I don't know why, but this reminded me somewhat of Miami Vice. Everyone is a player. Except for one young woman, a rape victim. Everyone else not playing is excusing the player's behavior, twisted as it is, because the players also do some good, as if it made it all balance out. As if. Reading these books in the Delaware series gives the reader real insight, if you have the experience of knowing a lot of people, and if you want to really understand what makes people tick. From my own experience, though, nice people usually want to think the best of others, not the worst. However, I find the story of the scorpion that needed a ride on a human's shoulder over a shallow stream instructive. The nice human asked if the scorpion would sting him if he helped him cross the stream. The human was kind, wanting to help the poor animal, but was leery enough to worry about being poisoned by the scorpion's tail. The scorpion promised, so the human carried it across the shallow stream. As soon as the crossing was done, the scorpion stings the human. As the human falls, dying, he cries, "you promised!" The scorpion shrugs, saying, "you knew I was a scorpion." Admittedly, humans dealing with humans is more complicated, and so is this story. While you can look at a real scorpion and identify it, in the world of cops, criminals and psychologists, it isn't so easy to identify the scorpion-minded among us. Bad behavior is a big clue, as well as selfishness and unusual cruelty. Nice people often discount such scenes, or disbelieve their own senses, and cover up for the scorpion people. Other folks admire the scorpions, and help them, thinking being near the 'power' will spill over by the proximity, blinding themselves to the fact they are close to a scorpion person. Delaware and Milo never do, but unraveling disguises to reveal the scorpions is a lot of leg work, particularly in this story.Respectable scorpions are still scorpions, even when the human ones hide their stings in gifts of education and money and sympathy. The problem with 'The Clinic' is almost everybody is a scorpion. I could not care about any of them, even the nicer victims, because they were still scorpions. I'm talking about their dark sides, not their childhoods. They chose scorpion adulthoods after surviving evil, and I can't care about scorpions, no matter how much I 'understand' them.
The three-month-old cold case of murdered psychologist professor and writer Hope Devane reunited Detective Milo Sturgis and Dr. Alex Delaware to solve the baffling controversial case. Delving into the recess areas of Hope’s life uncovered a woman with an altered sense of justice and a deceptive outer appearance sent the investigative duo shuffling through several societal classes only to be left with more intriguing and confusing possibilities. “The Clinic” introduced a variety of characters with flaws and secretive livelihoods, a great opportunity to shield the true killer’s identity and motive. Revealing irony in the unsettling elements of the characters added further interest to the story. Discussions of the case between Milo and Alex dissecting gathered information for possible angles to explore further were believable. An insight to the way their minds work differently with the same information added to their personalities and showed their knowledge and experiences complemented both their friendship and work relationship. Alex’s characteristic need to step into dangerous situations to collaborate his suspicions and his curiosity to know the truth unfolded clues methodically. Once again Kellerman’s writing of a psychological thriller twisting through the pages held my interest to the end.
What do You think about The Clinic (2002)?
Sometimes mysteries have a problem. Jonathan Kellerman’s book about a college professor who is murdered falls into that trap. Kellerman builds up suspense through a twisty plot. Psychologist Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis investigate the professor and her shadowy student conduct committee. Although the work of the committee leaves the professor with many enemies, the investigation also produces leads that relate to the professor’s relationship with her husband, her childhood, and her professional life. The problem is the payoff can never live up to the setup. The setup has so many turns and blind alleys that the reader’s imagination cannot help but create complex scenarios. In the end, the actual solution seems anticlimactic. Verdict: Kellerman write mysteries with a breakneck pace and page-turning suspense. It is a testament to his ability to create plot and characters that the reader’s imagination runs wild with possibility.
—John
Hope Devane, psicóloga y polémica escritora de bestsellers seudopsicológicos, aparece acuchillada en una tranquila calle de Los Angeles. Todo apunta a que se trata de una ejecución, de una venganza, pero los tres meses de investigaciones policiales aún no han proporcionado ninguna pista. El detective Milo Sturgis, a quien se le han asignado el caso recientemente, recurre a su amigo Alex. A partir de ese momento comienzan a destaparse las facetas secretas de la vida de Hope. Al investigar la infancia de la víctima, Alex descubre el largo y tortuoso camino que ésta tuvo que recorrer a lo largo de toda su vida y los vínculos que seguían uniéndola al pasado. Unos vínculos que la abocaron a los terribles sucesos que más tarde le costarían la vida.
—Esmeralda Mújica
This is the first book in the Dr. Delaware series that I have read. Jumping into the middle of the series, I did not find that I was confused about the characters or any past histories. That was one thing that I really liked about the novel. I really love crime stories, and thought that this was an easy and quick read with a good plausible plot. There were times when I was confused as to why something was included, and although confusing at the time, everything makes sense by the end. If you are looking for a good quick read in front of the fire or on the beach, this is it. I would definitely pick up another one of his novels, for sure.
—Laura
