Books
Mystery

by Jonathan Kellerman
Ballantine Books, March 2011, $28.00

In his latest novel, Jonathan Kellerman sets his popular detecting duo, psychologist Alex Delaware and LAPD homicide detective Milo Sturgis, to solve a gruesome murder in which the victim’s mutilated body defies identification. As a police consultant, Delaware is always eager to lend assistance, but this time he is shocked to discover that he and his girlfriend Robin were among the last to see the victim, a young woman, alive. They’d noticed her at a bar the night before, a melancholy figure in a distinctive white gown, vamping as a 1930s movie star. A possible suspect is the beefy chauffeur who had waited outside, now missing.

After Robin helps an artist sketch the woman’s face, an anonymous tip comes in. The victim was a high-class escort called “Mystery.” That tip takes the investigation through the posh environs of Beverly Hills to an expensive rehab facility and a sophisticated Internet dating site.

But just when the puzzle pieces begin to mesh, Sturgis is pulled from the case and the good doctor must act alone. In a tense but fascinating game of psychological roulette, Delaware gambles his life on his understanding of a killer’s mind. Kellerman’s writing is clear and compelling; his language the trendy lingo of the upper class. He assumes his readers are smart and plots his stories accordingly. The result is a complex but satisfying read.

Mystery seems more detective story than thriller, and while procedural lovers will enjoy the intricacies of a complicated murder investigation, action enthusiasts may wish for more.

Jackie Houchin

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Teri Duerr
1943

by Jonathan Kellerman
Ballantine Books, March 2011, $28.00

Kellerman
March 2011
mystery
28.00
Ballantine Books