Killer by Jonathan Kellerman

Killer is just more of the same we’ve grown to expect from Jonathan Kellerman.  Just another of his psychological thrillers featuring Dr. Alex Delaware and Lt Milo Sturgis and their intellectual sleuthing that now spans four decades… never stale and always entertaining.

Dr. Delaware has developed a reputation within the LA law enforcement community for psychological assessments that are competent, straight forward, and accurate and therefore, rarely contested. The courts call on him frequently for the more challenging child related cases which he gladly accepts as his schedule allows.  In his latest case, Connie Sykes the dominating, over baring, successful business owner sues her free spirited, rocker, poverty stricken younger sister, Cherie Sykes for custody of her baby Rambla, born out of wedlock.  Dr. Delaware does his assessment and pronounces Cherie a fit mother with insufficient reason to alter baby Rambla’s guardianship.  Connie reacts angrily to the judge’s decision and blames Dr. Delaware for the outcome.  Alex then learns from a grateful former patient, turned gangster that a hit contract has been issued for Alex’s life… Connie’s anger turned to action.

Enter LAPD Lt. Milo Sturgis, longtime pal and coworker.  Milo attempts the direct face to face approach with Connie but finds her stabbed and strangled to death in the foyer of her home.  Meanwhile, sister Cherie has vacated her apartment, baby Rambla in tow and is nowhere to be found.  Rocker friend and suspected father of baby Rambla then shows up dead… shot in the head.  Unconvinced Cherie is capable of such violence, Alex expands the investigation and studies the behavior of everyone involved in the custody battle.  Talking to the judge, her support team, the lawyers, and Cherie’s know associates, Alex observes very subtle behaviors that lead him to places police procedure would overlook.

So Kellerman proves once again why he is in my power rotation.  Not a lot of character development because as followers of the series we know what we need to know about Alex and Milo… solid, professional, nonjudgmental, compassionate… just a touch of egotism from where they sit on moral high ground.  So in each annual episode we need ‘Just the facts, Mam’ and we get them in fast paced, efficient writing… continually wondering what the next page holds… knowing it will all end too quickly… now we wait another year.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this one.