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Title: Evidence: An Alex Delaware Novel
ISBN: 0345495152
Author:
Jonathan Kellerman
Publicate Date: 2009-10-06
Publish: 2009-10-06
List Price: $28.00
Average Customer Rating: 3.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $6.94
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $2.50
Amazon Merchant Price: $18.48
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| Customer Review: |
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1: evidence
very rambling story with little to capture the attention. much repetitive mini stories within this book. lost interest half way through. very poor .
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2: Alex has completely faded away
Over the past several novels, Kellerman has made a few improvements: he no longer describes the routes that Alex and Milo are driving in excruciating detail, as if he were a GPS; Milo was not in this book described as "washing his face without water," a behavior description that read like it had been cut-and-pasted from earlier books; and there's less focus on that cipher snore-fest Robin, she of the hair that looks like purple grapes tumbling down her back. (Seriously, he used that description several times in past books.)
However, Alex himself has faded away as well. After the very earliest Delaware novels, it required an enormous suspension of disbelief to understand why Alex tagged along with Milo, and that connection has become even more tenuous. However, Alex used to have a storyline going as well. Now he has clearly become nothing more than a way to avoid telling the story from Milo's first person perspective. While I've always liked Milo better anyway, it's odd how Alex says MAYBE 100 words in the entire book. Kellerman has clearly given up entirely on trying to make Delaware a real character.
Also, I have no idea why anyone in this book did anything. Afterward I tried to piece it together, the whos and whys, and couldn't. The connections were muddled.
On the plus side, I did enjoy the descriptions of Milo's interrogations--very fun!
Oh, and please Kellerman: can Alex please lighten up and eat a freakin' donut already when he goes to coffee shops with Milo?
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3: Did he really write this or have I been away too long?
Dialog and one liners make up about 80% of this book. Granted, I've missed the last 2 or 3 of this series but I don't remember any of his books being this dialog centric. Very few descriptive elements and almost no development of the main characters, other than to point out what a glutton Milo is. I made myself finish it and it felt like punishment.
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4: A Milo-Focused Police Procedural with Alex Delaware Along for the Ride
"I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible."
--Isaiah 13:11
The appeal of Evidence is all in the running down of clues and leads. If a slow-developing investigation is not your cup of iced tea (one of Milo's favorite beverages), you should avoid this Evidence.
The facts behind the various crimes rely on some pretty unusual characters and personal histories, ones that may strike you as unrealistic rather than exotic. If you want motives and backgrounds to be more run-of-the-mill, this isn't your story either.
I like police procedurals, but I was puzzled by the device of merely having Alex Delaware along for the ride. Why not just let Milo be the narrator in first person and give Alex a vacation? If you are looking for brilliant Delaware insights, you'll be very disappointed with this book.
I thought the plot was more than a little far-fetched, but it was redeemed up to average for me by some astonishing plot twists that came along when I was just about to lose interest.
All in all, Evidence is a reasonably entertaining read . . . but one that's uncharacteristic of the series.
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5: Evidence Of Kellerman's Talent Missing From This Book
I've read all of Jonathan Kellerman's thrillers featuring psychologist Alex Delaware and though the quality has greatly slipped in the last few outings until EVIDENCE the books were still quick page turning reads. Unfortunately I really struggled to finish this one and found the plot not only unbelievable (which has been a real Kellerman problem in the recent past) but confusing. One of the series trademarks has always been the distinctive portrayal of Southern California life but the unfinished mega mansion that forms the core of this mystery could have been located anywhere and the LA feel that permeated the early books is missing. Milo, Alex, Robin (who I personally can't stand) and some other reoccurring characters make appearances but we learn nothing new or interesting about any of them. I'm not totally giving up on the Delaware series yet but if the next book is as tired as this one that may be the end for me.
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