Commentaires client les plus utiles
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1 internautes sur 1 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
3.0étoiles sur 5
Back on track, Déc 8 2001
The author is back to doing what he does best, giving us characters to care about. A little too much analysis between Alex and Milo, but when the action begins, the wait is worth it. The series has regained its zip.
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1 internautes sur 1 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
4.0étoiles sur 5
Good Plot, Bad Action, Déc 7 2001
I've read every Kellerman (both husband AND wife!) book, so eagerly snapped this one up a week ago. I thought the plot was reasonable and interesting, but when Alex Delaware starting running around like an idiot, tailing potential criminals, rescuing their family members from drowning, and posing as a romantic date to get inside information, that's too far-fetched for me. There's a fair amount of tension with his life partner, Robin, over his antics and involvement in a case not even officially assigned by the police; and even Alex's detective buddy Milo joins in getting fed up with our otherwise usually oh so professional psychologist. That's the trouble -- when you've spent years developing a character people love, you can't have that character go out of character. Get that? I wish the Editor had. Still, not a bad read, just uncharacteristically implausible.
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4.0étoiles sur 5
Delaware, PI, Janv. 24 2007
Jonathan Kellerman was born in New York City in 1949 and grew up in Los Angeles. A qualified psycologist, his first novel -"When The Bough Breaks"- was published in 1985. Kellerman has won a variety of awards - including won the Edgar Allan Poe and Anthony Boucher Awards. Jonathan is married to bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman and they have four children. "Flesh and Blood" was published in 2001 and is Kellerman's 15th book to star Alex Delaware.
Alex's involvement with this case begins when the mother of a former patient contacts him for help. Jane Abbot, the mother, had tried to arrange some therapy for her daughter, Lauren, about ten years previously. Despite the passage of time, Jane's new name (she had subsequently remarried) and the fact that Lauren only came twice, Alex remembered Lauren clearly. When Jane calls, however, it's not with good news : Lauren, now studying Psycology at university, has been missing for over a week. Alex's work with the courts and the police has made him a minor celebrity and, Jane hopes, given Alex's brief history with her daughter he might be able to speed up the LAPD's search for Lauren. Alex agrees to do what he can, but doesn't mention that his main contact - Milo Sturgis - is actually a homicide detective. Milo, in turn, agrees to give things a slight push with Missing Persons.
Unfortunately, Missing Persons initially aren't in any rush to start looking when it becomes clear that Lauren had a police record for prostitution. Alex wasn't too surprised - several years earlier after their last appointment, Lauren had turned up to provide the 'entertainment' at a bachelor party he'd been invited to. Before long, however, Lauren's case falls right into Milo's lap when her body is found on Sepulveda. The subsequent investigation throws up a number of interesting names. They include Gretchen Stengel (the one-time head of a small army of prostitutes), Ben Dugger (a psychologist who specialises in market research) and - most interestingly) Tony Duke (the old but exceptionally rich owner of a top-shelf magazine). It also brings to light the case of Shawna Yeager, another university student who'd disappeared the previous year. Although no body was ever found, both cases show certain similarities - enough for Alex to believe the cases may be linked.
I did enjoy "Flesh and Blood", though it's not without its flaws. The investigation into Lauren's disappearance and murder was carried out nearly single-handedly by Alex - which isn't that surprising, given that he is the book's hero. However, there didn't seem to be any method in what he did - much of what he discovered came as the result of blind luck and wild hunches miraculously proving right. Milo left me feeling very puzzled : a homicide detective making a minimal contribution to one of his own cases and showing little apparent regard for the safety of someone he seems to consider a friend. By the time I finished the book, I couldn't think of him without an image of Chief Wiggum popping into my head. Nevertheless, while I wouldn't call it a classic, it is an easily read book.
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