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Deception: An Alex Delaware Novel (Alex Delaware Novels)
 
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Deception: An Alex Delaware Novel (Alex Delaware Novels) [Kindle Edition]

Jonathan Kellerman
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Print List Price: CDN$ 10.99
Kindle Price: CDN$ 9.99 includes free international wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
You Save: CDN$ 1.00 (9%)
Sold by: Random House Canada, Incorp.
This price was set by the publisher

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Hardcover CDN $7.59  
Paperback, Large Print CDN $21.94  
Mass Market Paperback CDN $9.89  
Audio, CD, Abridged, Audiobook CDN $24.45  

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Product Description

Review

“Kellerman doesn’t just write psychological thrillers—he owns the genre.”—Detroit Free Press

“Jonathan Kellerman’s novels are an obsession; once started it is hard to quit.”—Orlando Sentinel

“Entertaining . . . Kellerman masterfully keeps readers guessing.”—Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
 
“The combination of Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis make for the most original whodunit duo since Watson and Holmes.”—Forbes

Product Description

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Jonathan Kellerman's Victims.

Her name is Elise Freeman, and her chilling cry for help comes too late to save her. On a DVD found near her lifeless body, the emotionally and physically battered woman chronicles a long ordeal of abuse at the hands of three sadistic tormentors. But even more shocking is the revelation that the offenders, like their victim, are teachers at one of L.A.’s most prestigious prep schools. Homicide detective Milo Sturgis is assigned to probe the hallowed halls of Windsor Prep Academy, and if ever he could use Dr. Alex Delaware’s psychological prowess, it’s now. As the scandal-conscious elite close ranks around Windsor Prep, Alex and Milo push to expose the dirty secrets festering among society’s manor-born. But while searching for predators among the privileged, Alex and Milo may be walking into a highly polished death trap.


Product Details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 541 KB
  • Print Length: 322 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0755342739
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books (Mar 30 2010)
  • Sold by: Random House Canada, Incorp.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B0030DHPCU
  • Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
  • X-Ray: Not Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #5,712 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Kellerman isn't Tolstoy... May 4 2010
By Jill Meyer HALL OF FAME TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
and "Deception" isn't "War and Peace". But it is a tidy tale of death, deceit, and yes, deception. I believe in comparing a writer's work with his past work. Can't compare it to another writer, that isn't quite fair. Kellerman's novels are very good for what they are - fast paced quasi-police and psychological procedurals. And "Deception" is a good follow-up to Kellerman's past work.

Same old, same old characters in "Deception"; Dr Alex Delaware - a free-lance child psychologist - and Milo Sturgis - a LA police detective usually assigned to tough cases. And the murder case of Elise Freeman was indeed tough. Found frozen in ice in her own bathtub, the victim had a plethora of prospective killers. After following a red-herring DVD where Freeman has named three fellow teachers at an ultra-exclusive LA prep school as possible suspects if she is found dead, Sturgis and Delaware run into obfuscation on the part of the administration when attempting to deal with the teachers and students at the school. After all, it's spring time and the powers-that-be don't want the school's reputation hurt just when the Ivy's are deciding on admissions for the school's seniors. Toss in money - a whole lot of it - and influence - a whole lot more of it - and you've got a hard-to-solve murder. Freeman's murder is succeeded by at least two more until Delaware and Sturgis put it all together and solve the crime. Now, as with most of Kellerman's work, the characters are sort of cardboard, but Kellerman makes the book good reading by use of snappy dialogue.

Kellerman seems to publish an Alex Delaware novel every year. I've read them all and felt a few years ago that they were getting stale. Somehow, Kellerman has refired his imagination and the last few books have been good reading.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Donald Mitchell #1 HALL OF FAME TOP 10 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
"You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous." -- Deuteronomy 16:19 (NKJV)

Elise Freeman, a substitute English and history teacher at exclusive Windsor Prep Academy, turns up dead under most unusual circumstances. The investigation quickly turns up DVD in which Ms. Freeman accuses three of her fellow teachers of extreme misconduct . . . a DVD apparently recorded due to being in fear of her death. Other interests determine that the investigation proceed, but at a very low key level. It's just the beginning of a very bizarre trail through the hidden side of the lives of those with too much money and ambition.

A staple of many police procedural plots is to have a conflict of interest that influences the investigation. Milo Sturgis isn't likely to be easily dissuaded from doing his duty, even when the conflict arises from the police chief. The tension does create some memorable humor in this police procedural filled with more red herrings and plot twists than in any five other murder mysteries. The satire of how the very rich and ambitious live can be amusing as well.

I like books that draw my attention away from the real criminal, and this plot was quite effective in that regard. I found it to be a big improvement over the last few Alex Delaware books.

At the same time, Milo and Alex failed to be as interesting as they were earlier in the series. There's just a lot of throw-away humor about eating too much and psychobabble as substitutes for character development and involvement.

I came away from this book feeling encouraged that Jonathan Kellerman seems to have put some real effort into this book. With a little more affection for his characters, he can easily make this a top-notch series once again.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars ok April 12 2010
Format:Hardcover
I'm scared that Jonathan Kellerman is running out of ideas....his last couple of books haven't been up to par. This one was exceptionally better than "evidence", however, I found this predictable and not very interesting. It did have some entertainment values to it, and as with his other books, I read through it quickly...but it just seems like he's grasping to produce and they are getting worse each time. I'm hoping the next book is better.
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