Book Reviews by Anne B. Jones, Ph.D

 

Mystery (Jonathan Kellerman, Ballantine Books, 2011)

 

Jonathan Kellerman’s newly released Mystery is a great companionable read in the Alex Delaware series. A good police procedural, it lacks the violence and gore of many of Kellerman’s books and only briefly dips into the titillating world of provocative sex. In other words, this work is fairly tame.

 

The plot centers on the identification of a faceless female corpse. Delaware and his wife Robin had recently seen the beautiful young woman in the bar of an old rundown hotel. They are two of the last people to see her alive and are convinced there is a connection with a rough looking man they’d noticed waiting outside. They help provide police with sketches and with their limited, but vital, involvement feel compelled to help solve the crime. To complicate matters, there is an anonymous “lead” and the complexity of sifting through records of a dating service for rich guys and hotties. The story is filled with dysfunctional families and abnormal psychology, a trademark of Kellerman novels.

As usual, Detective Milo Sturgis relies on Delaware’s psychological instincts and friendship to help guide the investigation through an assortment of tangled clues before the real killer is found.

 

And that is the heart of the Alex Delaware series. The Delaware and Sturgis characters have made Kellerman’s books a necessary read for his fans. Everyone longs for friendships. Picking up a new book is like meeting with old friends and still being part of the gang.

Kellerman is a master of dialogue and writes in a comfortable conversational style. His faithful followers will enjoy the book. Those who don’t have a Kellerman background may prefer to start with one of the earlier books for a better understanding of the Delaware-Sturgis relationship.