A Cold Heart
[Books]
Review by ELIZABETH TAI
Author: Jonathan Kellerman
Publisher: Headline, 576 pages
IT STARTED with the murder of Juliet Kipper, a promising young artist. How the body was posed and the careful staging of the murder scene alerts psychologist Alex Delaware to the possibility of a serial killer.
Meanwhile, Hollywood cops Petra Connor (introduced in another Jonathan Kellerman novel, Billy Straight) and Eric Stahl investigate the death of Baby Boy Lee, a popular Blues guitarist about to get his big break, who was stabbed to death in an alley. Delaware believes that the two murders could be related.
Now, if one wants to start reading prolific mystery writer Kellerman, A Cold Heart would be a difficult one to start with. For one, Kellerman culls characters used in other books to take a big part in solving the mystery. Second, Delaware (Kellerman’s psychologist detective) is at a difficult juncture of his life – the former love of his life, Robin, is with another man, and Delaware, although also with a new beau, has not gotten over her.
Basically, Kellerman writes with the assumption that the reader has some knowledge about his most popular creation, psychologist and unofficial detective Delaware. Therefore, the reader has to deal with Delaware’s baggage without having any idea what it is all about. The author does not explain how or why Delaware and Robin are not together anymore. Nor does he explain the special relationship between Milo and Delaware. A Cold Heart is not exactly beginner-friendly.
However, for regular Kellarman readers, it would be a treat to see detectives Petra Connor, Milo Sturgis and Delaware come together to investigate the murders of artistic people who are about to make a breakthrough in their careers.
Being a newbie to Kellerman’s books, I found the first few chapters of A Cold Heart tough-going. I spent half the time trying to make sense of Delaware’s relationship problems. I wanted to get down to the mystery instead of dealing with Delaware’s woe-is-me love life. While authors like Michael Connelly keep readers hooked with his characters’ troubled lives, Kellerman’s morose Delaware just irritates you with his inability to get on with his life. Kellerman also teases the reader with the troubled life of Eric Stahl, a new character. He would have been really interesting if more was revealed of him. Instead we just know that he has a phobia that gets in the way of his job. Perhaps Kellerman is hoping to milk more out of Stahl in the future?
A Cold Heart didn’t grip my attention evenly as well. There were times when I would plod through the pages mildly interested, while other times I would read feverishly, trying to get to the next plot twist.
In the end, the revelation of the killer’s identity didn’t leave me going “Ah!”. If anything, we know who the killer is quite a while before the ending, and you did hope that it was someone else instead. The mystery closes in a very anti-climactic way, almost with a whimper. No guns a-blazing, or sudden revelations involved. A little disappointing, that.
Having later read Bad Love, Kellerman’s earlier effort, this novel is certainly not his best work.
On the whole, a so-so mystery, but not one of Kellerman’s best.
Review by ELIZABETH TAI
Author: Jonathan Kellerman
Publisher: Headline, 576 pages
IT STARTED with the murder of Juliet Kipper, a promising young artist. How the body was posed and the careful staging of the murder scene alerts psychologist Alex Delaware to the possibility of a serial killer.
Meanwhile, Hollywood cops Petra Connor (introduced in another Jonathan Kellerman novel, Billy Straight) and Eric Stahl investigate the death of Baby Boy Lee, a popular Blues guitarist about to get his big break, who was stabbed to death in an alley. Delaware believes that the two murders could be related.
Now, if one wants to start reading prolific mystery writer Kellerman, A Cold Heart would be a difficult one to start with. For one, Kellerman culls characters used in other books to take a big part in solving the mystery. Second, Delaware (Kellerman’s psychologist detective) is at a difficult juncture of his life – the former love of his life, Robin, is with another man, and Delaware, although also with a new beau, has not gotten over her.
Basically, Kellerman writes with the assumption that the reader has some knowledge about his most popular creation, psychologist and unofficial detective Delaware. Therefore, the reader has to deal with Delaware’s baggage without having any idea what it is all about. The author does not explain how or why Delaware and Robin are not together anymore. Nor does he explain the special relationship between Milo and Delaware. A Cold Heart is not exactly beginner-friendly.
However, for regular Kellarman readers, it would be a treat to see detectives Petra Connor, Milo Sturgis and Delaware come together to investigate the murders of artistic people who are about to make a breakthrough in their careers.
Being a newbie to Kellerman’s books, I found the first few chapters of A Cold Heart tough-going. I spent half the time trying to make sense of Delaware’s relationship problems. I wanted to get down to the mystery instead of dealing with Delaware’s woe-is-me love life. While authors like Michael Connelly keep readers hooked with his characters’ troubled lives, Kellerman’s morose Delaware just irritates you with his inability to get on with his life. Kellerman also teases the reader with the troubled life of Eric Stahl, a new character. He would have been really interesting if more was revealed of him. Instead we just know that he has a phobia that gets in the way of his job. Perhaps Kellerman is hoping to milk more out of Stahl in the future?
A Cold Heart didn’t grip my attention evenly as well. There were times when I would plod through the pages mildly interested, while other times I would read feverishly, trying to get to the next plot twist.
In the end, the revelation of the killer’s identity didn’t leave me going “Ah!”. If anything, we know who the killer is quite a while before the ending, and you did hope that it was someone else instead. The mystery closes in a very anti-climactic way, almost with a whimper. No guns a-blazing, or sudden revelations involved. A little disappointing, that.
Having later read Bad Love, Kellerman’s earlier effort, this novel is certainly not his best work.
On the whole, a so-so mystery, but not one of Kellerman’s best.
posted by 9T9 at
3:50 pm
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