Tag: Milo Sturgis

Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Murder Mystery2 Comments

Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio (6 February 2025)

Series: Alex Delaware – Book 40

Length: 9 hours and 10 minutes

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Still going strong after 40 Alex Delaware crime fiction novels, the always dependable Jonathan Kellerman presents another clever and captivating read with Open Season, an intense novel that proves very hard to put down.

Jonathan Kellerman is an excellent veteran author, whose massive body of work has been impressing crime fiction readers for decades.  While he has a couple of big series, Kellerman is best known for his long-running Alex Delaware series, which follows titular protagonist Alex Delaware, a child psychologist, and his best friend, LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis as they investigate unusual or deranged murders around Los Angeles.  This is a really great series, and ever since I came across it, I’ve made a major effort to read each new entry, especially as they also provide some great mysteries and complex police investigation narratives.  Books like (The Wedding Guest, The Museum of Desire, Serpentine, City of the Dead, Unnatural History and The Ghost Orchid), have all been extremely amazing, and I eagerly await my new Alex Delaware hit at the start of each year.  The latest entry in the series, Open Season, is the 40th Alex Delaware novel, with Kellerman still going strong this far into the series.

Los Angeles is filled with all manner of dreamers and aspiring stars, but when one of them meets a tragic end, it falls to psychologist Alex Delaware and veteran homicide detective Milo Sturgis to find them justice.  Called in to investigate the dumping of an aspiring actress’s drugged body near a hospital emergency room, Alex and Milo soon set their sights on a known abuser as a likely culprit.  However, their hunt is prematurely ended when their suspect is found murdered, shot by a sniper.

Forced to switch to a new investigation, the two friends and their team are surprised to discover that the execution of the sexual predator is connected to two other unsolved homicides, with both additional victims shot from a distance using the same rifle.  Determined to figure out how the cases are linked, the team uncover a web of seemingly unconnected innocent victims, each of whom appeared to have been killed for very different reasons.

With additional bodies starting to pile up around the city, Alex and Milo find themselves in a race to solve the case before more victims can be cut down.  But are they facing a dangerous spree killer with no rhyme or reason to their actions, or a darker figure with their own complex rationales for murder?  To solve the case and stop the shooter, these two friends will need to use all their combined skills to decipher their strange motivation before even more people wind up dead.

Jonathan Kellerman continues to deeply impress with this new addictive and captivating crime fiction novel that I couldn’t get another off.  Featuring another brilliant and unique case, Open Season was an exceptional 40th entry in the Alex Delaware series that takes the reader down some dark and twisty paths.  This was a truly excellent read that I powered through in a very short amount of time.

Open Season was a particularly strong murder mystery from Kellerman, and I loved the compelling, multi-layered narrative that emerged.  Once again bringing together his two loveable main characters, Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis, the two initially begin the book by investigating the murder of a young aspiring actress, drugged and dumped near a hospital.  Starting off with the typical look at the victim and anyone who knew her, the detectives are quick to narrow in on a suspect, only for the story to take an interesting turn when their potential killer ends up dead.  From there the story becomes a lot more complex, as the protagonists and a larger team begin to investigate the shooting of the first suspect, as well as several connected crimes.  This allows for a larger story with a ton of distinctive potential witnesses and suspects, and the protagonists investigate in several different directions, adding a lot of different pieces to the puzzle. 

Thanks to a series of varied clues, compelling research and additional discovered killings, the protagonists eventual narrow down on a potential suspect with interesting connections to each of the victims.  Without giving too much away, I felt that the overall solution for Open Season’s investigation was very clever, and it nicely tied into each of the victims/cases that make up the larger mystery.  The motivations for the killer were very unique and memorable, so it proved quite fascinating to see how the protagonists identified the antagonist and led to a great conclusion to the overall story.  I particularly enjoyed the final confrontation that the protagonists had with the killer towards the end of the book, and it wrapped the story up perfectly.  An overall excellent murder mystery narrative that will have you hooked all the way to the end.

I deeply enjoy Kellerman’s style for the Alex Delaware books and he really knows how to pull together a fascinating and intense police investigation narrative.  The author prefers a slow and methodical style of investigation as the protagonists pull together various clues and connections and work them into their various theories, which always adds a great touch of realism to proceedings.  There is a particular reliance on diving into the personal histories of the victims and suspects that Kellerman enjoys, which works to drag the reader further into the plot as they become even more invested in the investigations.  I felt that Kellerman’s typical style worked particularly well in Open Season, and I loved the complex investigation that emerged.  The multiple separate murders and the large array of connected people associated with each case allowed for a particularly elaborate story, and Kellerman carefully allowed his protagonists to explore these different elements allowing for compelling drive to the big conclusion around who was responsible.  I felt that Kellerman did an excellent job layering the more important clues around the case throughout the entire story, and it was very interesting to see what discussions or personal details came into play later.  I really got invested in Open Season’s complex case as a result, and this proved to be a particularly clever and well written mystery that deeply enhanced Kellerman’s already excellent story.

In addition to the very well-written story, Kellerman features some interesting characters and interactions in Open Season that help to create a unique feel that fans of the Alex Delaware series will be very familiar with.  Much of this lies with the two main characters, Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis, who have an established and comfortable way of speaking with each other.  These two characters, both of whom are quirky in their own ways, are an excellent centre for the story, and I love how well the play off each other.  While their dialogue can be a little unique and occasionally flippant, Kellerman has spent a lot of time developing their patter, and you grow to appreciate the way these two characters work together.  In addition to their usual discussions, Open Season also had some more personal interactions between the two, especially when Alex is forced to keep some information from the team to protect the confidence of a medical professional.  I also liked how this was one of the Alex Delaware novels where the protagonist got to use his expertise as a psychologist to try to get to the root of the various suspects potential motivations.  This psychological work comes into play nicely, especially once they identify who the killer is, and it helped to give Open Season more of a distinctive edge away from other crime fiction reads.

While most of Open Season’s focus is on Alex and Milo, Kellerman also introduces an array of interesting supporting characters, each of whom are connected to the case in some specific way.  I really enjoyed the unique collection of characters that emerged, and there are some interesting storylines and connections that emerge thanks to the protagonists constant digging into the past.  The characters that get the most attention are some of the victims of the case, whose lives are explored in detail by the detectives.  Despite not interacting with the protagonists or readers while alive, you get to know all the victims thanks to interviews with their friends and families.  These many detailed interviews not only provide key information about who the victims are and potential motivations for their murders, but they also provide compelling and emotional testimony from those that loved them, which ensures that the reader becomes very invested in finding out who killed them.  You also meet a compelling group of people connected to the victims, who serve as witnesses, sources of information or suspects (sometimes all at once) in the case.  Due to the nature of Open Season’s story, you meet quite a few supporting characters, often for only a scene or two.  Kellerman makes these appearances count, though, and I liked some of the unique interactions that occurred, even if some of these characters were a little weird or had an unrealistic way of communicating.  The eventually revealed killer was particularly outrageous when eventually revealed, which I personally thought was very entertaining, although I could see some readers finding him to be too over-the-top.  Still, all these characters added something to the plot, and I enjoyed the effective way in which Kellerman introduced and utilised them throughout the book.

While I usually try to get physical copies of the Alex Delaware novels, for Open Season I ended up listening to the audiobook version, which I felt was an excellent way to enjoy this amazing book.  I personally find that the audiobook format does wonders for helping readers appreciate detailed and multilayered crime fiction narratives and Open Season was a great example of this, as I soon got drawn into every level of the author’s compelling mystery.  Part of the reason this worked so well was narrator John Rubinstein, who has lent his voice to a large chunk of the Alex Delaware series.  Rubinstein has a fun voice that lends itself to the occasionally zanier style of the Alex Delaware books and really brings the author’s complex narratives to life.  I especially enjoy how Rubinstein perfectly captures the characters featured in Open Season, including the main protagonists, Alex and Milo.  A great example of this is the very distinctive voice that Rubinstein utilises for Milo, which really captures the man’s complex and entertaining nature, and frankly I don’t know any other way how this character could be voiced.  The narrator also successfully captures the distinctive patter that the two main protagonists have between each other, and the way conversation flows between them in the audiobook is a ton of fun.  The various other characters featured with Open Season are also well represented, and I loved the colourful array of voices and accents that Rubinstein utilises for the supporting cast and various witnesses that protagonists encounter.  While a few of these voices are a little over-the-top, I personally liked them, and I felt it fit the long-running and distinctive series tone extremely well.  This exceptional narration allowed me to absolutely power through Open Season’s roughly nine-hour long run time, and I had such a blast picking up every single clue or compelling character interaction in this format.  As such, I would strongly recommend the audiobook version of Open Season to anyone interested in checking this mystery out, and I can personally guarantee it makes for great entertainment on a long trip.

Even after all these years, Jonathan Kellerman still shines as one of the masters of the crime fiction genre.  The 40th Alex Delaware novel, Open Season, was an outstanding addition to the series, and I love the compelling and awesome narrative that emerged.  Slick, addictive and featuring some interesting twists, Open Season was a truly impressive read, and I am still having so much fun with Jonathan Kellerman’s incredible books.

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The Ghost Orchid by Jonathan Kellerman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery7 Comments

The Ghost Orchid Cover (2)

Publisher: Century (Trade Paperback – 13 February 2024)

Series: Alex Delaware – Book 39

Length: 293 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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Legendary crime fiction author Jonathan Kellerman returns with another outstanding read in his long-running Alex Delaware series with The Ghost Orchid, which presents the reader with another gripping murder mystery.

Over the last few years, I have developed an awesome and highly enjoyable habit of starting the new year off by reading the new Jonathan Kellerman book as soon as I can.  An excellent and well-established crime fiction author, Kellerman has been producing amazing reads for decades, with his best-known works being the Alex Delaware novels, following that follow a plucky psychologist and his cop best friend as they solve the most unusual or mysterious murders in Los Angeles.  While I got into Kellerman’s work late, I have had an outstanding time with some of his more recent books, including The Wedding Guest, The Museum of Desire, Serpentine, City of the Dead and Unnatural History.  All of these novels have been amazing and filled with great mysteries, and I am always very excited to check out a new Kellerman book.  That is why I made sure to grab a copy of the new Alex Delaware novel, The Ghost Orchid, as soon as I could, and boy did it prove to be another outstanding read.

Love, revenge and deceit are all in the air when two bodies are found beside the pool in an upscale Bel Air mansion.  The two victims have been mercilessly shot down in what appears to be a targeted hit.  But who was the intended victim?  Was it the rich playboy heir who lived in the mansion or was it his wealthier neighbour with whom he had been having an illicit affair?

Noting the apparent anger behind the case, LAPD homicide detective lieutenant Milo Sturgis calls in his old friend and colleague psychologist Alex Delaware to help unwind the twisted threads of both victims’ lives.  Only recently recovered from a dangerous encounter on their last investigation, Alex is keen to get back into the saddle, even for what appears to be a simple case of revenge from a spurned husband.  However, it soon becomes clear that this murder is anything but simple.

As Alex and Milo dig deeper into the case, they discover that both dead lovers had troubled pasts and dark secrets that they were running from.  To discover who was behind the deadly murders, the two friends will need to uncover everything about their victims’ lives, including any dark connections that could identify the killer or their motives.  But neither Alex nor Milo are prepared for just how convoluted the lives of these two Los Angeles elites truly were or just how far they went to escape their pasts.

This was another brilliant read from Jonathan Kellerman that I instantly fell in love with.  The 39th entry in the Alex Delaware series, The Ghost Orchid featured Kellerman’s trademark investigative style and iconic character as they dive into another excellent mystery.

The Ghost Orchid’s story proved to be extremely interesting and addictive as it once again followed the protagonists as they embark on another fascinating investigation.  Mostly shown through the eyes of main character Alex Delaware, Kellerman paints a fantastic picture at the start of The Ghost Orchid, as he sets up the crime scene and then introduces the reader to the two murder victims.  From there, the plot advances at a steady pace, as the protagonists begin to dive into the lives of their victims and learn about their past, their secrets, and their deeper motivations.  Much of this investigation involves methodical interviews of the victim’s various friends, acquaintances, and relatives, and the running down of any leads that come their way.

Kellerman effectively moves this story along, and you are soon given some great clues regarding the case, as well as some potential additional crimes.  I loved how well the author kept up a level of suspense and uncertainty regarding which victim is the most likely intended target, and the expert blending of their backstories worked extremely well.  At the same time, Kellerman also adds in some more personal elements for the main character, including examining the fallout of the last book and his own work as a psychologist.  The entire mystery comes together extremely well at the end of the novel, and I loved the compelling story that resulted, especially as one character’s past holds the secrets for the solution of the case.  I did think that Kellerman wrapped everything up a little suddenly and with less involvement from the protagonists than you would expect, although there is a certain amount of realism in the final confrontation.  However, this proved to be an overall extremely epic story that you can’t help but get drawn into.

I really love how Kellerman structures his outstanding mysteries in the Alex Delaware series, and The Ghost Orchid is a great example of this.  Kellerman’s methodical and more realistic style of investigation always stands out to me, and I deeply appreciate how the protagonist’s attempts to solve the crime usually requires talking to multiple intriguing suspects or people with any sort of connection to the case.  While some of the dialogue between these witnesses and the protagonists occasionally feels a little off, for the most part Kellerman succeeds in building a powerful and massive picture of events that fills the reader’s mind’s eye and really draws them into the mystery.  The entire mystery in The Ghost Orchid was extremely well structured, and the slow move towards answers really drew me in and made for some great reading.  Like most of the books in the Alex Delaware series, The Ghost Orchid can be easily read as a standalone novel.  While parts of the main character arc do discuss events from the prior book and there are some callbacks to earlier novels in the series, you honestly don’t need any pre-knowledge of these books to completely appreciate The Ghost Orchid.  Due to how insular the main mystery is, as well as how well Kellerman effectively covers any relevant prior events, anyone can dive into the series here without any issue, and The Ghost Orchid proves to be an excellent addition to the Alex Delaware books.

Like all the Alex Delaware novels, the heart of The Ghost Orchid lies in the fantastic and heartfelt partnership and friendship of main characters Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis.  Due to their long association together, the two have become best friends whose insights into the way the other thinks result in them being quite an effective investigative team.  These two have a great patter as they investigate their cases, and it always so much fun to see them bounce ideas, suggestions and insights off each other.  This friendship is always a great part of the series, and it was interesting to see it changed to a degree in The Ghost Orchid.  Due to the closing events of the previous novel, Unnatural History, Alex was badly injured while investigating a case and has been out of action for a while.  This led to quite a bit of guilt from Milo, who blamed himself for Alex getting hurt.  This changed the dynamic between the two for much of the book, especially as Milo was reluctant to bring Alex into another investigation.  It was moving and a little heartbreaking to see this guilt induced damage in their relationship, especially as Milo was a lot more protective as a result.  As such, this was a great addition to the series, and I enjoyed seeing Kellerman try to stretch the bounds of this well-established partnership in some new ways.

Aside from Alex and Milo, the two character who impact the plot of The Ghost Orchid the most are the murder victims, Giovanni Aggiunta and Meagin Lea March.  While dead for the entirety of the plot, their lives and legacies cast a shadow over the whole book, and the protagonists, as well as the reader, need to dive into the past to find out who the killer is.  Kellerman does an excellent job of featuring these two dead characters in The Ghost Orchid, and the slow-burn examination of their lives becomes a key part of the story, as the protagonists talk to family, contacts and more, while also doing copious research.  As such, you really get to know both dead characters as the book continues, which proves to be quite intriguing and powerful.  Both victims are revealed to have complicated pasts, and the disentanglement of these secrets and the examination of all their interactions, relationships and motivations raises the tension of the plot while simultaneously increasing the reader’s attachment to solving the case.  Kellerman ensures that there is a balanced focus on both victim’s pasts for much of the narrative to disguise who the intended target was for.  This really enhances the mystery of the story, and you are constantly wondering what new secret or hidden truth will be uncovered to finally allow the reader to pinpoint why they were killed.  As such, these dead characters prove just as important to The Ghost Orchid as the protagonist, and I was once again impressed at Kellerman’s ability to make me care about character we never actually see alive.

Even after decades of writing, Jonathan Kellerman continues to produce fascinating and complex mysteries that readers can get so easily lost in.  The Ghost Orchid was an outstanding novel, that saw Kellerman’s fantastic protagonists dive into another elaborate mystery.  Powerful, loaded with great characters, and making full use of Kellerman’s distinctive style, The Ghost Orchid was an excellent novel from start to finish, and I cannot recommend this latest Alex Delaware novel enough.

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Unnatural History by Jonathan Kellerman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery12 Comments

Unnatural History Cover 2

Publisher: Century (Trade Paperback – 28 February 2023)

Series: Alex Delaware – Book 38

Length: 303 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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A shocking murder, a mysterious motive, and two intriguing investigators on the case, it sounds like it’s time for another Alex Delaware novel from bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman with Unnatural History.

For the last few years one of my favourite long-running crime fiction series has to be the Alex Delaware books from the always impressive Jonathan Kellerman.  Set in Los Angeles, this excellent series follows the exploits of psychologist Alex Delaware and his best friend, Lieutenant Milo Sturgis, as they investigate strange murders throughout the city.  This is a very solid and captivating series, and I personally love all the clever and distinctive mysteries that Kellerman keeps coming up with.  All the Alex Delaware novels I have so far read, including The Wedding Guest, The Museum of Desire, Serpentine and City of Dead, have been just outstanding, and the complex and fascinating murder investigations have all been very strongly written and particularly compelling to follow.  As such, the Alex Delaware books are one series that I will always make sure to grab as soon as it is out, and this includes the latest entry, Unnatural History.  The 38th book in this long-running series, Unnatural History was another exceptional read with a fantastic case behind it.

When the body of a photographer is found murdered in his studio, brutally shot to death, Lieutenant Milo Sturgis is quick to bring in his friend and consultant, psychologist Alex Delaware, to help with the investigation.  The victim, Donny Klement, was a controversial photographer whose latest project saw him photographing members of the local homeless population as they pretend to achieve their greatest dreams.  To complicate matters even further, Donny was the son a mysterious and elusive billionaire whose family members have a habit of dying young.

Diving into the case, Alex and Milo soon discover that their victim was a curious figure.  Damaged by a neglectful father, a scattered family, and a dead mother, Donny’s life was anything but easy, even with his vast family fortune.  His latest photographic vision looked set to make him a major star in the arts scene, but was his death related to his seemingly disrespectful photos or to his family and their wealth?

As Alex and Milo attempt to find a motive for Donny’s killing, a second body is found that appears connected to their first case, suggesting that their killer is taking out all the potential witnesses.  It soon becomes apparent that Alex and Milo are dealing with a deranged serial killer whose anger lies somewhere in Donny’s life.  To solve the case, Alex and Milo need to uncover all the victim’s secrets and use them to catch the killer before he strikes again.

This was another excellent and captivating novel from Kellerman, who presents the reader with an impressive and well-set-out mystery that really draws you in and keeps you hooked.  Like most of the Alex Delaware novels, Unnatural History quickly works to set the scene for the case, with the reader immediately introduced to the murder victim, Donny Klement, and his unfortunate circumstances.  The story moves into the investigative stage with Alex and Milo beginning the task of identifying the relevant people associated with Donny’s life, including his family, his girlfriend, and the people he interacted through with through his photography.  This raises quite a few interesting avenues of inquiry as the victim was both the scion of a mysterious billionaire whose family has already suffered multiple deaths, and an idealistic artist who showed great naivety in dealing with the city’s homeless population.  This leads to quite a deep dive into the victim’s life, and you soon build up a quite an intensive view at who Donny was and the many problems he faced in life.

Kellerman keeps the investigation going strong the entire way through Unnatural History, and the reader is directed along many interesting plot threads as the author lays down false trails and red herrings.  There are some great alternative theories and potential motives spread out for much of the book, and the case gets even more complicated when additional bodies are found throughout the city, all of them connected to Donny in some way.  This really throttles up the pacing of the book, and the reader is gifted with some intriguing revelations as Kellerman revisits details that previously seemed unimportant and cleverly fits them even further into his case.  The eventual reveal about the killer is pretty brilliant, and I liked how Kellerman was able to tie the motivation into several existing different story threads, which allowed for a complex and intense picture of who they are and what evils they committed.  This ended up being a very strong mystery, and I honestly did not see the full extent of the motivations coming.  Everything leads up to a big confrontation which doesn’t go how you’d expect, and which results in some very dark moments.  I did like how this confrontation revisited events from several books ago and it helped some of the characters gain a measure of closure.  I ended up being really impressed with how the author managed to bring everything together in his story, and I was firmly hooked the entire way through.

As always, I really enjoy Kellerman’s unique style when it comes to his compelling murder mysteries, and this helped me power through Unnatural History.  I love the sharp pacing and focus on the characters, both the protagonists, and the victim, that occurred throughout Unnatural History and you are swiftly drawn into their unique lives and the process of their investigation.  The blend of solid investigative focus, character moments, and major twists is pretty spot on, and there honestly aren’t any slow moments at any point of this book, as the reader is constantly learning more interesting bits of information about the case.  All his characters have a very distinctive way of talking/interacting with each other, and it is something that always drags me in, especially with the fun banter.  I did find a few of these conversations, especially with deliberately annoying witnesses, to be a little odd, but they all added to the general theme and feel of the book.  Like all the Alex Delaware novels, Unnatural History is fairly accessible to new readers, and anyone interested in this book who hasn’t read anything from Kellerman can easily dive in here without any issues.  While there are references to prior events scattered throughout Unnatural History, none of them are too relevant to the plot, and Kellerman always does a good job of making his novels almost feel standalone in nature, as he recaptures the series’ unique feel each time.  That being said, fans of some of his last few books will no doubt enjoy some of the story elements between Alex and one of the supporting characters that come full circle after several books, and it was something I was very happy to see.

One of the things that I always particularly enjoyed about the Alex Delaware novels is the way that Kellerman presents a more grounded style when it comes to how his detectives solve the crime.  Unlike in some of the flashier crime fiction novels out there, Kellerman’s characters are more realistic in their investigative approach, and each Alex Delaware novel has a major focus on talking to witnesses, doing research, hammering out theories and doing the legwork to find out everything you can about the victim and the various suspects.  The protagonists are constantly following up leads and talking to multiple people associated with the case, even if they only tangentially knew the victim, to find out every fact or theory that they can.  This leads to a much more comprehensive examination of the murder, which allows the reader to build up a captivating picture of everything that led up to the killing.  This more methodical and realistic method of investigation always really works for me, and I love seeing the protagonists earning their solve and battling through all manner of obstacles.  I felt that the investigation in Unnatural History was particularly good, especially when they combine multiple cases from across the city to get the full picture, and the way that they efficiently weed out the unlikely scenarios and find the truth was deeply addictive and really worth checking out.

I also need to highlight the impressive characters who are the focus of Unnatural History, especially when it comes to the two protagonists, Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis.  These two protagonists, the calm psychologist and the veteran detective, complement each other perfectly when it comes to their skill set, and you can see why they are such an effective team.  At the same time, Kellerman has really built up their relationship over the series, so the two are good friends, which results in some fantastic dynamics and interactions between the two.  The banter and discussions fly thick and fast between them, and you really appreciate just how close they are as they solve the crimes together.  There is a pretty major moment that occurs between these friends at the end of Unnatural History that I felt was handled extremely well and which is likely to impact their dynamic going forward.  I am very intrigued to see how Kellerman handles that, and I am sure it will make his next novel even more interesting.

The other character that gets quite a lot of focus in Unnatural History is the main murder victim, Donny Klement.  As with most of Alex Delaware novels, Kellerman’s ensures that the story spends substantial time diving into the victim’s life, as the police try to find out why he is murdered.  This allows the reader to get a fascinating, outsiders perspective of who Donny was, which proves to be quite fascinating and compelling.  Kellerman’s portrayal of Donny as a lonely man trying to escape his father’s shadow while also dealing with other family trauma allows the reader to get very attached to the victim and you become even more invested in solving the case.  This post-mortem portrayal of Donny was excellent, and I loved how effectively Kellerman showed his complex and unusual life.  Throw in a very fascinating and complex murderer, a good collection of unique witnesses, and the usual supporting detectives in Milo’s squad, and Unnatural History has a great collection of characters who add a lot to the overall story.

Jonathan Kellerman once again delivers an amazing and compelling murder mystery with his latest Alex Delaware novel, Unnatural History.  This fantastic novel features another brilliant mystery that dives deep into the life of a complex victim and paints a powerful picture around him.  This was a deeply entertaining and captivating read, and I loved every second I spent getting through Unnatural History.  I cannot wait to see what happens next in the Alex Delaware series, one of the strongest, long-running crime fiction series currently out there.

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City of the Dead by Jonathan Kellerman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery16 Comments

City of the Dead Cover 2

Publisher: Century (Trade Paperback – 15 February 2022)

Series: Alex Delaware – Book 37

Length: 319 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Prepare to dive back into the excellent world of Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series with the latest fantastic entry, City of the Dead.

There are some awesome crime fiction authors out there now who have some brilliant long-running series, but one I have been particularly drawn to is bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman.  Kellerman, who debuted in 1985, is an impressive murder mystery author who is best known for his Alex Delaware books.  This fantastic series follows titular protagonist psychologist Alex Delaware as he helps his police detective best friend solve some of the strangest or disturbing murders throughout Los Angeles.  I started reading this book a few years ago and have had an excellent time with the last three entries, The Wedding Guest, The Museum of Desire and Serpentine, all of which had an impressive and clever murder mystery narratives.  As such, I made a real effort to grab City of the Dead when it came out as I knew I was going to have a great time with it.  City of the Dead is the 37th Alex Delaware book and features another twisty and powerful mystery.

On a dark LA early morning, a moving truck runs over a naked body on the street.  As the police investigate this tragic accident, they discover a blood trail, which leads them to a nearby house, where the body of a murdered female is found.  Finding many of the details of this case to be unusual, LAPD homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis once again brings in his friend, psychologist Dr Alex Delaware, to consult.  While the identity of the naked male out on the street is unknown, Alex is shocked to discover that he knows the female victim from one of his custody cases.

The victim, Cordelia “Cordi” Gannett, was a fraudulent mental health practitioner who specialised in manipulating the vulnerable for her own advantage.  Concerned that her deceptive practices may have led to her death, Alex and Milo examine her past to try and discover who killed her.  But as they dig into her intriguing life, Alex and Milo quickly discover that their victim had a troubled past, filled with mistakes, betrayals and bad influences.  But the more they uncover, the more they begin to question everything they think they knew about this terrible murder.  Was Cordi the dangerous manipulator everyone believes, or was she something far more vulnerable?  And what role, if any, did the dead man on the street play in her death?  A dangerous and disturbed murderer lies behind this crime, and their reasons for killing will shock even the hardened team of Alex and Milo.

Kellerman has done it again, producing an excellent and compelling murder investigation that will quickly hook you and take you to some dark places.  I loved the brilliant narrative of City of the Dead, which combines a complex mystery with interesting characters and the author’s unique style and perspective.  The author sets the start the story perfectly, with a couple of bodies discovered in unique positions that immediately grabs the reader’s attention.  This interest is intensified once the connection between Delaware and the victim are established, which also reveals the victim’s scandalous past.  From there the story continues at a slower pace, with Alex and Milo carefully building their case and their profile of the victim through intriguing interactions with various people with connections to the victim and her past.  This helps to set the scene for the rest of the novel, and the reader gets to see how all the details of this case are collected and pulled together.  The plot picks up a notch about halfway through when certain interesting developments to key suspects occur, producing extra complexity to the case, although I question the use of a couple of outrageous figures around this point.  From there the story reaches its zenith, as the protagonists get closer to their answers and a big reveal comes to light.  I really liked the twist towards the end, although it did kind of come out of nowhere and relied a little too much on coincidence.  However, I was very impressed by how Kellerman set up the big reveal from the very beginning of the book, especially as it helped to soften the randomness factor of the sudden reveal.  The entire motivation behind the killings was pretty bonkers (in a good way), and I loved how dark the story got, as well as the intriguing connections to the protagonist’s psychology background.  While I did think the story ended a tad too abruptly after this reveal, this was still a great story and I honestly could not put this down once I started.

Kellerman has a great writing style which I think complemented this fantastic narrative perfectly.  There is a really unique feel to each of his novels, especially as the characters have a distinctive way of interacting and talking, which I feel is a little more natural, even if they sometimes go off on some odd tangents.  I definitely liked Kellerman’s sense of pacing, and he strings this story our extremely well, with the slower, investigative side of the narrative perfectly balanced with the more intense and powerful moments.  The author hits all the right notes when it came to timing and fun reveals, with every great scene or unique character receiving a great introduction that brings the reader in.  Like all of Kellerman’s Alex Delaware novels, I found City of the Dead to be extremely inclusive to new readers, and the reader does an excellent job of re-introducing the recurring characters, plot threads and dynamics.  City of the Dead can easily be read as a standalone novel, and people with no pre-knowledge of the series can jump in here without any problems.  I had a great time getting through this impressive story and I ended up powering through the last 200 pages in less than a day, especially after I got really invested in the outstanding mystery.

One of the main things that I love about the Alex Delaware novels is the grounded and realistic approach that Kellerman takes to investigating a murder.  The characters investigate each case, including the one in City of the Dead, with a very methodical style, assessing the facts and slowly building up the case one fact at a time.  There is a particular focus on interviews and research, with the characters talking to multiple people who might know something to gain insight into the victims or potential suspects, while also diving into their past anyway they can.  This, combined with other real-life details such as delayed lab results or overworked cops and technicians, makes for a much more accurate portrayal of a murder investigation.  I personally love this style of mystery solving, and it helps to give City of the Dead a much more unique feel than some other murder mysteries out there.  I will say that some of the jumps were a bit over-the-top in places, and certain key revelations are only gained due to coincidental interactions outside of the main investigation.  Still, this is a great crime fiction story and I have a lot of fun with how a typical Kellerman investigation unfolds.

The final thing I need to discuss are the great characters of City of Dead, especially the two protagonists, Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis.  By this point at the series, Kellerman has established an excellent dynamic between these two characters, and the brilliant psychologist and the seasoned police detective play off each other perfectly.  You can really sense the close friendship they have, and their excellent and distinctive back-and-forth banter is very entertaining.  Pretty much any story involving this partnership really works, and I have a lot of fun with this great team.  I also was quite impressed with the unique character of Cordi, the main victim of the story.  While we never see the character when she’s alive, Kellerman does a deep dive into her past and personality throughout the course of the novel as the two protagonists attempt to find out everything about her.  While you initially form a negative opinion of Cordi (even though she’s a murder victim), Kellerman successfully builds some nuance around her as the investigation continues.  The resultant picture, of a neglected and damaged person who is determined to never be poor or mistreated again, is very moving, especially as it speaks to some of her notable character choices and mistakes.  This makes for a very striking and compelling figure, and it is fascinating how much you become invested in finding her killer.  The killer was also an interesting choice from Kellerman, and while I won’t reveal too much here, I liked how they connected into the narrative, and I had a lot of fun when their motivations were revealed.  An excellent group of characters who enhance a compelling and exciting narrative.

With this latest amazing novel, City of the Dead, Jonathan Kellerman continues to shine as one of the more interesting crime fiction authors currently writing.  This fantastic novel brilliantly continues the long-running Alex Delaware series and presents the reader with an entertaining and thought-provoking murder mystery narrative.  Filled with a great story, some excellent investigation elements and a fantastic cast, City of the Dead was an impressive and addictive read that comes highly recommended, especially to fans of the iconic Jonathan Kellerman.

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Serpentine by Jonathan Kellerman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, LGBT+, Murder Mystery20 Comments

Serpentine Cover

Publisher: Random House Audio (Audiobook – 2 February 2021)

Series: Alex Delaware – Book 36

Length: 12 hours and 10 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of the leading stars of the murder mystery genre, Jonathan Kellerman, returns with the latest entry in his long-running Alex Delaware series, Serpentine.

For years LAPD detective Lieutenant Milo Sturgis has tended to do things his own way in the department.  Thanks to his impressive solve rate and his unique and successful partnership with his best friend, psychologist Alex Delaware, Milo has been able to crack some of the toughest murder cases that the department has come up across while managing to avoid the lows of office politics.  However, not even Milo is able to withstand pressure from the very top of the LAPD, so when an extremely wealthy businesswoman wants help from the department’s best, Milo is forced to work an impossible case.

The businesswoman, young entrepreneur Eleanor Barker, wants closure over the death of her mother, a mysterious woman who was found dead decades ago in a torched Cadillac with a bullet in her head.  Despite their reservations over the way the case was assigned to them, Milo is determined to do the best job possible, and with Alex’s help he begins his investigation.  However, with no evidence, no case file, no witnesses and no real idea about their victim’s past or origins, their chances of success seem slim.

Forced to look for answers in some unusual places, Milo and Alex are slowly able to pull together a picture of the events surrounding the death of Eleanor’s mother.  However, the more they dig, the more unusual coincidences begin to arise as what they discover deviates massively from the established facts.  It soon becomes apparent that there is far more to this case than was initially believed and that someone out there is determined to stop any investigation into this brutal murder.  Can Milo and Alex solve their most difficult case yet, or will a cunning killer continue to remain free?

Well, that was a pretty cool murder mystery!  Serpentine is the 36th entry in Jonathan Kellerman’s amazing Alex Delaware series, which has been running since 1985.  I am a relative newcomer to Kellerman’s work, having only stumbled onto series when I read his 34th book, The Wedding Guest, back in 2019.  I had an excellent time reading The Wedding Guest and the loved the authors distinctive writing style and ability to weave together a great mystery.  I enjoyed it so much I ended up checking out Kellerman’s next book, the 2020 release The Museum of Desire, which contained an impressive murder case and ended up being another amazing read.  As a result, I have been very keen to check out Kellerman’s latest book for a while now and I have to say that I was very pleased with how awesome Serpentine turned out to be.

I ended up absolutely powering through this latest Alex Delaware novel, especially once I got hooked on its exceptional and impressive murder mystery narrative.  Kellerman came up with an amazing narrative for this novel that proved to be particularly captivating right off the bat as his two established protagonists become embroiled in a seemingly impossible-to-solve case.  Forced to dig around in the past, the protagonists slowly determine the events surrounding the old murder via odd bits of evidence and a range of interesting witnesses.  While the investigative process is quite fun to see, Kellerman has also thrown a ton of fantastic twists into the story, ensuring that the reader has no idea how the mystery is going to unfold.  I love some of the unique directions that the author took this compelling case and I was impressed with some of the clever reveals that he chucked in, especially as they were set up beautifully and added some fantastic surprises to the plot.  While I did think that the book concluded rather rapidly and some storylines could have been wrapped up a little better, this was still an exceptional narrative which I deeply enjoyed.

Easily my favourite thing about the Alex Delaware novels is the great way that the author portrays the ongoing investigation.  Kellerman always ensures that his investigations extremely realistic and as a result his protagonists always engage in a methodical examination of the sources, slowly gaining the information they need and building up connections and discovering any inconsistencies.  A lot of their evidence is obtained through discussions with potential witnesses, colleagues and experts, and there may be multiple conversations with various persons of interest to find out different nuggets of information.  This then results in the main characters throwing out theories about what potentially happened and basing their future investigative directions on the most promising clues.  This manner of investigation proves to be very different to other crime fiction novels I have read, and I really enjoy this more realistic portrayal of how police could solve a difficult case, especially as the author works in time delays for evidence analysis, unreliable witnesses and colleagues, and lack of resources.  I particularly enjoyed the investigation featured within Serpentine as it forces the protagonists to solve a murder that occurred over 30 years previously.  As a result, the characters lack any sort of evidence, useful witnesses, or previous investigations to help them find the killer, and they are forced to utilise more creative methods to find information or track down anyone who has the slightest idea of who the victim was or what happened to them.  This extremely cold case was a fantastic part of Serpentine’s plot and it proved to be deeply fascinating to see how he envisioned detectives solving this sort of investigation.  I loved this realistic and methodical portrayal of a murder investigation and it really made Serpentine stand out as a fantastic crime fiction novel.

I also must highlight the outstanding two lead characters who form the heart of Serpentine, and indeed the entire series, titular protagonist Alex Delaware and LAPD detective Milo Sturgis.  Alex and Milo are a fantastic pair of crime-fighting protagonists who have taken on some extremely tricky murders during their partnership.  Both characters bring a lot to the novel.  Alex is the more serious of the two.  As a clinical child psychologist with a head for mysteries, Alex can provide some intriguing insights into the minds of the victims, witnesses, and potential suspects, which provide new insight into their cases.  Milo on the other hand is the food-loving, cynical veteran cop who works the hard grind of a LAPD detective.  While I enjoy both characters, Milo is easily my favourite due to his constant wise cracks, the author’s tasteful portrayal of the character as a homosexual LAPD lieutenant, and his somewhat maverick cop persona.  Alex is also quite fun, especially as his psychological insights have a basis in the author’s own training as a psychologist, and I liked his constant clever quips about the situations they encounter.  The real joy of these two characters, however, is the way they work together.  These two make an amazing team, especially as they have become close best friends who are able to work together perfectly in sync.  I loved the way these two were able to work together to solve crimes, and their innate teamwork and friendship is a fantastic centre of the book’s story.  I also enjoyed the way the two characters play off each other throughout the story, as their personalities and unique sense of humour really gel together well and produce a lot of fun jokes and moments.  Overall, I had an amazing time following Alex and Milo through another excellent book, and I cannot wait to see what crazy case they encounter next time.

To check out Serpentine I grabbed a copy of its audiobook format, which was narrated by John Rubinstein.  This audiobook, which has a run time of just over 12 hours, ended up being an amazing way to enjoy this fantastic book and I powered through it in no time at all, especially once I got caught up in the outstanding mystery.  Rubinstein, whose has previously lent his voice to a great collection of crime fiction novels, including previous Alex Delaware audiobooks, did an outstanding job narrating this novel, and I felt that he moved the story along at a fast and enjoyable pace which really captured the audience’s attention.  I also rather enjoyed the various voices that he utilised throughout Serpentine, as each character was given their own unique voice, which I felt fit their respective personality perfectly.  I really loved the voice that Rubinstein uses for Milo in particular, as it just screams veteran cop, and it really helped enhance how much I enjoyed this already awesome character.  As a result, I would strongly recommended Serpentine’s audiobook to anyone interested in checking out this book and listeners are in for a good time with this format.

Serpentine by Jonathan Kellerman is another impressive and clever addition to the great Alex Delaware series.  This latest book features a complex and captivating murder mystery investigation which forces Kellerman’s fantastic and lovable protagonists to dive back into the past and solve an intriguing cold case.  Full of several outstanding twists around Kellerman’s latest compelling case, Serpentine has an incredible story and readers are going to have an amazing time unwinding this great mystery.  I deeply enjoyed this fantastic novel, and this might be the best Alex Delaware novel I have read so far.  Highly recommended.

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The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn LGBT+, Murder Mystery22 Comments

The Museum of Desire Cover

Publisher: Century (Trade Paperback – 4 February 2020)

Series: Alex Delaware – Book 35

Length: 348 pages

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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Prepare for a compelling and intricate novel from one of the leading authors of the murder mystery genre as I check out The Museum of Desire, the newest novel from Jonathan Kellerman.

The Museum of Desire is the latest book in Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series of murder mystery books, which is the author’s main body of work. This series has been running since Kellerman’s 1985 debut, When the Bough Breaks, and the author has since released over 50 books, several of which he has co-written with either his wife or his daughter. I only started reading Kellerman’s novels last year when I picked up a copy of the previous book in the Alex Delaware series, The Wedding Guest, which contained a rather clever mystery that I had a great time reading. As a result, I made sure to keep an eye out for Kellerman’s next release and I subsequently found myself deeply intrigued when I saw the plot for his latest novel, The Museum of Desire, and really wanted to check it out. This latest Kellerman novel is the 35th novel in the Alex Delaware series and it contains another intriguing and complex murder mystery storyline that I had a lot of fun unravelling.

In the aftermath of a wild party in a Beverly Hills mansion, the cleaner assigned to the property makes a terrible discovery: a limousine containing four blood-soaked dead bodies. Each of the four has been murdered and artistically posed within the car, making for a grim and disturbed scene. To make matters even more unusual, the victims all appear to have been chosen at random, with none of the victims having any apparent connection to any of the others.

Realising that they are dealing with another special case, LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis calls in his friend and frequent consultant, psychologist Dr Alex Delaware, to help unravel this mystery. Over the years that Alex and Milo have been working together, they have seen some particularly heinous and unusual murders, but these might be the most disturbing one yet. As the two begin running down the case, they find themselves on the trail of a vicious killer with a love for unusual art and a penchant for eliminating any potential witnesses to their crime. Worse, it soon becomes apparent that their killer is not yet done, and that many more people are going to die.

The Museum of Desire is another excellent release from Kellerman that delivers the reader an amazing and compelling murder mystery. The author has done a fantastic job with his latest mystery, coming up with a unique and interesting murder scenario, with four apparently random victims posed in a very distinctive manner. This turned into a quite a clever and complex mystery storyline that went in some very intriguing directions. Kellerman makes sure to fill the story up with a substantial number of twists, strong false leads and a raft of plausible suspects, making the real killer a bit hard to predict. I was certainly a bit surprised by who it turned out to be, but I thought it was quite a good twist. Kellerman makes sure to wrap this whole murder mystery storyline up with a memorable conclusion, which I thought was an incredible way to end this entire plot. The end result is a very captivating tale of passion, brutality and revenge, and I very much enjoyed unravelling this awesome mystery storyline.

One of the things that I really like about Kellerman’s books is the slower-paced, methodical style in which his protagonists investigate the various murders that they come across. Rather than coming to a massive conclusion off the smallest pieces of evidence, the two central characters slowly build up their case throughout the course of the book in order to work out what happened. This is mostly done by interviewing witnesses to the crime, as well as the friends and family of the murder victims, establishing what sort of people they were, where they spent their time and who they interacted with. With this information in hand, as well as some physical or forensic evidence and potentially some internet search results, they can create a rough picture of what happened and what sort of people they are dealing with in order to narrow down their suspects and come up with the necessary leads to identify the killers. This methodical approach to a murder investigation is quite distinctive and it makes the whole book feel a lot more realistic, like you are reading about a real investigation rather than one of those television shows where the crime is solved in a matter of hours. That being said, several breaks in the case are only coincidently revealed because the narrator happened to be driving by. This feeling of realism is backed up by the protagonists having to deal with things like delays in the lab, conflicting priorities within the department and a lack of manpower from overworked police officers who have multiple cases, all of which expands the investigative timeline out. I actually really like this style of crime writing from Kellerman, as it makes The Museum of Desire stand out from some of the other murder mysteries out there. I am a big fan of the realism that he installs in his work, and I feel that it makes the story even more compelling and enjoyable.

Another great part of the Alex Delaware books are the two main characters, Doctor Alex Delaware and LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis. While this is the Alex Delaware series, with Alex Delaware serving as the books narrator and point-of-view character, Milo is just as important to the series. Both Alex and Milo are great characters in their own right. Alex is the brilliant child psychologist whose insights into the human mind are useful for many of the cases seen in these books and who also serves as a bit of stand-in for the author, who himself is a noted psychologist. Milo, on the other hand, is an openly gay veteran homicide detective who is heavily respected by both his fellow officers and the wider community he has been serving for years. While on paper this seems like a bit of an unusual partnership, Alex and Milo have been working together since the first book in the series and have now formed a rather effective team and a close friendship. It is a lot of fun watching the two of them solve crimes, especially as play off each other really well during the course of the book, with Milo providing the police knowledge and experience, while Alex brings his outside view and professional expertise to the game. While both are serious when it comes to the crimes they are investigating, Milo has a bit of a comedic edge to him, which works well as Alex is a bit more of the team’s straight man. Their views of the various people they meet and circumstances surrounding the cases are usually amusing, especially when dealing with unusual situations. The Museum of Desire is a great example of this, as you get to see them deal with art snobs, disrespectful rich kids, fierce landladies, a socially different teenager and unhelpful witnesses, and they have some good discussions about them later. Overall, I am a massive fan of this team up (although I like Milo a bit more as a character) and I cannot wait to see what crazy crimes and people they go up against in Kellerman’s next book.

With his latest novel, The Museum of Desire, Jonathan Kellerman has produced another captivating murder mystery. Featuring a unique case, a fantastic and twisty mystery and Kellerman’s trademark brand of investigation, this latest novel is an amazing and enjoyable read that pits his great protagonists against a clever killer. This was another awesome addition to the terrific Alex Delaware series, and readers are going to have an amazing time getting to the bottom of his latest case.

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