Mystery: An Alex Delaware Novel [Hardcover]

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Mystery: An Alex Delaware Novel [Hardcover]

Product Details

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1ST edition (March 29, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345505697
ISBN-13: 978-0345505699
Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.1 x 9.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

By : Jonathan Kellerman
List Price : ~~$28.00~~
Price : $16.80
You Save : $11.20 (40%)

Customer Reviews

Okay, Jonathan Kellerman's new book, "Mystery", deserves a 5 star rating, not because it's comparable to, say, "War and Peace" (it's not) but because it is a very good Jonathan Kellerman book in the Alex Delaware series.
As a long time reviewer at Amazon and Vine, I've always tried to compare apples to apples - in this case Kellerman to Kellerman. It's the only way to get an accurate rating of a book. Kellerman's written a few clunkers in his time - characters and plots becoming "tired" - but his last few have been very good.
The title, "Mystery" refers to the name taken by a high end prostitute in Los Angeles, who manages to get murdered by persons unknown. "Persons" unknown, because she was killed by two shots - fired simultaneously - by two guns.
Alex Delaware and his lady friend, Robin, were among the last to see her alive and he's brought into the case by his friend, Lt Milo Sturgis. There's a secondary case - about a dying madam - that Delaware is also involved in. As usual in these plots, the two storylines do meet briefly. There's also the requisite rich and creepy and malevolent Beverly Hills family involved in all this.
One of the past complaints about Jonathan Kellerman's series is the highlighting of Milo Sturgis instead of Alex Delaware. This book brings the two together in a more even way. It's a good story, well-written, and one his long-time fans will enjoy.

As a long-time Kellerman fan, I found this to be a satisfying read. Kellerman has neither gotten stale, nor outrageous in an attempt to avoid doing so. The story was an intriguing one and well told. However, when I looked at it from the view of a first time Kellerman reader, I decided that there was insufficient background information. For some detective series, this works fine. But, when the central character has a buddy who is the actual police detective and has, over the years, progressed from someone who learns about and gets draw into the case by his detective friend to someone who is more of an active partner, at the crime scene, interviewing suspects, etc, more information is needed or a credibility gap arises that interferes with the enjoyment of the story. For this reason, I would recommend this book to Kellerman fans, but would be reluctant to suggest it as a first Alex Delaware novel.