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Compulsions And Confessions

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 18, 2009

"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.

"Confessions of a Contractor" by Richard Murphy is a novel, but while the author has worked as a contractor for 12 years he says this story is purely fiction. The story begins with some advice by a contractor who tells women who are contemplating renovating a house "do not sleep with your contractor." If you do, the work may not be done as you wish and you may also have serious personal problems. In Murphy's tale, contractor Henry Sullivan does not observe this rule of proper conduct and manages to get involved with two different women at the same time. Henry is puzzled and curious as to why the two women, who used to be close friends, are now virtual enemies and they won't tell him why the friendship ended. Contractor Henry has access to some of the most intimate secrets of a home and with the homeowners. He manages to inject himself into many awkward and humorous situations with emotional consequences for himself. Fate changes his life, and in the end he decides to move and build a new home for himself without any serious attachments. At least not until his next job.

Marie Wood is a book reviewer for The Sun. She may be reached at WoMarie@aol.com.

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