COLD HEART, A（ISBN=） 英文原版

　　Jonathan Kellerman is a master at creating psychologically
nuanced novels of suspense–an author whose name is synonymous with
unrelenting action, intriguing plot twists, and penetrating insight
into the criminal mind. Now he ventures into bold, new territory
with his biggest and best novel yet. “A Cold Heart” features
Kellerman’s brilliant signature style–but in this tour-de-force he
mines even deeper the emotional landscape of his characters:
psychologist-sleuth Alex Delaware, LAPD homicide detective Milo
Sturgis, Milo’s colleague Petra Connor, and Alex’s ex-lover, Robin
Castagna–bringing them all vividly to life as never before. “”I’ve
got a weird one, so naturally I thought of you,”” says Milo
Sturgis, summoning his friend Alex to the trendy gallery where a
promising young artist has been brutally garroted on the night of
her first major showing. What makes it “a weird one” is the lack of
any obvious motive, and the luridly careful staging of the murder
scene–which immediately suggests to Alex not an impulsive crime of
passion . . . but the meticulous and taunting modus operandi of a
serial killer. Delaware’s suspicion is borne out when he compares
notes with Milo’s associate, Petra Connor, and her new partner, a
strange, taciturn detective with a past of his own named Eric
Stahl. The Hollywood cops are investigating the vicious death of
Baby Boy Lee, a noted blues guitarist, fatally stabbed after a
late-night set at a local club. What links Baby Boy’s murder with
that of painter Juliet Kipper is the shadowy presence of an
abrasive fanzine writer. This alias-shrouded critic’s
love-the-art/disdain-the-artist philosophy and his morbid
fascination with the murders leads Alex and the detectives to
suspect they’re facing a new breed of celebrity stalker: one with a
fetish for snuffing out rising stars. Tracking down the killer
proves to be maddening, with the twisting trail leading from
halfway houses to palatial mansions and from a college campus to
the last place Alex ever expected: the doorstep of his ex-lover
Robin Castagna, whose business association with two of the victims
casts her as an unavoidable player in the unfolding case. As more
and more killings are discovered, unraveling the maddening puzzle
assumes a chilling new importance–stopping a vicious psychopath
who’s made cold-blood murder his chosen art form.