Review: Guilt by Jonathon Kellerman

 

Title: Guilt {Alex Delaware #28}

Author: Jonathon Kellerman

Published: Ballantine Books February 2013

Read an Excerpt

Status: Read from February 09 to 10, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy Ballantine Books/Netgalley}

My Thoughts:

I can’t remember when I first discovered Jonathon Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series but I have been a loyal reader for quite some time. I have read every one and own more than a dozen – picking them up second hand when I come across them.

Guilt is the 28th book in the long running series and I always look forward to joining child psychologist Alex Delaware and LAPD Detective Milo Sturgis on a case. In Guilt, the discovery of an infant’s remains from more than sixty years ago in an upscale LA neighborhood is deemed low priority until another set of infant bones are found in a nearby park. This tiny skeleton shows signs of being ritually cleansed and the infant died far more recently. Delaware and Sturgis doubt the two cases are related but both warrant further investigation, especially when another body, that of an adult woman, is found.

The mysterious identity of the newborn discovered in a hospital supply box leads to a decades old conspiracy involving a beautiful nurse, a handsome doctor and a hospital that offered discreet services to the wealthy who found themselves ‘in trouble’.
The tenuous connection between the second set of infant remains, meticulously cleaned and polished with beeswax, and the executed woman, has Delaware speculating about an angry father. His basic theory proves to be sound, though in a unexpected manner, as he follows the trail into the privileged world of celebrity.
In both instances Alex’s contacts are crucial to solving the case as he gathers information from his own medical colleagues and Robin’s celebrity clients while Milo spends much of his time distracted by office politics and a persistent reporter.

I have to admit the pacing wasn’t quite as quick as I usually expect from Kellerman with there being little in the way of immediate danger to anyone during the investigation, though I always enjoy the back and forth speculation about the perpetrators and victims between Alex and Sturgis. There are plenty of twists to keep things interesting though and it’s always satisfying to have the mystery neatly solved and the killer brought to justice.

I expect someone unfamiliar with the series could enjoy this novel as a stand alone, while fans of the series are sure to enjoy trailing Delaware and Sturgis through the psychological detritus LA once again as I did.

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The Alex Delaware Series