Compulsion

From Publishers Weekly Bestseller Kellerman serves up all the elements his fans have come to love in the 22nd entry in his Alex Delaware series (_Obsession_, etc.), including an intriguing plot, likable regular characters supported by an interesting secondary cast, diabolical villains, witty dialogue and a sense of humanity and justice. Alex and his LAPD detective partner, Milo Sturgis, are investigating several murders that, at first, appear to have only one thing in common: the perpetrator's use of expensive black automobiles while committing his crimes. Kellerman sticks to his usual modus, the patient and sometimes painfully slow accumulation of detail, as Alex and Milo build their case. A subplot involves a missing child last seen selling magazine subscriptions in a tony neighborhood 16 years earlier. On the domestic front, Alex is again living with his girlfriend, Robin, with whom he has broken up several times over the course of the series. In the end, a nice twist reminds Robin and Alex to be more careful in the future about drawing assumptions in their private life before all the facts have come to light. (_Apr.)_ Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From L.A. psychologist Alex Delawares insights into human behavior once again prove invaluable to his friend, Lieutenant Milo Sturgis. In the duos twenty-first crime outing, narrated as usual by Delaware, a stolen black luxury car provides the two with the first link in a case of brutal murders that ultimately leads to one of Kellermans most warped villains. When Sturgis is called in by a young officer to consult on a bloodstain found in a recovered Bentley, Delaware rides along, as he does later when Sturgis hurries to the scene of the brutal stabbing of an elderly woman, which took place in broad daylight. The perpetrator of this second crime was identified as an elderly man driving a pricey black car. Add to this the mystery of a missing thirtysomething party girl, and theres plenty to occupy investigators. Though their path to success seems less grounded than usual, the comfortable banter that has helped make Delaware and Sturgis such durable crime-story heroes is as rapid-fire, keen, and wryly funny as ever, and the mystery they aim to solve is certainly not routine. Enhanced by an assortment of quirky supporting characters cut from vintage Kellerman cloth, this is a genuine page-turner sure to please the authors legion of devoted fans. --Stephanie Zvirin Out : dec182010