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Summary
Summary
Psychologist Alex Delaware joins forces with brothers Moe Reed and Aaron Fox as they seek to uncover secrets in high places that could explain the fate of an outwardly innocent young woman.
Author Notes
Jonathan Kellerman is one of the world's most popular authors. He has brought his expertise as a child psychologist to 16 consecutive bestselling novels of suspense, including The Butcher's Theater, Jerusalem, and Billy Straight and 32 previous Alex Delaware novels, translated into two dozen languages. He is also the author of numerous essays, short stories, and scientific articles, two children's books, and three volumes on psychology, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children.
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Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
PI Aaron Fox and L.A. cop Moe Reed, interracial half-brothers who played minor roles in 2008's Bones, take center stage in bestseller Kellerman's routine 24th Alex Delaware novel. When Fox, who used to work for the LAPD, looks into the missing-persons case of 20-year-old Caitlin Frostig, he runs into conflict with Reed. The brothers end up pursuing some predictable lines of inquiry, checking out Rory Stoltz, Frostig's college boyfriend, as well as links to a filmmaker, Lem Dement, who's suspected of domestic abuse. More A-list connections surface after the investigators learn Stoltz was the personal assistant for actor Mason Book, whose rumored suicide attempt came shortly after Frostig's disappearance. The strains between Fox and Reed don't generate much heat, while the pacing and writing aren't up to Kellerman's best. Hopefully, Delaware and detective Milo Sturgis, relegated to cameos, will be back in their usual starring positions next time. (Mar. 24) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Instead of the usual Delaware/Sturgis investigative duo, Kellerman returns to two new crime solvers, stepbrothers who appeared briefly in last year's Bones. Though both are sons of cops, they couldn't be more different. Biracial Aaron pulls in a sweet six figures as a PI, which allows him to indulge in Ferré shirts and Magli shoes; younger Moses, a forthright, muscle-bound blond, does things by the book for the LAPD. Childhood rivalries, misunderstandings, and different personalities have kept them at odds throughout their lives. Then, suddenly, they find themselves working on the same case: the disappearance of a young college student. Competitors at first, the brothers gradually become a kind of team, each one adding bits and pieces to a sprawling case that morphs into something completely different from what it was to begin with involving a washed-up celebrity, an abusive Hollywood director, a drug pusher, a couple of prostitutes, and a missing baby. Kellerman continues to play fast and loose with his plotting, but everything eventually comes together here, with a few surprises. What's best, though, is seeing Kellerman step outside of the all-too-familiar he relies on in the Delaware novels and introduce a couple of characters that have the potential to take his work in fresh directions.--Zvirin, Stephanie Copyright 2009 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Fans of Kellerman's Dr. Alex Delaware and detective Milo Sturgis will find them in his latest novel, but only in passing. Half brothers, private eye Aaron Fox and LAPD detective Moe Reed (Bones), are center stage in this whodunit. They happen to be investigating the same case, and their examination of the life of missing 20-year-old Caitlin Frostig turns up connections she had with various lowlifes, the details of which form the bulk of the novel. As the brothers begin to overcome their issues with each other, they start to piece together the disappearance of another girl and her son, who are associated with Caitlin. All of this eventually leads back to the current whereabouts of Caitlin. Kellerman's writing, usually neat and not overly burdened by extraneous detail, fails to move the story along, as is the case with the unsympathetic characters. The conclusion is too easily wrapped up as well. Public libraries should see demand for this best-selling author, but readers who are not already fans probably won't take notice. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/08.]-Amanda Scott, Cambridge Springs P.L., PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Chapter One August 9, 1979 Alleged air-conditioning," said Darius Fox. "What's your take, John Jasper? Motor pool morons set us on bake or broil?" Jack Reed laughed and used a meaty, freckled forearm to clear sweat from his face. Scanning the night-darkened Dumpsters and butt-sides of shuttered, low-rent businesses that lined the alley, he sucked on his Parliament and blew smoke out the cruiser's window as Darius kept the car moving forward at ten mph. Ten years ago, to the day, the Manson Family had butchered Sharon Tate and a whole bunch of other people. If either Fox or Reed was aware of the anniversary, neither thought it worth mentioning. Crazy Charlie's crimes might as well have been on another planet; big-ticket outrage on high-end real estate. Fox and Reed's Southwest Division shifts were filled with nonstop penny-ante crap that sometimes blossomed into stomach-churning violence. Reality that never made the papers because, as far as they could see, the papers were works of fiction. Fox said, "Man, it's a steam bath." Reed said, "Alleged, as in this is a motor vehicle. More like a shopping cart with a cherry on top." Fox had prepped for driving the way he usually did, hand-vacuuming the driver's portion of the bench seat, then wiping the steering wheel down with his private bottle of Purell. Now it was his own sweat coating the plastic. "Hand me a tissue, J.J." Reed complied and his partner rubbed the wheel till it squeaked. Both men continued to study the alley as they crawled. Nothing. Good. One half of the shift had passed. Jack Reed said, "Alleged, as in Jimmy Carter's a commander in chief." "Now you're getting unpleasantly political." "That's a problem?" "Night like this it is." "Truth is truth, Darius. It was Peanut Boy helped that loony towel-head back into Eye-Ran and look at all the crap that brought down." "No debate on Farmer Bucktooth being a nitwit, John Jasper. I just don't want to pollute our precious time together with small things like international affairs." Reed thought about that. "Fair enough." "I'm known for my fairness." Slow shift; the usual drunk and disorderlies at Mexican dance halls on Vermont, a couple of false-alarm burglary calls, an assortment of miscreants warned and released because none of them was worth the paperwork. The last call they'd fielded before embarking on alley-duty was yet another noise complaint at a USC fraternity, already taken care of by the campus rent-a-cops by the time Fox and Reed arrived. Rich, confident college boys saying yessir and nossir, scooping up beer bottles from the lawn, hurrying inside to continue the merriment. Wink wink wink. Reed smoked his Parliament down to a shred, pinched it cold between his fingers, flicked the remnant out the window. He was a ruddy, blond fireplug, five nine on a good day, two hundred muscled pounds, thirty but looking older, with skin leathered by the sun and a nose flattened by high school football. A hay-colored crewcut topped his bullet skull. A naturally grainy voice was coarsened further by two packs a day. Three years out of the service, all his time spent running an armory in Germany. He said, "Tell you what alleged is, Darius: L.A. nights cooling off. Night like this, might as well have stayed in Bull Shoals." "And missed the opportunity to ride with me?" Reed grinned. "Perish the thought." "Damn heat," said Fox, dabbing sweat from his straight-edge mustache. He was a tall, rangy black man, thirty-one years old, a f Excerpted from True Detectives by Jonathan Kellerman All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
