Friday, April 10, 2015

True Detectives by Jonathan Kellerman

True Detectives is a spinoff of Jonathan Kellerman’s popular Alex Delaware/ Milo Sturgis series.  Lead characters, Moses Reed and Aaron Fox are half-brothers but other than both being investigators, they could not be more different.  Moses is an ambitious LAPD homicide detective and Aaron is a high-end private detective.  Moses is down to earth, analytical, structured and disciplined… a rule follower whereas Aaron is more intuitive, impulsive, even flamboyant… a right brain thinker.  Consequently, they don’t get along at all but coincidently end up working the same case.

Caitlin Frostig, a Pepperdine college student has disappeared without a trace.  Moses has been assigned to the case for months but even with the help of his mentor, Lt. Milo Sturgis has developed no concrete leads.  Then, Caitlin’s father’s employer hires Aaron to find the young woman.  The rivalry between the brothers injects new life into the investigation.  Working independently and gradually building trust in one another, Moses and Aaron uncover some disturbing connections from Caitlin to another girl’s murder and to a dark Hollywood style underworld.  Caitlin’s seemingly straight arrow boyfriend has some suspicious associations to the entertainment industry and the seedy parasites that prey on its popular players.  Could the boyfriend have led his wholesome sweetheart over the edge to the dark side?  Could these associates of the boyfriend be involved in several other sinister crimes?


Moses Reed and Aaron Fox are welcome additions to Kellerman’s cast of characters.  Because these protagonists are fresh, Kellerman rightly devotes more effort to character development than in most of his more seasoned Delaware/ Sturgis novels.  But he maintains that feeling… that tension… that something very evil and disturbing is about to be discovered… the anticipation is excruciating.  This keeps Kellerman well positioned in my power rotation. 

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