Twisted _ Just Keep Turning (those pages) (Twisted - Jonathan Kellerman)

Member Name: Alan1968

Product:	Twisted - Jonathan Kellerman
Date:	23/11/05 (360 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Kellerman keeps increasing the suspense throughout - plus Isaac Gomez

Disadvantages: Petra Connor is not as fully developed as Kellerman's other recurring characters

Six years after 'Billy Straight' and a year after her reappearance in the Alex Delaware thriller 'A Cold Heart' Jonathan Kellerman has released his second Petra Connor novel. I am a big fan of Kellerman's psychological thrillers which feature his main recurring characters psychologist Alex Delaware and cop Milo Sturgis I have also enjoyed his departures from these two characters, 'The Butcher's Theatre', 'Conspiracy Club' and the aforementioned 'Billy Straight' and as Delaware and Sturgis hurtle towards senior citizen status it may be the case that Delaware needs new characters. Petra Connor may well be the character that Kellerman is looking to, to fill this role.

Quick note if anybody is reading 'A Cold Heart' please stop here as a necessary spoiler to that story follows in this review.

'Twisted' begins with Hollywood homicide detective Petra Connor working alone once more, her erstwhile partner and new lover Eric Stahl has been transferred to the new Homeland Security Squad and dispatched to Israel. Having had a couple of simple solves Petra finds herself confronted by what appears to be a random drive by shooting outside a teen nightclub the Paradiso with four victims one of whom remains unidentified. In addition to this Petra has been given the job of 'babysitting' 22 year old whizzkid Isaac Gomez who is studying crime patterns as part of his sociology PHD before heading off to medical school. The second and major murder strand of the book revolves around Isaac's belief that his statistical analysis of murder patterns that he has found in old forgotten case files that he has been given access to show that a serial killer is at work on the 28th of June each year, with one victim a year being killed with a blow to the head from a blunt object.

Needless to say a connection based on statistical analysis rather than 'street' knowledge of working homicide is met with a certain understandable level of skepticism by Petra especially as the victims are both male and female, young and old and from various racial groups. As we head inextricably towards the 28th of June Isaac's self-belief in his discovery brings Petra on board to the idea of these linked murders but she has to continue working the baffling Paradiso case. Thankfully Stahl returns from Israel having foiled a suicide bomber and volunteers for a bit of freelance work to help Petra out.

** What's Best **

Kellerman in his familiar fashion and in keeping with the books title keeps twisting the suspense up a notch with each chapter making it difficult to put down the traditional one more chapter syndrome.

The very best thing about this book is Isaac Gomez, he is a fantastic character and in this book appears to be developing far faster as a character than Petra Connor, this may well be the fact that Kellerman is able to draw on his own experiences, as he does with Alex Delaware, to produce a high achieving young man from a minority background, Kellerman received his PHD in psychology at 24 and is an orthodox Jew, whilst the 22 year old Gomez is from a Salvadoran family. Not only do we see the ability of this highly intelligent character but have to sympathise with, and probably have a little smile at, the difficulties caused by his large brain and underdeveloped social skills.

** Would I recommend it **

I would certainly recommend this book to any fan of the psychological thriller, as a character I still feel Petra has some way to go to be up there with Delaware and Sturgis, but a further novel starring Isaac would have me heading for the bookshop in a hurry. In addition Eric Stahl certainly holds an interest for me. I have said I wouldn't read it again that is because with these type of books if you know the ending I see know point in re-reading as the suspense is gone.

** About the Author **

Jonathan Kellerman is an American author brought up in Los Angeles where he bases the majority of his novels. Married to the author Faye Kellerman he has been publishing approximately one book a year since 1985 the majority of which feature Alex Delaware. Twisted is the Second Petra Connor Novel and the third Kellerman novel in which she has featured.

** Publisher Details **

Published in Paperback by Headline

Pages 512

ISBN 0 7553 0739 9

RRP £6.99

Available on Amazon at £5.59 or the Book Place for £4.89

Summary: Diversion from Delaware, but Petra Connor is not quite there as a character yet.