''Monster'' is a

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and co ...

and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reas ...

Jonathan Kellerman Jonathan Seth Kellerman (born August 9, 1949) is an American novelist, psychologist, and Edgar- and Anthony Award–winning author best known for his popular mystery novels featuring the character Alex Delaware, a child psychologist who consult ...

. It is the 14th novel in the

Alex Delaware Alex Delaware is a literary character created by American writer Jonathan Kellerman. The Alex Delaware detective series begins with ''When the Bough Breaks'', published in 1985. Delaware appears in 32 of Kellerman's popular murder mysteries. Kel ...

series.

Plot

The mutilated body of an aspiring actor is found in the trunk of a car parked near an industrial area. Weeks later, another body appears in similar condition at another location. This time, the body is a female psychologist, who was working in a state facility for psychotic criminals. One similarity of the mutilations is obvious. The eyes were targeted. The case goes to

LAPD The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

detective Milo Sturgis, assisted by Dr.

, an old friend and psychological consultant. The two find out that similar eye mutilations were infamously performed in the case of a family mass murder some years ago, and the culprit is now in the same facility where the female doctor worked. The media had described him simply as a "monster" following his arrest. Facing him, Milo and Alex find the "monster" in a deteriorated condition locked within a highly secured cell. To add to the drama, the detectives get a tip-off that the killer, who hardly speaks, had said something that implied knowledge of the doctor's mutilated eyes.

Characters

*Dr. Alex Delaware – psychologist *Milo Strugis – LAPD detective *Richard Dada – first murder victim *Dr. Claire Argrent – second murder victim *Ardis Peake alias "monster" – prime suspect *Heidi Ott – employee in the facility for psychotic criminals

Release and sales

''Monster'' was first published in hardback in the United States in 1999 through Random House, accompanied by an audiobook adaptation narrated by

John Rubinstein John Rubinstein (born December 8, 1946) is an American actor, composer and director. Early life Rubinstein is the son of Polish parents. His mother, Aniela (née Młynarska), a dancer and writer, was a Roman Catholic native of Warsaw, the dau ...

. A paperback edition was released the following year.

Sales

Sales for the hardback and paperback editions were favorable enough to place it on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list for the weeks of December 26, 1999 and October 1, 2000, respectively.

Reception

Critical reception for the book was mixed. Michael Harris reviewed ''Monster'' for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', criticizing Kellerman's handling of politics, stating that it wasn't the author's strong point and that the book's villain did not seem clever enough. Dale Jones of ''

The Gazette The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...

'' was more favorable, as they viewed it as one of Kellerman's best works.

References

External links

* 1999 American novels Novels by Jonathan Kellerman Random House Psychological thriller novels {{1990s-crime-novel-stub