Devil's Waltz: An Alex Delaware Novel

By Jonathan Kellerman

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
 
In one of the most frightening and challenging cases of his career, Dr. Alex Delaware must confront a strange medical mystery involving a child.
 
“Reads like wildfire . . . harrowing suspense.”—The New York Times Book Review
 
Twenty-one-month-old Cassie Jones is the picture of health. Yet her parents rush her to the emergency room night after night with symptoms no doctor can explain. Cassie’s parents seem genuinely concerned. Her favorite nurse is a model of devotion. When Delaware is called in to investigate, instinct tells him that one of them could be a monster. Then a physician is brutally murdered. A shadowy death is revealed. And Alex and his friend, LAPD detective Milo Sturgis, have only hours to uncover the link between Cassie’s terrifying condition and these shocking, seemingly unrelated events.

BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Jonathan Kellerman's Guilt.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: May 20, 2003
• ISBN: 9780345463791

Jonathan Kellerman

Jonathan Kellerman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty bestselling crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher’s Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, and True Detectives. With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he coauthored Double Homicide and Capital Crimes. He is also the author of two children’s books and numerous nonfiction works, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children and With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and has been nominated for a Shamus Award. 

Reviews for Devil's Waltz

[magentaflake · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting read.

[jiraiya_5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was so primal, it ought to have been narrated as an audiobook by a screaming Kurt Cobain. It was so shocking. You know there cannot be a lot of red herrings, but the author did not let that bother him.Is Kellerman really inferior in writing to his wife Faye? That's what someone told me. Faye better than even Jonathan? Scary.I read book 34 first. Reason for that simply was the title, 'The Wedding Guest'. I thought I was going to be treated with a cozy like experience. But I can no longer convey my impressions. I've forgotten about book 34.Maybe that's Kellerman's sins. His books don't stick in the mind. I never see his name in the bestsellers list. He ought to out dough James Patterson. Patterson's books too are forgettable. But will the latter get 5 stars from me? No.

[punxsygal · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Devil’s Waltz by Jonathan Kellerman
3 stars

Over the course of eighteen months, young Cassie Jones has spent her life in and out of Western Pediatrics Hospital. Her doctors are baffled as they can find no underlying causes to her episodes of breathing troubles, gastric distress and seizures. Finally, her primary care physician calls in Alex Delaware, a psychologist as a consult. Alex’s instinct tells him the problems may not be medical but rather the result of outside interference with the likely suspects being Cassie’s parents, Chip and Cindy Jones. And the more time he spends at the hospital he becomes aware of an institution that is harboring its own secrets, long time employees leaving in droves, the security is enforced like a police state, a staff that is completely demoralized. Then, even as Cassie suffers another setback, a physician is brutally murdered. Alex turns to his police detective friend, Milo Sturgis, to help him seek answers to the many questions that keep popping up.

While this book is part of a series starring Alex Delaware, it stood well by itself. There were interesting discussions regarding a possible psychological syndrome that was responsible for Cassie’s ill health. It became a little more convoluted as to the happenings in the hospital and its troubles. And I lost some interest in reading that. All in all, it was a decent read and I would consider reading others in the series if I happen to come across them.

[debavp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Was in the mood for a little Alex Delaware and this was next up on the list. I was not disappointed. I’m not sure why, but in this one Kellerman has struck a balance of sorts and it was an enjoyable read beginning to end. I wasn’t sure how the medical information would hold up several years later, but it never had that written twenty years ago patina to it. I also really liked the brief mentions about previous characters, be they patients, old loves, previous interactions, et al. He wasn’t too heavy-handed, but those really added to the likeability of Delaware and successfully kept this from feeling dated.

[darrol_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Munchausen syndrome by proxy plays a central role in this story. But the narrative drags a bit. And the behind the scenes conspiracy and counter conspiracy not very interesting.

[rclarkson5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the more difficult stories to get a handle on. Grandfather, father, mother and nurse are all possible suspects. Dead doctor, dead assistant, dead child, chronical ill child with varying symptoms stumps entire hospital staff.