| Blood Test (Alex Delaware) | 
 enlarge | List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $3.70
You Save: $4.29 (54%)
Buy New/Used from $2.26
Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 33 reviews)
Sales Rank: 55742
Category: Book
Author: Jonathan Kellerman
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Studio: Ballantine Books
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
Label: Ballantine Books
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.1 x 1
ISBN: 0345466616
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780345466617
ASIN: 0345466616
Publication Date: November 4, 2003
Release Date: November 4, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
It is a case unlike any psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware has ever encountered. Five-year-old Woody Swope is ill, but the real problem is his parents. They refuse to agree to the one treatment that could save this boy's life.
Alex sets out to convince Mr. and Mrs. Swope--only to find that the parents have left the hospital and taken their son with them. Worse, the sleazy motel room where the Swopes were staying is empty--except for the ominous bloodstain. The Swopes and their son have vanished into the sordid shadows of the city.
Now Alex and his friend, homocide detective Milo Sturgis, have no choice but to push the law to the breaking point. They've entered an amoral underworld where drugs, dreams, and sex are all for sale...where fantasies are fulfilled at any price--even at the cost of a young boy's life.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 28 more reviews...
 Waste of time September 26, 2008
This was my first Kellerman novel, recommended highly by a co-worker. Was not at all impressed, I thought it was a ridiculous outcome.
Used to reading Ludlum and Connelly - this book pales in comparison. Have been told to try Self Defense or Devil's Waltz. I'm skeptical after this one, but I'll give a try.
 Jonathan Kellerman does it again! December 21, 2007
As usual, Jonathan Kellerman writes a suspenseful yet compellingly human story. The way he weaves the story line of Alex Delaware and his personal interactions with other characters is always believable. A great read.
 This is a So-So Effort from Kellerman September 25, 2007
I loved Jonathan Kellerman's debut novel, WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS, but I was somewhat disappointed by this second entry in the Alex Delaware series.
BLOOD TEST starts well enough, but I thought the plot wasn't particularly realistic. Kellerman creates an interesting mystery here, but doesn't do a very good job resolving it. There are a lot of big revelations at the end of his novel, but I found most of them over-the-top, lurid and rather silly. This book also contains a divorce subplot that ends rather abruptly, without any sense of closure provided for the reader.
This book is readable, and I do enjoy Kellerman's prose style. So I give this book a mild recommendation. But I'd recommend other novels in the Delaware series over this one, including WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS and SILENT PARTNER.
Interesting.. May 8, 2007
Dr. Delaware gets thrown into a case concerning a sick little boy. He is kidnapped and Alex must help to get him back in the hospital. This book was different, which is what kept me reading. Just when I thought I had it figured out, I didn't. There are a lot of characters so make sure you pay attention. I would forget who was who at times. It was a twisted ending and well worth the read!
Not enough Milo. June 18, 2006
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I love these books. This is the second in the Alex Delaware series, but I haven't read them in order and I've already read a half dozen or so. I love Alex, but sometimes he's so infuriating! He's completely incapable of minding his own business and he seems to think he's indestructible. Poor Milo tries to reign him in, but it's a losing battle. Alex walks - or skulks - right into these things knowing full well that if he's caught, he's dead, but he does it anyway without bothering to wait for professional help. If you're going to walk into a dangerous situation, bring the big burly guy with the gun along with you! Still, it's exciting, and, of course, there'd be no story if Alex was cautious.
Psychologist Alex Delaware gets involved in this situation because his old boss, Dr. Raoul Melendez-Lynch, calls him in to help with a particularly sad case. Five year old Woody Swope has a cancer that was caught early enough it could be completely cured, but his backwoods family are refusing treatment and the gruff head of the Oncology Department is losing his cool. Alex agrees and meets with the bright young boy, but before he can meet with the family, Woody is spiritied away and they have all disappeared.
Alex goes digging. At first because he is genuinely concerned for the boy, but also because he hates to leave something unfinished. His girlfriend Robin is away in Japan, so he has nothing better to do anyway, and when someone tries to kill him, it becomes personal. His pal, LAPD detective Milo Sturgis, is away in Washington, DC, so Alex has a flimsy excuse for going it alone, but you know he would have gone snooping alone anyway even if Milo was around. Once again, he almost gets himself killed. You'd think he would have learned after spending months with his jaw wired shut last time, but the man has an insatiable curiosity and a penchant for breaking and entering. (Have to wonder why he isn't arrested himself for that).
It's a pretty dark and twisted tale of cults and drugs and rare fruits and I couldn't put it down till I'd read the last page. I only wish Milo had been around more.
One thing I'm kind of curious about - just how is it that Alex can recognize such substances as Mexican heroin, raw opium and hashish when he sees it? I mean, that wasn't taught at my grad school. Then again - UCLA in the 70's ... Yeah, maybe it's not so unusual after all.
|
|
|
