How to write

Compulsion, the 22^nd Alex Delaware novel by Jonathan Kellerman, begins with the disappearance of a young woman who is prone to disappearing. Coincidently Milo Sturgis, an LA Homicide Detective, is asked to confer with a rookie who has discovered a possible blood stain in a stolen luxury car. Soon after, a retired school teacher is killed in broad daylight and her attacker flees the scene in a stolen luxury car. Milo wonders if these seemingly unrelated crimes could be connected.

If it weren’t a particularly slow week in Hollywood, with few corpses littering LaLa Land, Sturgis may not have spent the time investigating unsolved homicides with similar MO’s.  Alex Delaware goes along for the ride, offering observations and insight into the criminal mind. The new police chief is keen to have a psychologist consulting on the case, so Delaware’s presence is finally justified and a daily stipend should absolve the department of liability should a civilian be injured while tracking down deranged killers. Eventually, they discover a killer who possesses an arsenal of disguises and identities and a long trail of victims.

We aren’t given an opportunity to relate to the victims, since they are killed upon introduction and the killer is drawn from anecdotal accounts. The clues that lead to the killer are flimsy and far fetched, but excusable in a work of fiction. For example, the killer’s propensity for dressing in drag become a possible motive for murder based on a witness interview.

“The guy had taken out a dress and was holding it up against his own body. Stroking it-like fitting it on himself. Kat said she couldn’t control herself, she just broke up and the guy heard it and nearly fell over himself putting the dress back.”

However, there’s no excuse for the lack of emotional investment in the story or outcome. Nonetheless, it’s nice to get reacquainted with old friends. Milo is still a gruff, style challenged antithesis to every homosexual stereotype. Robin is back after a brief breakup with Alex but she rarely gains his attention.

I hope the next installment brings Alex back to the forefront and puts a pulse back into the series.