Complusion (2008)

by Jonathan Kellerman

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Alex Delaware (22)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
1,816	41	9,470	(3.47)	36
Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML: BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Jonathan Kellerman's Victims. Once again, the depths of the criminal mind and the darkest side of a glittering city fuel #1 New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman's brilliant storytelling. And no one conducts a more harrowing and suspenseful manhunt than the modern Sherlock Holmes of the psyche, Dr. Alex Delaware. A tipsy young woman seeking aid on a desolate highway disappears into the inky black night. A retired schoolteacher is stabbed to death in broad daylight. Two women are butchered after closing time in a small-town beauty parlor. These and other bizarre acts of cruelty and psychopathology are linked only by the killer's use of luxury vehicles and a baffling lack of motive. The ultimate whodunits, these crimes demand the attention of LAPD detective Milo Sturgis and his collaborator on the crime beat, psychologist Alex Delaware. What begins with a solitary bloodstain in a stolen sedan quickly spirals outward in odd and unexpected directions, leading Delaware and Sturgis from the well-heeled center of L.A. society to its desperate edges; across the paths of commodities brokers and transvestite hookers; and as far away as New York City, where the search thaws out a long-cold case and exposes a grotesque homicidal crusade. The killer proves to be a fleeting shape-shifter, defying identification, leaving behind dazed witnesses and death--and compelling Alex and Milo to confront the true face of murderous madness. .… (more)

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Alex Delaware - Jonathan Kellerman (22)

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Showing 1-5 of 39 (next | show all)

Notes say that I've read this before but it wasnt until near the end that I remembered it, so suspect I wasnt paying real good attention last time. Anyway, am playing "series catch up", including the Delaware books, and this was on the list.

Once again, Delaware and Sturgis are investigating what appears to be unrelated murders and they finally pull all the threads together. There is a certain regularity about the books that fosters a sense of comfort (but can also be a little frustrating, where you hope he'd come up with another plot device occasionally).

nordie | Oct 14, 2023 |

Compulsion is another good story. The amazing thing about the Kellerman books is there is a murder and seemingly no leads as to who did it. But the characters treat the murder as a puzzle to solve. Bit by bit they are able to piece together just in time the identity of the killer(s). This is a well written and thought out story. Four stars were awarded to this book. (

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lbswiener | Oct 2, 2022 |

killer in luxury vehicle, various victims

ritaer | Apr 25, 2020 |

Another great offering from a master in psychological-themed thrillers, this book delves into the a shape shifter and seemingly unconnected murders. It features Alex Delaware and a newly-healed Milo Sturgis, and starts with a tipsy twit who thought her other friend was going to be the designated driver for the evening.

Then there is a financial genius who mentions his luxury car was stolen but returned, and a request by a condemned death row inmate who can offer the whereabouts for a missing 15 year old young man, and you have threads and twists of those threads that kept my attention riveted.

What I like about Kellerman's writing is how well and compassionately he draws his characters. Yes, Alex and Milo are able to pull all-nighters and speak in coherent sentences the next day, which is a trademark of any detective fiction, but throw in a whiny son and a sex-changed prostitute and a potential suspect who seems to disappear and re-appear at will, and I found myself reading "just one more" to find out what, really, was going to happen next. (

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threadnsong | May 4, 2017 |

Review: “Compulsion” by Jonathan Kellerman. It started out slow then flowed smoothly up to the slow drawn out ending. I feel this wasn’t one of Jonathan Kellerman’s best but still a good read.

It started out with a missing young girl which led to a stolen Bentley. Then the story moves on to a witness claiming a man about the age of 40, getting out of a luxurious Mercedes ran up to an older lady and murdered her while she was walking out into her driveway to retrieve her morning newspaper. As the psychologist/detective Alex Delaware begins his investigation on these two incidents he also has a sixteen year old unsolved mystery of a young teenage boy disappearing while selling magazines house to house re-opened that he was working on.

The story reminded me of a Sherlock Holmes book. Interesting, intriguing, suspense, and having a mastermind put together all the connections and confusion of disguises and compulsions……
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Juan-banjo | May 31, 2016 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Jonathan Kellerman	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Piélat, Thierry	Traduction	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Alex Delaware (22)

Is contained in

The Conspiracy Club / Twisted / Compulsion by Jonathan Kellerman

▾Awards and Honors

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New York Times bestseller (Fiction – 2008)

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Canonical title

Complusion

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2008

People/Characters

Alex Delaware

Milo Sturgis

Important places

Los Angeles, California, USA

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

To Gina Centrello

First words

Kat loved breaking the rules.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

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Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

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▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Jonathan Kellerman's Victims.

Once again, the depths of the criminal mind and the darkest side of a glittering city fuel #1 New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman's brilliant storytelling. And no one conducts a more harrowing and suspenseful manhunt than the modern Sherlock Holmes of the psyche, Dr. Alex Delaware.

A tipsy young woman seeking aid on a desolate highway disappears into the inky black night. A retired schoolteacher is stabbed to death in broad daylight. Two women are butchered after closing time in a small-town beauty parlor. These and other bizarre acts of cruelty and psychopathology are linked only by the killer's use of luxury vehicles and a baffling lack of motive. The ultimate whodunits, these crimes demand the attention of LAPD detective Milo Sturgis and his collaborator on the crime beat, psychologist Alex Delaware.

What begins with a solitary bloodstain in a stolen sedan quickly spirals outward in odd and unexpected directions, leading Delaware and Sturgis from the well-heeled center of L.A. society to its desperate edges; across the paths of commodities brokers and transvestite hookers; and as far away as New York City, where the search thaws out a long-cold case and exposes a grotesque homicidal crusade. The killer proves to be a fleeting shape-shifter, defying identification, leaving behind dazed witnesses and death--and compelling Alex and Milo to confront the true face of murderous madness.

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