Search - Obsession (Alex Delaware, Bk 21)

Obsession (Alex Delaware, Bk 21)
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Obsession (Alex Delaware, Bk 21)
Author: Jonathan Kellerman

Book Information
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Type: Hardcover
Rating:

ISBN-13: 9780345452634 - ISBN-10: 0345452631
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 384

Book Description:
Tanya Bigelow was a solemn little girl when Dr. Alex Delaware successfully treated her obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Now, at nineteen, she still seems older than her years - but her problems go beyond hyper-maturity. Patty Bigelow, Tanya's aunt and adoptive mother, has made a deathbed confession of murder and urged the young woman to seek Delaware's help. The doctor recalls Patty as a selfless E.R. nurse struggling to raise a child on her own - a woman seemingly incapable of the "terrible thing" she has admitted. But for Tanya's peace of mind, Delaware agrees to investigate, and he enlists LAPD detective Milo Sturgis in the search for the phantom victim of a crime that may never have occurred.

Armed with only the vaguest details, psychologist and cop follow a trail twisting from L.A.'s sleaziest low-rent districts to its overblown mansions, retracing Patty and Tanya's nomadic and increasingly puzzling life to the doorsteps of a sullen heroin addict; a randy real-estate broker; and a brilliant, enigmatic physics student. Suddenly a very real murder tears open a terrifying tunnel into the past, where secrets - and bodies - are buried. As the tension mounts, Delaware and Sturgis uncover a tangled history of desperation, vengeance, and death - a legacy of evil that refuses to die.

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Top Member Book Reviews

Tammy (CrystalRose) wrote on 9/17/2007...

7 member(s) found this review helpful.

Well I have to say I agree with everyone else. This book was so so and not anywhere near as exciting as most of Kellermans earlier work. As always Milo and Alex make a great team but there didn't see to be any suspense in this novel at all. It was too easy to figure out and personally I had NO sympathy for the girl they were trying to help. She just came across as annoying for me. It was an interesting enough read but definately something I could easily put down. I hope Kellermans next novel will be better.

Marilynn L. (WildOrchid) wrote on 7/15/2007...

5 member(s) found this review helpful.

Sorry to say, I didn't enjoy this book as much as a lot of his others. About halfway thru the book I wanted to put it down and start something else but I ended up finishing it anyway. I wish some of these authors would stop trying to push books out so quickly and put a bit more thought into them. I'm not giving up on Kellerman yet tho since I like Alex and Milo as a team.

Peggy L. (paigu) wrote on 9/6/2007...

4 member(s) found this review helpful.

I agree, this was only so-so; the title was the most exciting thing about the book, ha. The fans of Kellerman will probably tolerate this book, but it's really no big deal if you skip this particular book.

April L. (AbuelaApril) wrote on 4/7/2007...

3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Not his best, but entertaining.

Marianna S. (Angeloudi) wrote on 11/25/2008...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

That's it- I give up. This book is so boring and slow-moving that I put it down after page 100 and have given up. Dr. Alex Delaware is trying to solve a mystery that may have occurred, or may not have. Patty Bigelow's dying death-bed confession to her daughter Tanya leads Tanya back to Dr. D., who had treated her childhood OCD. However, the confession was vague, and no one knows if a crime was actually committed. Booooooring. Dr. D. and detective Milo Sturgis try to delve into the past, but at page 100, nothing had been figured out. So, it's back on the bookshelf for other Kellerman fans to enjoy. Judging by the excellent reviews this book has on Amazon, I was certainly disappointed.

Jennifer W. (GeniusJen) wrote on 10/27/2007...

1 member(s) found this review helpful.

As a long time fan of both Jonathan Kellerman and Alex Delaware, OBSESSION does not disappoint. As I was immersed once again into another case of past meeting present, I was reminded of how much I love these characters!

When Dr. Delaware is contacted by a former patient after her mother dies, a very strange story unfolds. The girl's mother was a "saint," a nurse who kept the E.R. running smoothly with her tenacity and talents. The fact that she died after a brief illness, and after confessing to having committed a terrible deed, leads her daughter to seek Alex's help. The fact that her mother's boss was Rick Silverman, Milo Sturgis' significant other, only adds to the creative layers of this case.

Tanya Bigelow, now nineteen, once suffered from OCD, and thanks Dr. Delaware for "curing" her. Although Alex has his doubts about the state of Tanya's condition, more stressing matters are on his mind when bodies start piling up, and the "terrible deed" and possible murder that Patty Bigelow confessed to on her deathbed is only the beginning.

OBSESSION is a must-read for all Delaware fans, and for readers who really love a good thriller/mystery. I promise, you won't be disappointed -- although you will be wondering when the next Alex Delaware novel will be published!

Kim T. (kimt6) - KS wrote on 6/24/2007...

1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Not the best book by Kellerman. A lot of What ifs and maybes.

Mary C. (Cricor) wrote on 5/1/2007...

1 member(s) found this review helpful.

I really enjoyed this book. The good Doctor joins Milo in a mystifying search for answers after a deathbed confession.

Gloria M. (glo) wrote on 4/12/2007...

1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Fast read!


Please Rate these Book Reviews

Monica G. wrote on 7/15/2007...


Tanya Bigelow was a solemn little girl when Dr. Alex Delaware successfully treated her obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Now, at nineteen, she still seems older than her years - but her problems go beyond hyper-maturity. Patty Bigelow, Tanya's aunt and adoptive mother, has made a deathbed confession of murder and urged the young woman to seek Delaware's help. The doctor recalls Patty as a selfless E.R. nurse struggling to raise a child on her own-a woman seemingly incapable of the 'terrible thing' she has admitted. But for Tanya's peace of mind, Delaware agrees to investigate, and he enlists LAPD detective Milo Sturgis in the search for the phantom victim of a crime that may never have occurred.

Jackie T. (JTG) wrote on 6/15/2007...


Alex Delaware helps a young woman with OCD tendencies find out the answers to her mother's past.


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