Flesh and Blood - Softcover

Kellerman, Jonathan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747265003 ISBN 13: 9780747265009

Publisher: Headline, 2002

Synopsis

For Alex Delaware, this crime is personal: if he couldn't help his former patient in life, he will in death. FLESH AND BLOOD is a fast-paced and complex thriller from New York Times No. 1 bestseller Jonathan Kellerman, and is perfect for fans of Harlan Coben and David Baldacci. '[Kellerman] has shaped the psychological mystery novel into an art form' Lost Angeles Times Book Review

When Alex Delaware first saw Lauren Teague she was a sullen teenager with the usual problems: bad grades at school, moody, uncommunicative with her parents - which is why they thought she needed to see a psychologist.

Then years later, a shock: at a batchelor party for a fellow doctor, Delaware finds himself uncomfortably watching two strippers going through a degrading display - and one of them is Lauren Teague. And now her mother is pleading for help once again: Lauren has disappeared - and she thinks Delaware can find her. He's not so sure - but when her disappearance turns into a murder investigation, he knows he owes it to the dead girl to find out what demons drove her to such a horrifying end . . .

About this title

Review

Alex Delaware is back in Flesh and Blood, one of the tautest outings yet for Jonathan Kellerman's resourceful protagonist. The new book represents a further level of refinement in Kellerman's functional, astringently written prose--it's clear that the author knows exactly what his readers need, and he dispenses with the superfluous. Nary a comma is wasted in this lean, direct piece of work.

Alex first encounters Lauren Teague as an uncommunicative teenager with all the usual hang-ups: poor grades at school, open warfare with her parents, etc. She is sent to a psychologist, and Alex loses track of her. Years later, at a bachelor party for a colleague, Alex is watching two strippers perform a fairly tasteless display and notices that one of them is Lauren. Lauren disappears, and her mother pleads for Alex's help in tracking her down. But her disappearance turns into a murder investigation, and Alex is obliged to confront the demons that brought Lauren to an unenviable end.

The theme of a descent into a truly dark criminal underworld is desperately over-familiar, but Kellerman is fully aware of that and rings the changes with commanding authority. If Alex is more cursorily characterised than usual, that's undoubtedly Kellerman's game plan: the narrative here is the thing, and the merest touches are needed to characterise his canny protagonist. --Barry Forshaw

Review

Strong insights into the quirks of human and criminal behaviour (Guardian)

Filled with insight (Stephen King)

Coolly intelligent (GQ)

A sense of humanity and justice (Publishers Weekly)

An alert eye for detail (New York Times)

About this edition

• Publisher: Headline
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0747265003
• ISBN 13: 9780747265009
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 576