Over The Edge by Jonathan Kellerman

What the cover says:
"Is it all in your mind?
Jamey Cadmus is clearly a deeply troubled young man but is he guilty? Found clutching a bloodied knife at the scene of a brutal double homicide he must be the vicious serial killer who's been terrorising LA, what other explanation can there be?
The public are demanding the death penalty but his lawyer is pleading diminished responsibility. Psychologist Alex Delaware is asked to make an assessment of Jamey's mental health but to do that he needs to look into Jamey's past and no one - not the police, not his family, not even his lawyer - wants Alex digging there..."

This is a fantastic Kellerman novel - lots going on, characters you can care about and an ending that is both happy and sad all at once.

8/10

Compulsion by Jonathan Kellerman

What the cover says:
"A young woman who disappeared into the inky black night....
A retired schoolteacher stabbed to death in broad daylight...
Two women butchered in a small-town beauty parlour...
Three baffling murder cases, linked only by a perplexing lack of motive...."

This was for me, standard Kellerman fare, following the usual formula. However, the plot was interesting and clever, and the ending exciting even though the outcome is always predictable - mind you, one day he'll surprise me by killing off Alex, Milo or Robin at the end!

8/10