- Hardcover: 396 pages
- Publisher: Random House USA Inc (1 Dec 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 067945960X
- ISBN-13: 978-0676574173
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,241,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Monster: Alex Delaware 13
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Consulting psychologist Alex Delaware has a novel approach to crime solving: he uses his training to unlock the secrets in the minds of the victims and jiggles the clues he finds there until the right scenario emerges. So when Alex's LAPD buddy Milo finds the hacked-up body of a woman psychologist named Claire Argent in an abandoned car trunk--the second such murder in eight months--Alex heads for her place of employment: the Starkweather State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
One of Argent's patients at Starkweather is Ardis "Monster" Peake, imprisoned for the unbelievably brutal murders of his mother and the family she worked for, including a small child and a baby. There is at least one eerie similarity between the mutilation of their bodies and Argent's: in all the bodies, the eyes were taken or destroyed. But Peake, diagnosed as schizophrenic and psychotic, is a well-behaved vegetable due to a steady diet of Thorazine, and he hasn't left the hospital since his incarceration 15 years before. How is it, then, that Claire Argent's assistant, Heidi Ott, swears she heard Peake say, "Dr. A. Bad eyes in a box" soon after he hears only the bare fact of her death? And why does Alex find Peake so empathetic, in spite of his violent past and chillingly vacant mind? When other mutilated bodies turn up, Alex and Milo begin to suspect that the real monster is very much at large. Like Kellerman's 12 previous Alex Delaware mysteries, Monster builds to a big, teeth-clenching bang and ends with some very satisfying surprises. --Barrie Trinkle --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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 ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
'Filled with insight' (Stephen King )
'Coolly intelligent' (GQ )
'A sense of humanity and justice' (Publishers Weekly )
'An alert eye for detail' (New York Times ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
THE GIANT KNEW Richard Nixion. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
THE GIANT KNEW Richard Nixion. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've read all the Alex Delaware stories up to and including Monster. I held off reading Monster for a while having found the previous few novels a bitter disappointment. For me, Monster marks a stunning return to form. The numerous disparate elements of plot kept me enthralled and were pulled together wonderfully for the end.
There is little development of the characters of Delaware and Milo Sturgis, but after all that Kellerman has put them through in previous novels, I think they deserved a case that didn't involve them being tortured, abducted, nearly killed or the victim of arson.
I throughly enjoyed Monster and will not wait so long before tracking down the next one.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Unlike most of the other reviewers here, I really enjoyed this book and thought it intelligent and thought-provoking. I've never read any other books in the series and am not really a fan of this kind of throw-away fiction but didn't find it either derivative or formulaic. Perhaps because most of the action takes place either in the minds of the protagonists or in the past, other people found it dull - it's certainly not all shoot-outs and chases but I liked it all the more for that. The focus is on the minds and mind-set of the people involved which it makes it creepy, compelling and realistic: from the parents of the female victim to the past history of the town where a family was massacred, we're in the territory of human emotions rather than high-octane action.
The writing's not great stylistically and I did have to ignore the gratingly bad scenery descriptions but that apart this was unputdownable and I read it in 2 sittings.
The writing's not great stylistically and I did have to ignore the gratingly bad scenery descriptions but that apart this was unputdownable and I read it in 2 sittings.
Format:Paperback
One of the more testing Delaware novels- don't start with this one, but for veterans of the good doc, this book will be the enjoyable puzzle, filled with incisive dialogue and canny plotting that we have come to expect. Its more of the same from one of my favourite authors. If you have read the series before, then obviously you need this one for your collection, if you are new start off with a different one- "When the Bough Breaks" is first chronologically but I'm yet to read it.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Monster
The worst Alex Delaware thriller so far. Dull, flat characters. Plenty of talk and very little action. Readers will have it all worked out long before Delaware and Milo do. Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2009 by Rich
Readable - just
'Monster' is the kind of book that reads like the narration of a tv cop show. I kept expecting the next words to be: "My name's Friday, I'm a cop. Read more
Published on 25 Sep 2006 by Kate Harrison
When you read this put the TV on to keep you awake.
This is the first Kellerman book I have read. Unless I can be convinced otherwise it is likely to be the last. I found this book to be one long bore. Read more
Published on 2 Sep 2006 by G. M. Buchanan
Could do better !!!!
The truly great authors have the ability to take you on a rollercoaster ride of twists,turns and heartstopping moments with hardly a chance to catch your breath..... Read more
Published on 13 May 2006 by Mr. K. S. Chambers
Rather formulaic
Delaware and Sturgis have been colourful protagonists over the years, but "Monster" indicates that they might have run their course. Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2001
It's not bad, but...
I read most of Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware thrillers in one summer a few years ago around the time of the paperback publication of Survival of The Fittest, and looked... Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2001
He's written better!
I've read all Kellerman's books, and this one just didn't have the tension or depth I was hoping for. Read more
Published on 17 Jan 2001
Great entertainment, easy to follow
Really enjoyed this book, it's great if you enjoy the pshycological aspect of serial killing and unlike some audio books, the characters are easily distinguishable. Read more
Published on 18 July 2000
time to retire Alex Delaware me thinks..
Jonathan Kellerman wrote one of the best thrillers I have ever read in my life, the Butcher's theatre. Read more
Published on 10 May 2000 by Yoga kills
A series maybe running out of steam?
Alex Delaware is on the track of a deranged serial killer (is there any other kind?). Sadly, Delaware has maybe been after the bad guys of LA for too long and the books are losing... Read more
Published on 16 April 2000
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
