A Cold Heart (Alex Delaware Series #17) [NOOK Book]

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Overview

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

Jonathan Kellerman is a master at creating psychologically nuanced novels of suspense—an author whose name is synonymous with unrelenting action, intriguing plot twists, and penetrating insight into the criminal mind. Now he ventures into bold, new territory with his biggest and best novel yet. A Cold Heart features Kellerman’s brilliant signature style—but in this tour-de-force he mines even deeper the emotional landscape of his characters: psychologist-sleuth Alex Delaware, LAPD homicide detective Milo ...
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More About This Book

Overview

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

Jonathan Kellerman is a master at creating psychologically nuanced novels of suspense—an author whose name is synonymous with unrelenting action, intriguing plot twists, and penetrating insight into the criminal mind. Now he ventures into bold, new territory with his biggest and best novel yet. A Cold Heart features Kellerman’s brilliant signature style—but in this tour-de-force he mines even deeper the emotional landscape of his characters: psychologist-sleuth Alex Delaware, LAPD homicide detective Milo Sturgis, Milo’s colleague Petra Connor, and Alex’s ex-lover, Robin Castagna—bringing them all vividly to life as never before.

“I’ve got a weird one, so naturally I thought of you,” says Milo Sturgis, summoning his friend Alex to the trendy gallery where a promising young artist has been brutally garroted on the night of her first major showing. What makes it “a weird one” is the lack of any obvious motive, and the luridly careful staging of the murder scene—which immediately suggests to Alex not an impulsive crime of passion . . . but the meticulous and taunting modus operandi of a serial killer.

Delaware’s suspicion is borne out when he compares notes with Milo’s associate, Petra Connor, and her new partner, a strange, taciturn detective with a past of his own named Eric Stahl. The Hollywood cops are investigating the vicious death of Baby Boy Lee, a noted blues guitarist, fatally stabbed after a late-night set at a local club. What links Baby Boy’s murder with that of painter Juliet Kipper is the shadowy presence of an abrasive fanzine writer. This alias-shrouded critic’s love-the-art/disdain-the-artist philosophy and his morbid fascination with the murders leads Alex and the detectives to suspect they’re facing a new breed of celebrity stalker: one with a fetish for snuffing out rising stars.

Tracking down the killer proves to be maddening, with the twisting trail leading from halfway houses to palatial mansions and from a college campus to the last place Alex ever expected: the doorstep of his ex-lover Robin Castagna, whose business association with two of the victims casts her as an unavoidable player in the unfolding case. As more and more killings are discovered, unraveling the maddening puzzle assumes a chilling new importance—stopping a vicious psychopath who’s made cold-blood murder his chosen art form.

Editorial Reviews

The New York Times
Analyze this about Dr. Alex Delaware: he's a guy who cleans the front grille of his Cadillac with a toothbrush before going out to meet a new woman. But there's something endearing about his actually admitting it. And fortunately for readers of a series that still ambles on confidently, he's smarter about murder than he is about love. — Janet Maslin
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
From The Critics
"This one's a twister, isn't it?" Kellerman is at it again with number 17 in his highly successful series starring smooth L.A. psychologist Alex Delaware. In this latest installment, Delaware is called in (via Homicide pal Milo Sturgis) to consult on a string of bizarre murders of fringe artists on the verge of stardom. The victims-a bluesman out of rehab, a punk diva screaming her way toward a record deal, a rising young concert pianist and an abstract painter-seem utterly unrelated. Their only connection, as Delaware shrewdly notes, is that each is "[a] gifted, damaged soul snuffed out violently, during the first blush of comeback." Rounding out the investigative team is Det. Petra Connor (reprising her role from previous Kellerman books), this time paired with spooky, skinny Eric Stahl, a silent ex-soldier with a sweaty fear of hospitals. The clues appear in an underground zine covering art in absurdly pretentious tones ("This is DANCE as in paleo-instinctuo-bioenergetics") in articles signed by the "Faithful Scrivener," and lead the team to encounters with some of the weirder denizens of the City of Angels. Of course, Kellerman provides a meaty layer of interpersonal relationships beneath the surface of his plot, so that longtime fans can tune into the latest episode of Delaware's tense friendship with his ex, Robin, which is not where he hoped it would be, but which he handles with his usual aplomb ("When in doubt, ask about the dog"). That Robin's occupation places her squarely in the killer's crosshairs wraps things up nicely. Booksellers should have little trouble moving this along. Agent, Barney Karpfinger. Major ad/promo. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780345463654
  • Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 4/29/2003
  • Sold by: Random House
  • Format: eBook
  • Sales rank: 33,512
  • Series: Alex Delaware Series, #17
  • File size: 469 KB
  • Items ship to U.S, APO/FPO and U.S. Protectorate addresses.

Meet the Author

Jonathan Kellerman
Jonathan Kellerman
Child psychologist-turned-novelist Jonathan Kellerman uses his knowledge of the psyche's weaknesses to create chilling crime novels, many starring detective (and former child psychologist, natch) Alex Delaware and cop friend Milo Sturgis.

Biography

"I like to say that as a psychologist I was concerned with the rules of human behavior," Jonathan Kellerman has said. "As a novelist, I'm concerned with the exceptions." Both roles are evident in Kellerman's string of bestselling psychological thrillers, in which he probes the hidden corners of the human psyche with a clinician's expertise and a novelist's dark imagination.

Kellerman worked for years as a child psychologist, but his first love was writing, which he started doing at the age of nine. After reading Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer novels, however, Kellerman found his voice as a writer -- and his calling as a suspense novelist. His first published novel, When the Bough Breaks, featured a child psychologist, Dr. Alex Delaware, who helps solve a murder case in which the only apparent witness is a traumatized seven-year-old girl. The book was an instant hit; as New York's Newsday raved, "[T]his knockout of an entertainment is the kind of book which establishes a career in one stroke."

Kellerman has since written a slew more Alex Delaware thrillers; not surprisingly, the series hero shares much of Kellerman's own background. The books often center on problems of family psychopathology—something Kellerman had ample chance to observe in his day job. The Delaware novels have also chronicled the shifting social and cultural landscape of Los Angeles, where Kellerman lives with his wife (who is also a health care practitioner-turned-novelist) and their four children.

A prolific author who averages one book a year, Kellerman dislikes the suggestion that he simply cranks them out. He has a disciplined work schedule, and sits down to write in his office five days a week, whether he feels "inspired" or not. "I sit down and start typing. I think it's important to deromanticize the process and not to get puffed up about one's abilities," he said in a 1998 chat on Barnes & Noble.com. "Writing fiction's the greatest job in the world, but it's still a job. All the successful novelists I know share two qualities: talent and a good work ethic."

And he does plenty of research, drawing on medical databases and current journals as well as his own experience as a practicing psychologist. Then there are the field trips: before writing Monster, Kellerman spent time at a state hospital for the criminally insane.

Kellerman has taken periodic breaks from his Alex Delaware series to produce highly successful stand-alone novels that he claims have helped him to gain some needed distance from the series characters. It's a testament to Kellerman's storytelling powers that the series books and the stand-alones have both gone over well with readers; clearly, Kellerman's appeal lies more in his dexterity than in his reliance on a formula. "Often mystery writers can either plot like devils or create believable characters," wrote one USA Today reviewer. "Kellerman stands out because he can do both. Masterfully."

Good To Know

Some outtakes from our interview with Jonathan Kellerman:
"I am the proud husband of a brilliant novelist, Faye Kellerman. I am the proud father of a brilliant novelist, Jesse Kellerman. And three lovely, gifted daughters, one of whom, Aliza, may turn out to be one of the greatest novelists/poets of this century. "

"My first job was selling newspapers on a corner, age 12. Then I delivered liquor, age 16 -- the most engaging part of that gig was schlepping cartons of bottles up stairways in building without elevators. Adding insult to injury, tips generally ranged from a dime to a quarter. And, I was too young to sample the wares. Subsequent jobs included guitar teacher, freelance musician, newspaper cartoonist, Sunday School teacher, youth leader, research/teaching assistant. All of that simplified when I was 24 and earned a Ph.D. in psychology. Another great job. Then novelist? Oh, my, an embarrassment of riches. Thank you, thank you, thank you, kind readers. I'm the luckiest guy in the world.

"I paint, I play the guitar, I like to hang out with intelligent people whose thought processes aren't by stereotype, punditry, political correctness, etc. But enough about me. The important thing is The Book."

More fun facts:
After Kellerman called his literary agent to say that his wife, Faye, had written a novel, the agent reluctantly agreed to take a look ("Later, he told me his eyes rolled all the way back in his head," Kellerman said in an online chat). Two weeks later, a publisher snapped up Faye Kellerman's first book, The Ritual Bath. Faye Kellerman has since written many more mysteries featuring L.A. cop Peter Decker and his wife Rina Lazarus, including the bestsellers Justice and Jupiter's Bones.

When Kellerman wrote When the Bough Breaks in 1981, crime novels featuring gay characters were nearly nonexistent, so Alex Delaware's gay detective friend, Milo Sturgis, was a rarity. Kellerman admits it can be difficult for a straight writer to portray a gay character, but says the feedback he's gotten from readers -- gay and straight -- has been mostly positive.

In his spare time, Kellerman is a musician who collects vintage guitars. He once placed the winning online auction bid for a guitar signed by Don Henley and his bandmates from the Eagles; proceeds from the sale were donated to the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas.

In addition to his novels, Kellerman has written two children's books and three nonfiction books, including Savage Spawn, about the backgrounds and behaviors of child psychopaths.

But for a 1986 television adaptation of When the Bough Breaks, none of Kellerman's work has yet made it to screen. "I wish I could say that Hollywood's beating a path to my door," he said in a Barnes & Noble.com chat in 1998, "but the powers-that-be at the studios don't seem to feel that my books lend themselves to film adaptation. The most frequent problem cited is too much complexity."

    1. Hometown:
      Beverly Hills, California
    1. Date of Birth:
      August 9, 1949
    2. Place of Birth:
      New York, New York
    1. Education:
      B.A. in psychology, University of California-Los Angeles; Ph.D., University of Southern California, 1974
    2. Website:
      http://www.jonathankellerman.com/

Read an Excerpt

The witness remembers it like this:

Shortly after 2 a.m., Baby Boy Lee exits the Snake Pit through the rear alley fire door. The light fixture above the door is set up for two bulbs, but one is missing, and the illumination that trickles down onto the garbage-flecked asphalt is feeble and oblique, casting a grimy mustard-colored disc, perhaps three feet in diameter. Whether or not the missing bulb is intentional will remain conjecture.

It is Baby Boy’s second and final break of the evening. His contract with the club calls for a pair of one-hour sets. Lee and the band have run over their first set by twenty-two minutes, because of Baby Boy’s extended guitar and harmonica solos. The audience, a nearly full house of 124, is thrilled. The Pit is a far cry from the venues Baby Boy played in his heyday, but he appears to be happy, too.

It has been a while since Baby Boy has taken the stage anywhere and played coherent blues. Audience members questioned later are unanimous: Never has the big man sounded better.

Baby Boy is said to have finally broken free of a host of addictions, but one habit remains: nicotine. He smokes three packs of Kools a day, taking deep-in-the-lung drags while onstage, and his guitars are notable for the black, lozenge-shaped burn marks that scar their lacquered wood finishes.

Tonight, though, Baby Boy has been uncommonly focused, rarely removing lit cigarettes from where he customarily jams them: just above the nut of his 62 Telecaster, wedged under the three highest strings, smoldering slowly.

So it is probably a tobacco itch that causes the singer to leap offstage the moment he plays his final note, flinging his bulk out the back door without a word to his band or anyone else. The bolt clicks behind him, but it is doubtful he notices.

The fiftieth Kool of the day is lit before Baby Boy reaches the alley. He is sucking in mentholated smoke as he steps in and out of the disc of dirty light.

The witness, such that he is, is certain that he caught a glimpse of Baby Boy’s face in the light and that the big man was sweating. If that’s true, perhaps the perspiration had nothing to do with anxiety but resulted from Baby Boy’s obesity and the calories expended on his music: For 83 minutes he has been jumping and howling and swooning, caressing his guitar, bringing the crowd to a frenzy at set’s end with a fiery, throat-ripping rendition of his signature song, a basic blues setup in the key of B-flat that witnesses the progression of Baby Boy’s voice from inaudible mumble to an anguished wail.

There’s women that’ll mess you

There’s those that treat you nice

But I got me a woman with

A heart as cold as ice.

A cold heart,

A cold, cold heart

My baby’s hot but she is cold

A cold heart,

A cold, cold heart

My baby’s murdering my soul . . .

At this point, the details are unreliable. The witness is a hepatitis-stricken, homeless man by the name of Linus Leopold Brophy, age thirty-nine but looking sixty, who has no interest in the blues or any other type of music and who happens to be in the alley because he has been drinking Red Phoenix fortified wine all night and the Dumpster five yards east of the Snake Pit’s back door provides shelter for him to sleep off his delirium tremens. Later, Brophy will consent to a blood alcohol test and will come up .24, three times the legal limit for driving, but according to Brophy “barely buzzed.”

Brophy claims to have been drowsy but awake when the sound of the back door opening rouses him and he sees a big man step out into the light and then fade to darkness. Brophy claims to recall the lit end of the man’s cigarette glowing “like Halloween, you know—orange, shiny, real bright, know what I mean?” and admits that he seizes upon the idea of panhandling money from the smoker. (“Because the guy is fat, so I figure he had enough to eat, that’s for sure, maybe he’ll come across, know what I mean?”)

Linus Brophy struggles to his feet and approaches the big man.

Seconds later, someone else approaches the big man, arriving from the opposite direction—the mouth of the alley, at Lodi Place. Linus Brophy stops in his tracks, retreats into darkness, sits down next to the Dumpster.

The new arrival, a man, also good-sized, according to Brophy, though not as tall as Baby Boy Lee and maybe half of Baby Boy’s width, walks right up to the singer and says something that sounds “friendly.” Questioned about this characterization extensively, Brophy denies hearing any conversation but refuses to budge from his judgment of amiability. (“Like they were friends, you know? Standing there, friendly.”)

The orange glow of Baby Boy’s cigarette lowers from mouth to waist level as he listens to the new arrival.

The new arrival says something else to Baby Boy, and Baby Boy says something back.

The new arrival moves closer to Baby Boy. Now, the two men appear to be hugging.

The new arrival steps back, looks around, turns heel and leaves the alley the way he came.

Baby Boy Lee stands there alone.

His hand drops. The orange glow of the cigarette hits the ground, setting off sparks.

Baby Boy sways. Falls.

Linus Brophy stares, finally builds up the courage to approach the big man. Kneeling, he says, “Hey, man,” receives no answer, reaches out and touches the convexity of Baby Boy’s abdomen. He feels moisture on his hand and is repelled.

As a younger man, Brophy had a temper. He has spent half of his life in various county jails and state penitentiaries, saw things, did things. He knows the feel and the smell of fresh blood.

Stumbling to his feet, he lurches to the back door of the Snake Pit and tries to pull it open, but the door is locked. He knocks, no one answers.

The shortest way out of the alley means retracing the steps of the newcomer: walk out to Lodi Place, hook north to Fountain, and find someone who’ll listen.

Brophy has already wet his pants twice tonight—first while sleeping drunk and now, upon touching Baby Boy Lee’s blood. Fear grips him, and he heads the other way, tripping through the long block that takes him to the other end of the alley. Finding no one on the street at this hour, he makes his way to an all-night liquor store on the corner of Fountain and El Centro.

Once inside the store, Brophy shouts at the Lebanese clerk who sits reading behind a Plexiglas window, the same man who one hour ago sold him three bottles of Red Phoenix. Brophy waves his arms, tries to get across what he has just seen. The clerk regards Brophy as exactly what he is—a babbling wino—and orders him to leave.

When Brophy begins pounding on the Plexiglas, the clerk considers reaching for the nail-studded baseball bat he keeps beneath the counter. Sleepy and weary of confrontation, he dials 911.

Brophy leaves the liquor store and walks agitatedly up and down Fountain Avenue. When a squad car from Hollywood Division arrives, Officers Keith Montez and Cathy Ruggles assume Brophy is their problem and handcuff him immediately.

Somehow he manages to communicate with the Hollywood Blues and they drive their black and white to the mouth of the alley. High- intensity LAPD-issue flashlights bathe Baby Boy Lee’s corpse in a heartless, white glare.

The big man’s mouth gapes, and his eyes are rolled back. His banana yellow Stevie Ray Vaughan T-shirt is dyed crimson, and a red pool has seeped beneath his corpse. Later, it will be ascertained that the killer gutted the big man with a classic street fighter’s move: long-bladed knife thrust under the sternum followed by a single upward motion that slices through intestine and diaphragm and nicks the right ventricle of Baby Boy’s already seriously enlarged heart.

Baby Boy is long past help, and the cops don’t even attempt it.


From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating 3.5
( 31 )

Rating Distribution

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  • Posted March 23, 2009

    Excellent read

    Excellent read

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 14, 2007

    A reviewer

    I enjoyed the book. It wasn't as great as the other ones. I felt that it was missing feeling from Alex, the villan & the victims. Don't get me wrong the story was also interesting just not as passionate. I give the novel one thumb up. And would still recommend it to however is in to the Delaware series.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 9, 2005

    Good plotting, too long

    I enjoyed this Alex Delaware better than some of latest ones (i.e. The Conspiracy Club). I read primarily to catch up with one of Kellerman's new characters - Petra Connor, a LAPD homicide detective. I like her and her partner Eric Stahl. This book grabs you in the beginning but gets blogged down in multiple suspects in the middle. Recommended but you need patience...

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 6, 2004

    You people are so harsh

    I found A cold heart to be a nice book to read, I really enjoyed it.. I don't see it as horrible as so many say it is. I liked Petra, she was a nice edition to the series, and I can understand why Delaware didnt fight for Robin.. even if both of them still had soemthing left. He had someone, and Robin had someone.. Stahl was a stale character, he had no depth to him, but without him I cant see the plot working out. I didnt quite understand how they figured out who was behind the killings.. When he first mentioned the kevin drummond I had to reread the paragraphs over a few times... I also found the ending to be a bit weak. Aside from the few glitches, I liked this book.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 8, 2004

    A Cold Read -- Zero Stars!!

    I've been a long time fan of Kellerman although his last few books have been lagging; this one is clearly the worst. There were great opportunities to spice things up with the addition of Petra and the mix of first-person and third-person narrative, but it fell flat. The addition of Eric Stahl too is troublesome -- he's clearly a poor man's Joe Pike from the Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais. The plot is preposterous and the connections made by Delaware are ridiculous...we're supposed to believe that RC written in some guy's calendar refers to Robin, the ex? Quite a leap. I've always been a little stupefied that Milo has to rely on Delaware to solve all his cases for him and this book is no exception. When Milo asks Delaware which flights he should check out and how to go about it, I threw in the towel on the series. Milo must be the most inept cop in all of California, which is probably supposed to be a nice balance with the most sexy, most attractive, most libidinous psychologist pal of his -- Dr. Delaware. After awhile, I started skimming over the mentions of Delaware's good looks, money, and instant erections. Kellerman mailed this one in and it shows, complete with typos throughout. Petra states in one of the chapters, 'This is getting seriously weird...' Well this book is seriously awful. It was terrible. Don't waste your time.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 30, 2004

    Disappointing story

    I've read all the Alex Delaware series and this one was just disappointing. The disappointment is a toss-up between the actual plot and end of the relationship of Alex and Robin. I know lots of people think Alex's new love interest, Allison Gwynn (first appeared in The Murder Book), is better suited for Alex, but I honestly believe Robin provided a calm and peaceful anchor for the craziness in Alex's world. So, breaking up the Alex/Robin relationship seems to have ruined the plot of this book. The strength of character I've always admired with Alex has been shot since he can't seem to decide who he really wants - Robin or Allison. After being with Robin for over a decade, it just seems so sudden for him to give up and not fight for her. Allison is too much like Alex and the chemistry just doesn't seem to be there. I mean, does a man really want to be with someone exactly like him? After being a faithful reader of the Alex Delaware stories, I'm sad to say that Jonathan Kellerman has lost a reader in me. If anyone knows how I can write a letter to the author, please e-mail me and let me know how. Thanks.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 25, 2003

    A different Alex...

    This had an excellent beginning...but the ending was rather tame...I liked the way Alex is more humane in his relationship, and the angle with Milo and Petra is good. The balance was good between the plot and the personal view of Alex's life...and the wry humour. Do give us more of Alex...but with more twist!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 19, 2003

    One of Kellerman's WORST !

    A Cold Heart, along with 'The Web', are the poorest of the Delaware series. Sorry I wasted the time trying to stuggle through it!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 26, 2003

    Time to Dump Delaware, JK!

    I have been reading this series for years, and I'm hoping this book is the last gasp. The basic plot premise is good - artistically talented people are getting murdered. However, Alex's nonstop angst over his old love Robin and the start of his new love Allison is getting borrrrrrrring, and constantly brings the story to a thudding halt. The author tries to validate their tiresome presence by bringing them both into a contrived and completely ludicrous damsel-in-distress scene at the end. The good Dr. Delaware's taste in women is so clueless that he doesn't see that Petra Connor, the police officer, is a woman with more depth and character than the plastic Barbies he is anguishing over. And please spare me any more scenes of his pal Milo's revolting eating habits! The mystery's solution holds few surprises, and by the time I reached it I didn't much care anyway. J.Kellerman needs to drop the old yawn-inducing characters and develop a new series with Petra and her enigmatic partner Eric Stahl. Maybe Dr. Delaware could have a cameo role. Just make sure he leaves his love life at home - please.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 15, 2003

    LOVED IT!!!!

    All I can really say is that I am very thankful that Robin seems to be gone. Sure hope she stays gone! The new love interest for Alex is much stronger, both emotionally and physically and will likely take the working relationship of Alex and Milo to a different level. I don't want her to replace Milo (NONONO), but it could give a little jolt to the storylines if she and Alex OR she and Milo were to go off solving crimes together and leave the third person behind!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 8, 2003

    A PLEASANT RETURN TO FORM!!

    Kellerman seems to have rebounded from a prolonged slump that stretches back to the truely awful 'The Web'. The Murder Book hinted that Delaware still had some life in him while A Cold Heart confirms this suspicion. The story is a cracker that moves solidly along. Replacing Robin was a courageous but long overdue move as she tended to interfere with the plots while not contributing a believeable love interest. Spike is missed though!! How about a Delaware story that focuses on Milo. He is by far the most intrigueing and developed character. Perhaps something that leads him to become involved with a woman thus causing him to reflect and question his life choice. Not that I would want him to suddenly become a ladies man but the attraction that women have towards him is overwealming and at some point a person will come along that causes his heart to tingle with attraction as much as sympathy. For now A Cold Heart is good enough to pump some badly needed blood back into one of the very best series on the market!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 25, 2003

    NOT UP TO PAR

    An overall avid reader of many styles and authors, Kellerman has always been one of my favorites. I felt I could always look to him for a good read. Not so, this time. I would normally complete one of his novels within a day or two, yet, this time, I was forced to return it, uncompleted, to my library after the 7-day checkout limit on this high-demand book. A RARE for me. Not able to leave a book half-read, I checked it out again a few weeks later (hoping it was only my own mood that soured my reading and not the book). Again, not so. I did choke it down, though, but it certainly left a lot to be desired. Gone was that spine-tingling suspense I was used to getting when reading one of Kellerman's Alex Delaware novels. In it's place was a slow read that I certainly had no trouble putting down (just the opposite, in fact). I look forward to his next novel, though in hope that it will be a great improvement upon this one.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 7, 2003

    FAR FROM THE BEST

    I HAVE READ ALL OF KELLERMAN'S BOOKS AND THEY ARE USUALLY PAGE TURNERS. I HAD TO FORCE MYSELF TO FINISH THIS ONE.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 11, 2003

    Froze my Heart

    The latest novel by Kellerman is about a psychotic who murders up-and-coming artists and the detectives who hunt the killer. Along the way, we're introduced to many new faces in the Alex Delaware series, and many of those faces fade away as quickly as they came. Then, later in the book, Kellerman injects these people in that we have no recollection of! The plot was intriguing, but towards the end it seemed to just stop. There were many points of interest in the novel that Kellerman left hanging open for the reader to fill in the blanks. A Cold Heart started out as a fast-paced story until, like his other novels, it delved too deep into the intricacies of the human mind. I'm more interested about the 'who' in a 'whodunit' and not the 'why.' Johnathan Kellerman is a gifted writer, but he needs to spend more time evolving his STORY, not the life in which he lives that he portrays on to pieces of paper.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 21, 2003

    Whose Cold Heart?

    A Cold Heart is the most recent of Kellerman¿s terrific series involving police consultant Alex Delaware and police lieutenant Milo Sturgis. Someone is killing artists who have been up, then down, and are trying to get ¿up¿ again. These artists encompass ¿art¿ across the board: painters, singers, guitarists, classical musicians, sculptors. This mystery brings together not only Milo and Alex, but also Petra, a cop who starred in Kellerman¿s non Alex Delaware Billy Straight. Robin, Alex¿s romantic interest for the past ten years, is still living apart from him. In fact, she is living with a new romantic interest. Alex, too, has a new interest in that department as well, Allison, a psychologist like him. While trying to help the police solve this mystery, Alex is still trying to navigate life without Robin. There is still a very strong bond between them which seemingly is only somewhat threatenting to Robin¿s new boyfriend, and even less so to Allison. Allison certainly appears in this book to be a good match for Alex, but one wonders whether his heart is still with Robin and whether he is capable of completely embracing a new love. Robin is a maker of and a repairer of guitars. She knows some of the murder victims.In addition to the murders, her new home is broken into and several guitars belonging to one of the victims are stolen. Is her connection to some of the victims important? Will the murderer target her? This mystery takes the reader through the dark alleys where prostitutes hang out and drug deals are effected, to the upper echelons of society, as well as to the ivory towers of academia. It deals with artistic temperament and artistic failure and the ends to which those who fail in art and fail in fitting in will resort as a means of compensation.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 2, 2003

    A bit too long

    A COLD HEART is a well told story I beleive could have been cut down by about 50 pages. The plot will keep you pulled into it, but sometimes it seems to drag along.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 27, 2003

    A solid entry in the best-selling series.

    Alex Delaware is called to investigate a series of bizarre murders that linked together. Washed-up guitarist Baby Boy Lee is found stabbed to death outside of a local club. Alex doesn¿t know what to make of the stabbing, but knows this wasn¿t just a random killing. The body was carefully placed, arranged if you will, and Alex wants answers for Baby Boy was a friend of Alex¿s long-time, but now ex-girlfriend Robin. Investigating the case is Petra Connor, and with the help of Alex and his partner/friend LAPD detective Milo Sturgis, Petra is confident they will catch the killer, until another body turns up¿ In another part of town another body is found, this time it¿s that of Julie Kipper, a talented, divorced artist on the verge of her big break. At the opening of her first show, Julie is found murdered. There is no motive, and only one clue¿the body was arranged in a sick manner, that resembling the body of Baby Boy. Petra, Milo and Alex must work carefully and quickly as the body count rises, but catching this killer will be no easy task, as he stays one step ahead, taunting the police with his bloody 'art' work, and to make matters worse Petra has been given a new partner, one that hides secrets of his own. `A Cold Heart¿ is another solid entry in the Alex Delaware series. Fans know what to expect in these mysteries; fast pace, careful plotting, genuine characters and thick suspense, and this novel contains all the elements that have made the previous entries in the series bestsellers. Jonathan Kellerman continues to churn out original, quality thrillers. For many years his Delaware series has been the setting standards in the psychological suspense arena, and this latest entry is further proof the series is stronger than ever, and with Kellerman¿s expert plotting, here to stay. Fans of the series are sure to devour this in a few sittings. Expect to see `A Cold Heart¿ at the top of the charts. Nick Gonnella

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 22, 2003

    Another Good One

    A Cold Heart was entertaining, like his others, but seemed to drag a little. Other than that it was good.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 17, 2003

    Enough Already!!

    Perhaps the time has come for Alex Delaware to ride off into the sunset. I have read every novel with Delaware as the protagonist, but I am starting to find him as exciting as my next door neighbor. Who cares if he uses a toothbrush to clean the grille of his car... Add to this the fact the book was way too long and the plot convoluted. Maybe its time for Kellerman to find a new cast, a new location and sharpen his focus instead of meandering from page to page.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 24, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

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