Psychologist Alex Delaware takes on a new patient when a policeman friend refers him to a young woman who served on the jury of a serial murderer’s trial. Lucy Lowell has been having a recurring dream wherein she is four years old, in the woods, watching three men carry a young woman who appears to be sleeping. When Lucy also starts sleepwalking, she goes to visit Dr. Delaware, who begins investigating the events in the dream.Lucy’s father is M. Bayard Lowell, a celebrated author turned recluse when his well of talent dried up. Once, his books were required reading in high schools, but his last published piece was a critically savaged flop. He found a patron and started an artists and writers’ retreat called Sanctum, where the spirit of free love reigned supreme in the 1970s. Now, it is rundown and all but abandoned, and the once Great Man is a shriveled, incontinent cripple. Lucy denies ever having been to Sanctum, but her older half brother Ken remembers a summer when all four of Lowell’s children from both of his marriages were there.Dr. Delaware starts investigating missing young women from the same summer Lucy was at Sanctum and uncovers one missing Karen Best, who had been working as a waitress at a restaurant only a few miles from Sanctum. Delaware realizes he’s raising old ghosts from his investigation and a lot more than one body has piled up over the years. People disappear when they get involved in the disappearance of Karen Best. Dr. Delaware uncovers an intricate web of betrayal and deceit that could very well take him down with it.Though it moved at a methodical, plodding pace, the story was intriguing enough to hold my interest. I wanted to know what happened to Karen Best. In the end, her disappearance wound up having unexpected circumstances that got a bit muddled in the convoluted ending. Another detraction was the smug arrogance of Dr. Delaware, who apparently believes he alone knows how Lucy should deal with the hand life dealt her, and her only way of going on is under his care. He also seems rather offhand with the woman in his own life and their dog, which did not make me warm to him any further. It is, however, possible to ignore these details, and some prefer a slow-paced mystery to savor. I could be persuaded to read another Alex Delaware novel, but I won’t strain myself to do so.
Well if you are a Jonathan Kellerman fan I would advise you to skip this book! I had read all of his books feverishly up till this one. This book has traveled with me for 17 years during a marriage, a divorce, 3 jobs, lots of trips, finishing numerous other books, finding other authors I enjoyed, and bottom line took up a huge part of my life. Did you ever have one of those books that stalled you, one that stalemated in your life, and set on your nightstand for years? Well this was the one for me, kind of sad as all the previous books by Kellerman leading up to this one I really enjoyed and read quickly. After re-starting Self-Defense about a month ago, once again for what seemed like the millionth time (maybe it was). I eventually endured and got to the end, I am finally glad to end my own chapter in my life of reading. The ending of this book was actually satisfying (maybe just because I finished it), it just took so long to get there with a lot of filler in between, and a whole lot of stopping, re-starting, and clawing to get to the end. The story is about a daughter haunted by glimpses of her past, tragic nightmares of a possible murder, trying to sort what is real and not in her mind and life. Lucy turns to Alex Delaware to help her sort it all out. The story stalls and I kept finding myself dis-interested along the way until the very last few chapters, finally it all came together. Funny thing along the way I have found other authors that knocked Jonathan Kellerman from the top spot of my favorite authors, with many others coming along, and taking up spots on my bookshelf. That said I have still purchased most of his books along the way, guess it's time to find out if his next in the Alex Delaware series takes another 17 years to finish. Funny thing is I finish most books in about 2-4 weeks, reading about 15-25 a year-this one being the exception.
What do You think about Self-Defense (2002)?
(Book 9 of author's Alex Delaware/Milo Sturgis series.) This is one of Kellerman's better books in this series. The narrator of this audiobook version, Alexander Adams, is very good. The plot has many twists and turns, as well as a largely interesting cast of dysfunctional characters. Milo Sturgis is further fleshed out through his friendship with Lucy Lowell. He befriends Lucy after she serves as a juror for the trial of a vicious murderer. The trial causes Lucy to develop nightmares. These turn out to be repressed 21-year old memories of the burial of a young woman which she witnessed at age 4. Milo, of course, refers Lucy to his psychologist friend Alex Delaware. Delaware does more detective work than psychotherapy, inevitably nearly getting himself and his patient killed, but for Milo. Nonetheless, Delaware does unravel the mystery to a satisfying conclusion. Kellerman’s use of hypnosis on Lucy is a weak point, but keeping Delaware’s stick figure girlfriend, Robin, in the background a plus. She rarely adds anything to this series. I purchased this book from Audible.com. The unabridged version is 11 hours and 45 minutes in length.
—Nanosynergy
Well like the other books from this author, this one won't disappoint you if you enjoy psychanalyse combined with murder investigation, which is this author speciality.Starting with what seems like a tormenting dream, a fuzzy nightmare inflicting a young woman's life and sleep patterns, it unfolds under our eyes a intricate case of a missing person that may turn to be a murder in the end.With no official police investigation, just with our protagonist dedication and devotion to help his patient and his friend the detective doing old fashion police work in their own free time, we are presented with an interesting plot, a complicated scene structure and not the least a wide range of characters with their own unique agendas that are shaping the storyline.Without spoiling your fun I would just say it's a captivating book, with plenty of twists and turns and with some well placed humor here and there.Pleasant easy read, however requiring some focusing on your part to follow the psychological - psychiatric developments, turns to be entertaining and I would say it's worth your time if you like this style and this theme.
—Gabe
Concerned Detective Milo Sturgis directed a confused, fearful Lucy Lowell to his friend Dr. Alex Delaware for consultation. Lucy suffered from bad dreams after a stint as a juror in an intense trial of a serial killer. Unsure of the validity of her dreams about a murder and suspicions about her mental stability, Alex investigated the clues derived from the dreams. He discovered the complicated trail involved a splintered family, a retreat for artists, greed and jealousy - key components in a cover-up of murders. Desperation set in as Alex’s investigation opened new avenues revealing a greater threat to Lucy.An overly disturbed, dysfunctional family and unique personalities created memorable characters. A more in-depth look at the gentler sides of Milo and Alex was revealed; their mutual respect and cohesiveness added an admirable dimension to their characters. The intriguing story left me waiting for the next shoe to drop as it unfolded with clues radiating outward beyond the troubled character. The follies of greed, jealousy and excessiveness were descriptively conveyed and accurately conceivable. “Self-Defense” brought forth examples of complications encountered when recessed past memories surface and the reality without conclusive evidence to verify or support them for further investigation, many recessed memories were dismissed as unbelievable.
—Lynda
