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Summary
Summary
In this riveting, astute, high-tension thriller, the creator of psychologist sleuth Alex Delaware weaves a Dickensian tale of innocence, urban depravity, and the resilience of the human spirit, and brings to the page one of the most endearing and finely drawn characters in contemporary fiction. Twelve-year-old Billy Straight--precocious, heartbreakingly perceptive, relentlessly moral--has fled the chaos and abuse of his life at home and is fighting to survive on L.A.'s meanest streets. All alone, Billy has fashioned a precarious existence for himself, using principled tricks to nourish his body and his mind. Late one night he watches from his hiding place as a man viciously butchers a woman. The victim turns out to be the ex-wife of a television celebrity with a history of domestic violence, and Billy becomes the center of terrifying attention--from the media, from violent bounty hunters, and from the murderer himself. As he runs for his life, relying on his native wit and instincts for survival, Billy is also tracked by a potential savior: Petra Connor, a tough, gifted, beautiful LAPD homicide detective with a past of her own. Breathtakingly paced, Billy Straight brings to life one street kid's efforts to survive in the face of unspeakable evil. Richly layered, emotionally compelling, and peopled by a vivid cast of supporting characters--including Alex Delaware himself in a strong cameo role--this gripping novel represents one of the century's great story-tellers at the top of his form. From the Hardcover edition.
Author Notes
Jonathan Kellerman is one of the world's most popular authors. He has brought his expertise as a child psychologist to 16 consecutive bestselling novels of suspense, including The Butcher's Theater, Jerusalem, and Billy Straight and 32 previous Alex Delaware novels, translated into two dozen languages. He is also the author of numerous essays, short stories, and scientific articles, two children's books, and three volumes on psychology, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children.
(Publisher Provided)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Although this is only the second of Kellerman's 14 novels not to feature psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware (the first was Butcher's Theater, 1988), it has all the author's familiar strengths: a broad cast of well-defined characters, a fast-moving plot and themes sponged from the daily news yet turned fresh. (And Delaware makes a brief appearance at the end.) Twelve-year-old Billy Straight, a precocious homeless kid with a taste for reading, flees Los Angeles in terror after witnessing a murder in Griffith Park. The homicide inquiry is headed by Petra Connor, a determined, intuitive detective, and her partner, Stu Bishop, who is distracted by a family tragedy. The murder victim turns out to be Lisa Ramsey, ex-wife of the famous, and abusive, Cart Ramsey, who plays a private eye on a late-night television series. Kellerman does a fine job revealing how memories of the Simpson case shadow the Ramsey investigation, affecting the ways Petra and Stu are allowed to go about their work. The search for Billy by the cops and several villains forces a comparison with John Grisham's The Client, but Kellerman's novel is far more complex, switching points of view among a multitude of characters and amid a series of distinctive subplots. By the dramatic climax, Kellerman has pushed a number of familiar buttonsbut with enough panache and surprises to satisfy his most demanding fans. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
While Alex Delaware, his psychologist-sleuth (The Clinic, 1997, etc.), is out on a one-book hiatus, Kellerman produces his best work yet. Young Billy Straight, fleeing domestic non-tranquility--his mom's a drunk, her boyfriend's a sadist--happens on a woman being stabbed to death. It traumatizes him, of course--not only the brutality of it, but its way of placing on his thin shoulders one more impossible burden. What should he do? Should he tell the police he's seen a license plate number? He's only 12, but Bill is named --Straight-- for a reason: he's a boy who takes moral dilemmas seriously. But this time, nevertheless, he runs. Facing the police, risking a return to the misery of his home as well as possible exposure to a killer, is more good behavior than he can force on himself. The murder victim turns out to be the divorced wife of a well-known television star--and a case for the LAPD's Detective Petra Connor, who is less than overjoyed at it, knowing it will be high profile and a media magnet. Launching the kind of professional investigation she prides herself on is tricky business in a fish bowl. Brass will get nervous. In addition, her usually rock-solid partner is already distracted in a way that mystifies her, and he won--t explain himself, making Petra feel put upon and deserted. But there's plenty of bulldog in this pretty Detective, belying her laid-back and understated look. Relentlessly, she tracks down the leads that at first point unerringly to the disgruntled and jealous former husband. Soon, however, other possibilities occur, until at last Petra connects with Billy during a climactic, blood-drenched shoot-out that resolves all. An engrossing tale in lean, straightforward prose. Readers leery of Kellerman's style will be hard put to find the purple patches usually associated with it. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Readers rightfully equate Kellerman with blockbuster best-sellers filled with suspense, violence, and intriguing glimpses of the human psyche. His latest is no exception, although Kellerman rests series star Dr. Alex Delaware and introduces two new heroes: 12-year-old runaway Billy Straight and LAPD detective Petra Connor. Billy has escaped his alcoholic, drug-addicted mother and her abusive boyfriend and lives by his wits on L.A.'s mean streets. Petra is an artist turned homicide detective, recently divorced from a husband whose mental abuse left deep scars. The lives of these characters merge when Billy witnesses a violent murder and Petra is assigned to investigate the case. As Petra follows up leads, wades through evidence, and deals with the LAPD bureaucracy, Billy burrows deeper into street-kid anonymity, terrified the killer will come after him. The plot hurtles along at breakneck speed toward a cliff-hanger of a climax that's guaranteed to surprise even seasoned mystery fans. Kellerman, already an icon in the genre, will further cement his status as a mystery master with this diabolically clever thriller. A mesmerizing combination of violence, pathos, misery, and hope. --Emily Melton
Library Journal Review
Twelve-year-old Billy Straight ran away from his mother's abusive and sadistic boyfriend and is now living on the streets of Los Angeles. He witnesses a murder and suddenly finds himself in the middle of a manhunt. Petra Connor is the lead detective on the case. Her job takes on additional complications: the victim is the famous ex-wife of a Hollywood actor, Petra's supervisors are frightened that this crime will turn into another "OJ," her partner is strangely distracted, and her chief witness is a street kid. This story is told in the voices of both Billy and Petra, and though it could be confusing, it is quite interesting to hear. John Rubinstein, a phenomenal actor, brings Billy Straight to life and makes the characters seem real. Most mystery readers will think they have solved the murder by the middle of the book, but keep listening: the ending will shock almost everyone. Kellerman's (The Clinic, Audio Reviews, LJ 4/15/97) thriller is quite graphic, but it will be enjoyed by most mystery buffs.ÄDanna Bell-Russel, Natl. Digital Lib., Library of Congress, Washington, DC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.