Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 24, 1994 TAG: 9404170162
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO BOOK PAGE EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BAD LOVE. By Jonathan Kellerman. Bantam. $22.95.
Both of these novels are complex pyschological mysteries, and though the most recent entry in Jonathan Kellerman's series has been the more popular of the two, Bayer's book is more engrossing.
"Mirror Maze" revolves around two cases that NYPD detective Frank Janek is handling. The first concerns a young woman named Gelsey who picks up men in bars, goes home with them, then drugs and robs them. That's not all she does, but it's all the reader should know going in. The second matter is an older and more complicated multiple- murder that the cops refer to simply as Mendoza. It's a partially unresolved case that drives everyone nuts. Various facets touch upon police corruption, ruined careers, dead cops and murder for hire. No one wants anything to do with it, but it won't go away. When Mendoza resurfaces nine years after the fact, Janek is dragged back in and sent south. For almost all of the novel, Janek's attention is split between the two, though the primary focus is on Gelsey. Even before he knows who she is, he's fascinated by her, and she becomes more intriguing as the novel progresses. Janek is an empathetic protagonist, a cop who's interested in understanding human behavior and emotions. "Solving" crimes and identifying the guilty are less important to him.
Throughout the novel, Bayer uses mirrors as metaphors and props. The title refers to an elaborate construction that he has boldly taken from Orson Welles' "Lady from Shanghai" and reworked to his own purposes.
It would be unproductive to apply too many reality checks to "Mirror Maze" - it's not that kind of novel - but it's still as entertaining and intelligent a mystery as you're likely to read this year.
"Bad Love" is not one of Jonathan Kellerman's strongest novels. It, too, begins with a double focus. The first is the murder of a social worker by a man who screamed "bad love" before he was killed by the police. Those are also the words on a tape that child psychologist Alex Delaware finds in his mailbox.
The second plotline concerns a biker who killed his wife and now wants his kids to visit him in prison. The court assigns Delaware to evaluate the family. Then there's also the dog that Delaware finds.
It really wouldn't be fair to reveal how those are balanced, but the dog takes up far too much space. The central mystery is developed slowly and never achieves a strong narrative momentum. It moves fitfully, with just enough tantalizing clues and surprises to keep the reader interested.
As his fans have come to expect, Kellerman wraps it all up with a big finish, and explains the more exotic plot elements with textbook psychological answers. But it's still less than completely satisfying. Kellerman has done better in the past, and doubtless will do so again.
by CNB