do some of the grunt work, so when they begin to close in on a solution, things heat up pretty quickly. That said, this total plot, including some unusual action at the end, was a bit of a stretch to swallow.
Series this prolific are virtually always formulaic, so that per se is not a surprise. What is disappointing is that the tales seem so similar, except for some modicum of variety in the homicides themselves, that sometimes we suspect we could almost write one ourselves! We’ll probably continue to finish the set, but probably with not much sense of urgency to do so.
As usual, Alex and Milo visit person upon person to delve into the case – and that dogged series of inquisitions can often tire until the clues finally coalesce into some semblance of sense to the whole thing. These days, Milo has some police helpers who can do some of the grunt work, so when they begin to close in on a solution, things heat up pretty quickly. That said, this total plot, including some unusual action at the end, was a bit of a stretch to swallow.
Series this prolific are virtually always formulaic, so that per se is not a surprise. What is disappointing is that the tales seem so similar, except for some modicum of variety in the homicides themselves, that sometimes we suspect we could almost write one ourselves! We’ll probably continue to finish the set, but probably with not much sense of urgency to do so.
January 7, 2023
Una novela olvidable y totalmente plana. El desarrollo me recordó al guión de una obra de teatro, todo son descripción de los escenarios y personajes y diálogos, pero nada de acción. La investigación del caso va sobre raíles, a base de entrevistas y conversaciones, sin ningún momento tenso ni enfrentamientos.
Todo esto es una lástima, porque el caso en sí, el misterio del aesinato, la identidad del asesino y por qué escoje a sus víctimas, tan antipáticas, es muy bueno, igual que la vida de esas víctimas, en general, pero creo que la novela no está a la altura de lo que propone.
👍 La primera víctima, esa mujer detestable cuyo asesinato no lamenta nadie, ni el lector 😅
👎 El empeño en describir hasta la última pieza de ropa que lleva cada personaje.
👎 El ritmo es muy plano, toda la novela se desarrolla igual.
👎 Y los personajes también, no puedo decir nada característico de ninguno, ninguno destaca.
Todo esto es una lástima, porque el caso en sí, el misterio del aesinato, la identidad del asesino y por qué escoje a sus víctimas, tan antipáticas, es muy bueno, igual que la vida de esas víctimas, en general, pero creo que la novela no está a la altura de lo que propone.
👍 La primera víctima, esa mujer detestable cuyo asesinato no lamenta nadie, ni el lector 😅
👎 El empeño en describir hasta la última pieza de ropa que lleva cada personaje.
👎 El ritmo es muy plano, toda la novela se desarrolla igual.
👎 Y los personajes también, no puedo decir nada característico de ninguno, ninguno destaca.
July 14, 2019
There are times I find myself in a state of mind, when only crime fiction will distract me and keep me from worrying or being sad; strangely enough. These past couple of weeks it's been the tandem of Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis who could accomplish that: their banter is entertaining and sometimes make me laugh out loud. Here in Victims, I thought that the plot really came together in a compelling way. Alex's past training as a pediatric psychologist really fit in to this story as well. I've grown to adore the narrator of the Alex Delaware audio books, John Rubinstein does an amazing job bringing these characters to life.
May 19, 2017
This is exactly what you'd expect from Jonathan Kellerman - a good, solid Alex Delaware novel. Lieutenant Milo Sturgis calls on Alex to help the police with a truly horrendous crime. Vita Berlin has been brutally murdered in her apartment - it transpires that she was an unpleasant woman but was that really the reason for her murder? However, the police soon realise that this is not an isolated incident as similar murders start to occur throughout Los Angeles. With no obvious connection between the victims, Milo and Alex must work quickly to end the killing spree.
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