Heartbreak Hotel: An Alex Delaware Novel

by Jonathan Kellerman

2017

Status

Available

Publication

Ballantine Books (2017), Edition: Reprint, 416 pages

Description

Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Alex Delaware and LAPD detective Milo Sturgis investigate the death of Alex’s most mysterious patient to date in the sensational new thriller from the master of suspense, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman.At nearly one hundred years old, Thalia Mars is a far cry from the patients that child psychologist Alex Delaware normally treats. But the charming, witty woman convinces Alex to meet with her in a suite at the Aventura, a luxury hotel with a checkered history. What Thalia wants from Alex are answers to unsettling questions—about guilt, patterns of criminal behavior, victim selection. When Alex asks the reason for her morbid fascination, Thalia promises to tell all during their next session. But when he shows up the following morning, he is met with silence: Thalia is dead in her room. When questions arise about how Thalia perished, Alex and homicide detective Milo Sturgis must peel back the layers of a fascinating but elusive woman’s life and embark on one of the most baffling investigations either of them has ever experienced. For Thalia Mars is a victim like no other, an enigma who harbored nearly a century of secrets and whose life and death draw those around her into a vortex of violence. Heartbreak Hotel is classic Delaware and classic Kellerman. Praise for Heartbreak Hotel “Easy to dive into for mystery fans unfamiliar with the series, and a welcome treat for readers who have been with Officer Sturgis and Dr. Delaware since the beginning.”—Booklist Praise for Jonathan Kellerman “Jonathan Kellerman’s psychology skills and dark imagination are a potent literary mix.”—Los Angeles Times “Kellerman doesn’t just write psychological thrillers—he owns the genre.”—Detroit Free Press “A master of the psychological thriller.”—People.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member she_climber
I think this may have been my last Jonathan Kellerman book. At least from the Alex Delaware series. It's all just gotten to formulaic after 32 installments and this felt like a chore to read. It's always the same thing:

Go talk to a witness.
Milo wants to go eat.
Get a call to go see another witness.
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Sit in LA traffic for hours.
Go back to the house/office look stuff up on the computer.
Milo is hungry.
Sit in LA traffic for hours
Talk to a witness.
Milo wants to go eat.
Spend hours Googling.
Robin says something off-hand that turns the whole case.
Have sex.
Sit in traffic.
Go talk to a witness.
Milo wants to go eat.
And on, and on, and on.

In reality I get this is probably how real detective work happens but I need a little more excitement in my reading adventures.

Thanks for the good run Kellerman, but I think it's time for me (and maybe you) to move on.
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LibraryThing member Olivermagnus
Heartbreak Hotel is the thirty-second book in a series featuring child psycholigist Alex Delaware and his police investigator buddy Milo Sturgis. This novel starts with Alex being contacted by 99-year old Thalia Mars. Since he is a child psychologist he rarely takes on adults as clients, but Thalia
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hopes he can give her answers to unsettling questions about guilt and patterns of criminal behavior. When he arrives for their second meeting the next day, he discovers Thalia has been murdered.

I absolutely love the Alex Delaware/Milo Sturgis odd couple relationship that has remained fresh for over thirty years. This was a very well written mystery filled with plenty of suspense. Jonathan Kellerman has created another compelling murder mystery. I think it's one of the best novels he's has written in the last ten years. Even though it's the thirty-second book in a series, it can easily be read as a standalone novel.
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LibraryThing member howzzit
I enjoyed the early Alex Delaware.
This book didn't meet my expectations.
Maybe the author is past his prime?
LibraryThing member Bookish59
Another good Alex Delaware novel about an extraordinary older woman and her meeting with Alex. Read it to find out what happens.
LibraryThing member annbury
This is one of the better recent books in the Alex Delaware series. This isn't because of any change in the central characters, though we do get a slightly better grasp on how Alex interacts with the LAPD. Rather, it's because of an exceptionally interesting victim. Indeed, the progress of the "who
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done it" investigation unfolding in the novel is inextricably linked to an investigation of "who was the victim". Structurally, it's more satisfying than some other recent novels in the series, and that victim -- Thalia Mars -- is a high point. Also, some of the subsidiary characters seemed to me more fully developed than has been the case in some other novels in this story. So; better than most. But: Alex and Milo seem so tired.
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LibraryThing member gmmartz
Jonathan Kellerman can probably write great psychological mystery/thrillers in his sleep. Heck, he may have even written his latest, 'Heartbreak Hotel' in his sleep, for all I know. I don't care, I liked it anyway and I hope he keeps cranking them out.

Heartbreak Hotel begins with child psychologist
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Alex Delaware, making a 'housecall' to the motel home of a near-centenarian woman. She asks a few questions, piques his interest since she's well beyond the age of his typical patient, and promises to answer the questions he has about her at his next visit. Unfortunately, she turns up dead. What initially appeared to be a case of 'old age' death turns into a murder investigation due to the sharp eyes of an EMT on the scene. But who would kill a nearly 100 year old woman?

Longtime LAPD detective Milo Sturgis ends up on the case, with Delaware providing both first hand knowledge of the deceased as well as the psychological analysis he's given in the countless other novels starring these two characters in Kellerman's series. The Sturgis and Delaware combo is one of my favorite in this genre- Sturgis, the gay detective who breaks all the stereotypes: he's burly, dresses slovenly, gruff, tough, a world-class eater of sandwiches. And then there's Delaware, a pediatric specialist, urbane with a beautiful wife and a perfect life in the LA hills. They work together well, almost too well in that they tend to complete one another's sentences (more on this later).

To me, what differentiates this series is the methodology used to build the motive for the investigators and how they use their speculations to drive their analysis. In a lot of procedural mysteries, the cops tend to gather a bunch of 'evidence' and materials together and then try to discern a pattern or motive from it. This pairing goes in a different direction, trying to get into the perpetrator's head first, which then allows them to be a little more accurate and efficient with their investigatory work.

As with all books in this series, the writing is fine and enough of the characters is presented to allow a new reader to get a feel for what they're like. The current cast has been together for many books and, if you've followed the series you know them well. If Heartbreak Hotel is the first you've picked up though, you'll still enjoy the characters.

The plot is well-crafted and the team makes their way through the investigation, with Sturgis charging ahead and Delaware providing insight and support along the way. We do, indeed, discover who was evil enough to kill a 99 year old lady and although it may be who you suspected all along, the motive isn't clear until the conclusion. It's a good read that'll have you thinking along with the investigators the entire time.

The only complaint I have about Kellerman's writing is with the dialogue. Mostly, it's informative and the content is fine, but the way it's delivered is a bit too scripted. Granted, Sturgis and Delaware have worked together many times, but the way they communicate is very choreographed. With other characters, whether familiar or not, the dialogue is similarly handled. It looks good on the page and it reads fine, but I can't help thinking that there'd be many more stops and starts in the communication in real life. Not a huge problem for me, just a minor irritation.

Anyway, another winner to add to a long line of them for Mr. Kellerman!
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LibraryThing member gail616
Not much for the ending. It was ok. Struggled to get through it. It didn't grab my attention.
LibraryThing member phoenixcomet
A solid and highly enjoyable Alex Delaware, Milo Sturgis mystery novel. When Alex is called to an unusual location, the old Aventura hotel, to meet with a centenarian, his curiosity is piqued. When Thalia Mars ends up dead the next morning due to suspicious circumstances, his desire to see justice
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served, to understand what occurred and to solve the crime kicks in. Milo is notified and it's off from there, back into the past to the time of gangsters in LA.
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LibraryThing member shazjhb
His main people are getting a bit boring but story pretty good. Guessed too much to give it more stars
LibraryThing member grumpydan
Maybe I just have a soft spot for Dr. Alex Delaware, but I do enjoy the novels that feature him. This time around he is called upon by an elderly woman that is three weeks shy of her hundredth birthday. As a child psychologist who also does work for the LAPD, he normally doesn’t treat adults. His
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first visit intrigued him and was going back the next day to the hotel where she lived for a second visit only to find out she had died. But she didn’t die of natural causes and in soon his buddy Dectective Milo Sturgis is on the case. Who would want to kill an elderly woman and why? What follows is a trip to her past and the Mob, LA’s corrupt Police Department, a jewel heist. Oh, LA must have been some place in the 30's and 40's! Evenly paced, with enough questions to keep reading, I enjoyed this one. No fast car chases or graphic violence, just a solid mystery that was fun to read.
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LibraryThing member lewilliams
Heartbreak Hotel is another good read from Jonathan Kellerman . Alex Delaware is asked to meet a 99 year old woman at the hotel she has been living in. She promises to reveal why she requested the meeting on their next visit. When Alex arrives at the hotel, he's told that she died. It turns out her
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death was not by natural causes. But why would someone murder a woman who was close to celebrating her 100th birthday? What secrets was she hiding and from who?
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LibraryThing member lbswiener
Heartbreak Hotel is a murder/mystery book that is set in present day Los Angeles. The book has a beginning middle and an end. There are a lot of characters but the reader is able to keep them all straight. There are concise descriptions of the characters. The author stayed with a story, built the
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plot, and then ended it by bringing all of the pieces together. This book receives a solid five stars and is highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member kbranfield
4.5 stars.

Heartbreak Hotel by Jonathan Kellerman is the latest fast-paced and engrossing addition to the Alex Delaware series.

A child psychologist and part-time consultant to the LAPD, Dr. Alex Delaware's newest client is a surprisingly well-liked woman about to celebrate her 100th birthday. Alex
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is intrigued and charmed by his first meeting with Thalia Mars, but he has no idea exactly what direction their sessions are going to take. Unfortunately, he never gets the chance to find out what his client hoped to gain from talking to him since she is murdered before their second appointment. Alex and his friend, LAPD homicide detective, Lt. Milo Sturgis, team up once again to solve the case and their search for answers takes a very interesting turn when Alex begins poking around in Thalia's past.

By all accounts, Thalia is well-loved by everyone she knows. She has lived at the Aventura Hotel for most of her life and while her bungalow is a getting a little shabby, she is still paying a pretty hefty chunk of change in monthly rent. When Alex begins trying to find out more about Thalia's past, he quickly realizes there are a few incongruent details about the former CPA and long retired county assessor. Thalia's lawyer, Ricki Sylvester fills in a few of the blanks about her former client's life but Alex is still very curious about how Thalia acquired her surprising wealth. Once he figures out her unexpected ties to gangsters and a long ago jewel heist, Alex and Milo's investigation takes yet another compelling turn. But the one piece of the puzzle they are having a difficult time finding is the link between those long ago events and Thalia's murder nearly seventy years later.

With a cleverly plotted and very fascinating storyline, Heartbreak Hotel is a spellbinding installment in the Alex Delaware series. The age of Delaware's latest client makes the premise of this latest release very unique as does the discovery of Thalia's ties to a decades old robbery and her surprising link to the mob. The investigation never lags as Alex and Milo leave no stone unturned during their search for Thalia's killer. Veteran author Jonathan Kellerman has penned another solid police procedural that readers of the genre are going to love.
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LibraryThing member jennybeast
I swear these books just get more and more terse with age. I'm waiting for it devolve into verse novels.

Nonetheless, a solid and convoluted mystery, full of good partnerships and unlikely solve methods. Tells a good story regardless.
LibraryThing member ritaer
Invited to discuss human evil with a wealthy, elderly woman, Dr. Delaware returns for 2nd appointment to find her dead. A long and complex investigation with detective Milor Sturgis finally leads to the perp and the victim's history. Early mobs in LS, police corruption and more.
LibraryThing member decaturmamaof2
An enjoyable episode in the Alex Delaware series
LibraryThing member lbswiener
Heartbreak Hotel is a very interesting book. The story is believable as well as the characters. There were no clues but with diligent research, and lots of questions, a picture of who committed murders was created. Four stars were given to this book with a highly recommended comment too.

Language

Original language

English

Physical description

416 p.; 4.2 inches

ISBN

0345541456 / 9780345541451

Barcode

1601676
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