Devil's Waltz: An Alex Delaware Novel

While I enjoyed reading the book there was one aspect of it that drove me crazy and that is the reason for the 2 stars. By the last 3rd of the book I started skipping pages because of the constantly giving everything overlong descriptions. People, trucks, houses, whatever, he spent so much time giving more description of the entity than was necessary that I couldn't stand it anymore and started skipping pages. A short description is fine but these were too often and too long. Other than that, it was an enjoyable read. I have read other books of his and did not notice this problem with the others.

I truly enjoy the Alex Delaware books - there is the main plot and at least 2 subplots - Alex and Robin being one - the fight Milo has with the police department being a second plot. The technical aspects of the main plot are interesting and always different in every book I frequently look up words - the Kindle is great in that regard. The plot has interesting twists and turns that are logical and not contrived. While this review covers this book, all the Kellerman kamily books are worth reading and they are all different.

I appreciate the medical and psychological detail but the story line comes off as sedated. Dr. Delaware is called in to consult on a case where it is uncertain if the child's maladies are being induced or are from natural causes. In the process, he stumbles into a federal investigation. While that adds some meat to the bone, the methodology seems unlikely. The books doesn't reach a climax so much as it coasts to a halt.

Alex Delaware returns in another excellently written psychological novel, Devil’s Waltz. The book revolves around two related plots: a potential case of Mucnchausen by Proxy Syndrome and the apparent deterioration of a hospital by mismanagement. Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome is a form of child abuse that involves fabricating an illness in a child by a caretaker. Here we have Cassie Jones, a 21-month old infant that has become a regular patient at Western Pediatric Hospital due to suffering through many seizures in her short life.
Alex Delaware receives a call from Cassie’s doctor and is asked to consult on the case. Upon arriving at Western Pediatric, where he was an employee several years ago, he notices quite a change from the old days. Security is very tight and the new management team seems to have made some questionable decisions that put the hospital’s future in jeopardy.
Alex agrees that Munchausen by Proxy may be occurring in the case and agrees to get to know the Jones family and investigate this possibility. The deeper he digs the more potential abusers come to light. Could it be the mother who usually is the most likely candidate, the father who is the son of Western Pediatric’s money manager, the overprotective nurse who seems to be too close to the family, or even the doctor that originally brought Delaware in to the fold?
Alex enlists a familiar face to help him figure out what really is happening. Milo Sturgis is more than happy to lend a hand as the police department insists on under-utilizing the talented detective due to his sexual orientation and attitude issues in the past. As they begin to peel away the layers of this stubborn onion, they uncover deceit, theft, drug abuse, and several murders.
This novel is one of the best in the series due to the interesting subject matter broached by the author, Jonathan Kellerman. He continues to deliver fluid, intriguing story writing that his devout followers will love. The only drawback to this novel is that the intensity level seems to be lacking for such an exciting premise. The first half of the book takes on a creep and crawl pace but is still very interesting and an overall great read.

Another classic from Kellerman! Kellerman's psychologist/sleuth Alex Delaware nimbly executes tricky steps of his own when called in to consult on the mysterious ailments afflicting a baby being seen at his training hospital in Los Angeles. In his seventh appearance (after Private Eyes ), Delaware is in top form, carefully pursuing the possibility that 21-month-old Cassie Jones may be the victim of Munchausen's Disease by Proxy, a complex syndrome in which a parent, usually the mother, secretly causes the symptoms that endanger the child. That Cassie is the only grandchild of the hospital's new CEO, a corporate hotshot who has demoralized the staff with cutbacks and a new administration of "paramilitary types," adds political twists to the case's knotty psychological aspects. After a doctor involved in computer research is murdered in the hospital parking lot, Delaware calls on his friend Milo, a gay LAPD homicide cop currently serving as an input clerk. They link an earlier murder to the hospital and then key into a secret federal investigation, all the while trying to keep Cassie safe. With familiar characters, including Delaware's woodworking girlfriend Robin, and some well-developed new ones, notably the hospital's thuggish security head and an uptight pediatric nurse, Kellerman steadily turns up the suspense, reserving some surprises to spring near the end of this intricate tale, the best of recent Alex Delaware stories.

This one starts off kind of dry - lots of technical psychobabble, but it

is interesting - in an arid kind of way. Alex is called in on a consult

to evaluate a situation involving a little 2 year old girl. Cassie has

been in and out of the hospital multiple times and no one can figure out

why. Is it a case of Munchausen by Proxy? Is Cassie's mother making her

own child ill just for attention? It's an ugly suspicion and Alex feels

very duplicitous in his evaluation - becoming friendly with Cindy, the

girl's mother, in order to spy on her, but the alternative is a dead

child, so Alex accepts the challenge.

The truth of the situation is even more heinous and when the bodies

start accumulating and the suspect list starts growing, Alex turns to

his old pal Milo for help and things get really interesting. Detective

Milo Sturgis has been demoted following an assault on a superior officer

and he's been relegated to a boring data processing position, but he's

moonlighting as a private detective and he uses the police computers for

research in order to help Alex with background info on all the players

in this potentially tragic drama. And drama it is, complete with cloak

and dagger shadow government involvement that borders on scary.

It's great watching Alex toss around all these conspiracy theories while

Milo puts it all on the line for his friend. As they both dig, the story

they uncover is more convoluted than they could have imagined and when

all is said and done, they get help from a very unexpected source.

Like I said, I just love Milo.

Devil's Waltz by Jonathan Kellerman has Alex called in on a consult at his old hospital by a doctor who suspects the increasing visits to the hospital by a toddler with mysteriously changing aliments may be caused by someone close to her suffering from Munchausen by proxy. This harrowing mental illness drives a person to make children sick so they can gain attention from various medical people and family members.
Each time the child is bought to the hospital she is in worse condition and Alex recruits fiend Milo to help him sift through the suspects. He's totally baffled by who is making the child sick and how they are doing it. The one thing he's sure of is the child will not live much longer if he can't solve the mystery quickly. Alex suspects the previous death of the child's baby brother was not due to natural causes, but the hospital records are missing and the two people that handled them last have been murdered.
The issues get even more confusing when Alex and Milo begin to suspect hospital's administrators of carrying out some sort of financial plot against the hospital. It soon becomes one of those who's doing what to whom things where everybody knows something's going on, but nobody can figure out what it is. The clues are subtle, but once the mystery is solved, just like Alex, you wonder why you didn't see it. This story makes for an excellent read.

One-year-old Cassandra Brooks has been hospitalized repeatedly. She appears to be thriving in the hospital, but once she is returned home, problems crop up. Her loving mother dotes on her and almost never leaves her side.

The question of Munchausen by Proxy is seriously investigated. Is baby Cassie being injured and made ill by her mother so she, Cassie, will receive extra attention from hospital personnel? Is someone in the hospital harming the baby? Is Cassie just naturally susceptible to illnesses? These are the questions that keep the story moving and readers riveted. Cassie is an interesting baby; her father is an heir in a family known to have acquired their wealth by hard work. She is a member of the "nouveau riche," and money is certainly a possible motive regarding her frequent hospitalizations.

Dr. Delaware and his partner in crime busting/crime solving Milo Sturgis are back in force, this time to find answers to the baby's mysterious illnesses. Sadly, Dr. Delaware is still saddled with his tiresome lover Robin Castagna. I never liked Robin and I'm tired of how the majority of her time with Dr. Delaware is spent eating, going out to eat or preparing a meal. Despite her job as luthier to the stars, she also is a very inane, irritating and shallow character.

Dr. Delaware once again makes the rounds to crack the Case of the Sick Baby and related cases. This is truly an excellent mystery and avid Dr. Delaware fans won't be disappointed. I know I wasn't. I highly recommend this one.

at my unusually low rating! I would agree that this is not one of his very best....and if you are new to the world of Dr. Delaware, I urge you to try another. In my old age I am unable to recall when or how I first stumbled onto Jon and his magnificent writing but I savory each and every click of purchase, always reserved for special reading occasions. Hey, I do not want to run out! This one could have used more story, more depth in characterization, less wallpaper details. But child psychology was my field before retirement and I wanted to see how he addressed this particular puzzling issue of child abuse. Few of us clinicians understand the whys of it but Jon does a great job in his efforts to do so. He and his writer wife remain on my list of people I would enjoy sharing a meal and conversation with, along with Jesus, Gandhi and Alfred Hitchcock :) !

Starting with the first Alex Delaware novel "When the Bough Breaks", I have read all of his thrillers in chronological order, enjoying the Delaware character development as well as the individual stories (the same applies to Stephen White's equally brilliant Alan Gregory books, by the way).
I still consider "Devil's Waltz" to be the best effort in a very good series of novels - believeable characters, interesting storylines and lots of mystery are always guaranteed when starting a Kellerman novel, but "Devil's Waltz" is the one I remember as especially tight and exciting. This book about damage inflicted on a helpless child and layer after layer of secrets within an L.A. hospital will keep you guessing right up to the final pages and is absolutely flawless.

What a great story full of mystery intrigue murder, from the first page it draws you in wanting more, wanting to know the characters better trying to figure out who done it and why. It takes a serious twist and adds more drama to an already infectious plot.

This is my favorite Jonathan Kellerman novel. The book focuses on a disturbing story about Munchausen's Disease by Proxy. This book so quickly caught my interest, that I ended up doing my psych 101 paper on this disease. I had not heard of this disorder when I read the book. It was disturbing, intense, and tore away at your heart. I would definitely recommend this book! Munchausen's Disease seems to have become a more popular topic since I read this book. I have seen countless documentaries on, and it was also featured in the newest episode of House. It is a disturbing, yet intriguing disease, and this book delves straight into the ugliest form of it, Munchausen's Disease by Proxy.

Well, another great Jonathan Kellerman book, here, I'll tell you about it.
When Alex gets a call from a doctor from a hospital where he used to work, asking for help, he agrees. When he goes, he finds that things have changed, and the hospital is a little dangerous. He is asked to avaluate a young couple who brings their young child in, with a range of sicknesses, almost every night, and the doctor suspects that they are making their own child sick. But Chip Jones and his wife are pleasent people, not at all the type to try and hurt their daughter. But Alex must find out soon, before a innocent child is harmed

Another great mystery...especially if you like medical settings, child psychology, and hospital management. Some extraneous material regarding the hospital slowed it down, but a fast page turner it is.

Jonathan Kellerman will always receive a 5-star rating from me. His plots are good; his characters are so real; his writing style is delightful. He makes me feel as if I were a friend and confidant to all of the characters. Keep up the good work, Jonathan!

As a tremendous fan of Kellerman and his protagonist, child psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware, I found this book's premise to be promising - munchausen syndrome by proxy, the intentional injuring of a child by the parent(s) (or sometimes nurses) to gain attention. Although the book loses a little steam compared to his previous books, especially for those who have never met the main characters, the simple idea that a plot can be suspenseful without involving a medical examiner or a detective or a lawyer makes his books not only necessary, but instantly refreshing.

Milo remains a loveable glutton, still raiding Alex's fridge. The relationship between them is comical and believable. The plot, as always, is compelling and intriguing. If you're a Kellerman fan, you won't be disappointed.

This book works the imagination like no other I have read. Once you start this book you will not want to put it down. It makes you imagine things that are not real and it broadens your mind. I would recimend that every one that likes books to read this one. I loved it

J. Kellerman continues to write stories with a twist. As a medical professional I thought I had this one all figured out right up to the end. WOW. While child abuse is always difficult to read about, Kellerman once again educates as well as entertains.