Like a psych textbook

No need to go over the story. Suffice it to say, it's Kellerman's early work, filled with simple sentences and ridiculous scenarios. The unlikely actions of a variety of professionals are maddening. Story has potential, and then at the end FINALLY, the explanation is too complicated. Characters are rough-hewn, except for Alex. He's perfectly rendered. Milo is still a background character and the gay card is waved about like a flag -- to denote political correctness? Because it adds only a smidgen to the story. Robin has some interesting appearances, and Alex (Kellerman's alter ego) is right there with the romance everybody dreams of -- though a bit over the top for an infraction of minor proportions. Alex knows boating and furnishings, gourmet and fashion. Alex knows psych, and what he does not know, he gets from other "experts," in this story, the experts are little geniuses.

The reader/narrator is a little stiff, but that's not the problem with him. It's his pronunciation: co-op is pronounced coop (chicken coop) cadge (twice pronounced cadged -- like tagged); other badly "read" words the narrator obviously did not know. Very distracting.

Two stars and nearly unreadable except that having read the series from end to beginning, I had something to look forward to, which never materialized. No engagement -- but long lectures on science, anatomy, South American Indians, psychotropic drugs, high finance and land development, blah, blah, blah... the story was so small, it could have been an anecdote. We have gays and gay haters, racism, sexism, rogue professionals, bikers, investigators, good cops, bad cops, astounding wealth, single moms and dirty dealings all around. And yet, there was no story, like a child's Christmas tree upon which are placed his favorite things, great and small, for the child to gaze upon and be impressed.

3 people found this helpful

Jagged Edge

Great book. I'm still dumbfounded by the plot twists. one of my favorite of the older Alex Delaware novels.

2 people found this helpful

Disappointing

Let's start with the fact that most of Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware books are better than most other books. That said, this one was a disappointment.

It's taken me decades to figure this out, but there's a very simple pattern to these books: Some event/crime occurs, and Alex gets called into the middle of it. Then he -- or he and his trusty (and very likable) sidekick, Milo -- try to figure out what happened. So he, or they, go around the LA area and interview all kinds of strange and weird people, some of them high-level wealthy movers and shakers, all the way down to the lowest of the low quasi-homeless. In doing so, Kellerman gives us all access to part of LA we'd never see, and insights into the kind of people most of us would never run into normally. It's heady stuff, and endlessly fascinating. I never get tired of it.

So this book starts out like that -- and steams ahead quite nicely for about 2/3 of the book, at which point Alex Delaware finds himself immersed in way too much chemistry -- actual chemistry, as in the chemical components of various hallucinogens and other mind-altering drugs. I found myself tuning out -- way way way too much technical information. I have no mental 'hooks' to hang any of this information on anyway, so it was clearly in one ear, out the other.

Unfortunately, when the book reengages, it does so with a lot of mindless characters, people who really weren't interesting -- but then, I've never found drunks interesting, either. I never could get interested in it again, just played it out to the end.

As others have noted, this was an early book in the series. It was worth listening to again, even if it was less than satisfying.

And the narrator? I'm going to give him two stars until he learns to pronounce the word "Ventura" correctly. There is no excuse for someone reading THAT many books set in the LA area to constantly, every single time, mispronounce the name of that city/county. Maybe sooner or later someone will clue him in....

2 people found this helpful

Always a twist you don't see coming!

Would you listen to Over the Edge again? Why?

Kept me guessing the whole time!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Over the Edge?

The end. Not going to spoil it.

What about Alexander Adams’s performance did you like?

I enjoy his clear and calm voice. I also like his character voices

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was surprised at the end. No laughter or tears.

2 people found this helpful

Love the story

The story is great but prefer Rubenstein recitation rather than Adams. Really liked the ending

1 person found this helpful

One of the Best

Would you listen to Over the Edge again? Why?

One of my favorite books is brought to life in this audio version. I loved listening to it and caught several points that I missed from reading it on the page.

1 person found this helpful

A bit hard to follow and believe, but..

I'll probably be back or more of this series. I find the psychological discussions interesting, when I didn't think I would. I like the friendship between Milo and the protagonist more than I understand the relationship between the protagonist and his girlfriend. The complexity of the plot and the unreality of it were an interference, so that's why it gets 4 stars. The performance, the characters, and the tone were absorbing. If this writer matures from book to book, I'm pretty sure I'll like the later books a lot more, given that this one has promise.

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Heart-tugger

This story has surprises. The young man over the edge has an impossible challenge to meet. Alex Delaware is the very model of a devoted friend and intelligent psychologist. A satisfying listen👍

Enjoyable

Kellerman found his stride again. The plotting is complex but eminently followable. The characters are ell drawn.

Okay listen if you’re a diehard Kellerman fan

I am listening to the Audible versions of Jonathan Kellerman’s “Alex Delaware” series. I’d hoped I would enjoy this book more when narrated, but the narrator disappointed due to pronunciation problems. Like the hardcover, the first 2/3 of this book filled with word walls of info and padding, and the pace is glacial. Not recommended unless you’re a diehard Kellerman fan.