More twists than a Blackpool Pleasure Beach Ride (Self-Defence - Jonathan Kellerman)

Member Name: freediveheaven

Product:	Self-Defence - Jonathan Kellerman
Date:	05/10/05 (135 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Consistently good

Disadvantages: none

Self Defence is another of the Jonathan Kellerman books to feature the Los Angeles based Dr Alex Delaware and LA homicide detective Milo Sturgis. Delaware is a child psychologist who no longer takes on patients directly instead he consults on legal cases and also works as a part time consultant for the police on their criminal investigations. Not married he lives with his long term partner Robin who designs and makes guitars and other string instruments.

The Central Characters

Delaware is portrayed as a bit of a loner and in Sturgis he has a friend who is equally on the outside as he is an openly gay cop in a very homophobic workplace. As if to further highlight the outsider nature of the two main characters Sturgis is often portrayed as a poor dresser with no style which is counter to the prevailing stereotype of most gay man.

Both of these characters have been established in previous books and there is little development of the characters further beyond what those who have read the earlier works already know, sometimes I feel there are questions to be answered about how Delaware traits of seeking isolation and his need to take risks on investigations have evolved, then again maybe I’m reading too much into what is intended to be a gripping thriller.

The Plot

Delaware does not normally see private adult patients however Lucy Lowell has been referred to him by his friend Sturgis and as a favour to the detective he takes on her case.

Lowell had been on the jury of a high profile case of a serial killer in which Sturgis had made the big break that led to the killer’s arrest. The murders committed had been gruesome and the jury had been spared no detail with the trial ending in the killer’s conviction and the death penalty being awarded against him.

Since the trial Lowell has been experiencing recurrent nightmares which have left her at the point of a nervous breakdown. Delaware begins to believe that the dreams relate to a suppressed memory from Lowell’s childhood and may hold the key to a murder committed over 20 years ago. As he investigates further Delaware is drawn into the seriously dysfunctional family of Lucy Lowell whose father was a famous poet whose career has been in serious decline for many years and Delaware must attempt to unravel a complicated web of lies and deceit.

The Opinion


What I particularly like about Kellerman is the consistency in quality of his books. Forgetting the recent joint venture with his wife that I gave a bad review to his work has always been of a high standard and in particular those stories which feature Delaware and Sturgis.

The success comes from his ability to put together a strong psychological thriller with Delaware providing the insights into the killers mind and attempting to unravel the motives that drive him or her to commit violent and sometimes random crimes and the story is told from the perspective of Delaware.

The relationship between Delaware and Sturgis works well and while it is not the typical gung ho buddy relationship found in a Hollywood movies there is a depth of feeling between the two which is comforting while at the same time the professional responsibilities of each does provide a barrier at times that help create the view that the friendship could crack at some point in the future.

There is a strong storyline that remains in touch with reality despite having more twists than a Blackpool Pleasure Beach ride. I did find it a little slow moving during ( apologies for using American Sporting terms) the third quarter however it fully redeemed itself with an excellent finale that kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last.

Kellerman style is such that his books are not totally gripping page turners and I have never read one of his books from cover to cover however they are always sufficiently addictive to keep me coming back for more and in total this one took me about three days to complete.

If you are looking for a consistent entertaining psychological thriller then I can certainly recommend self defence.

Published by Warner Books the rrp is £6.99 however I picked up my copy for a bargain £1.99 from Oxfam.

For more information on the author check out his website on www.jonathankellerman.com.

Summary: Alex Delaware novel