Obsession

Obsession by Jonathan Kellerman

Category: Mystery Grade: A

I rest my case. If you remember, three or four books ago, I reviewed a book of two novellas written by Kellerman, together with his wife Fay. I didn't think much of them and said, at the time, that they didn't reflect the abilities of the two authors. Obsession, the latest in Kellerman's Alex Delaware series, really illustrates what I mean. This book was terrific. The main characters, Delaware, his gay police buddy, Milo, his girlfriend Robin (who, thankfully has returned home in this book) and, of course, the dog Blanche (a replacement for Spike who died peacefully of old age) are familiar as old shoes. They're interesting people who happen to solve crimes. Kellerman makes you feel like you're riding around in the back seat rather than just reading about these folks. The central mystery of the book, a might-have-happened murder, while interesting and well told, is almost beside the point. Its just good to be hanging out with these guys again.

These are "low density" books - lots of dialog, lots of short sentences, fast pace - that make them great summer reads.