"Compulsion" by Jonathan Kellerman begins with a description of a grisly murder. Somehow, detective Milo Sturgis and psychologist Alex Delaware find a minor connection between murders whose only link is that the killer uses luxury vehicles to travel in. There seems to be no motive in the murders but Milo and Alex feel they were committed by the same person, even though it seems hard to believe that the brutal murderer is somehow connected with both the wealthy center of Los Angeles and New York City. The known murders cover a period of at least 10 years and Alex is sure that the same person is responsible. In the absence of any connecting motives, Alex concludes that the perpetrator is obviously a very clever madman who is killing because he can. When Alex and Milo track down the devious character, they also provide some closure for the grieving parents who had been wondering what happened to their teenage son, missing for the past 10 years. The answer is an unhappy one but knowing what happened makes the couple grateful that they will be able to find their son's body and have a memorial service. And Milo is happy to be able to take at least one "cold case" from his files. ...more

February 18, 2009

IRA KAUFMAN'S POWER RANKINGS 1. Titans. Defense and a running game. Who knew? ...more

October 21, 2008

These days, life moves so fast, and we are all so busy, it has become necessary to plan farther and farther in advance to make anything happen. At least in part, this is because we have somehow developed the need to make every occasion a major production. Compulsion to "wow" those who attend has robbed us of most of the spontaneity, and, in my opinion, much of the joy of special occasions. ...more

November 25, 2007