Flesh and Blood

September 21, 2008 in Detective, Mystery, Uncategorized, Whodunnit by admin | No comments

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Author: Jonathan Kellerman

Genre: Mystery (Detective Fiction)

Rating: **** (4 Stars)

Summary:

Jonathan Kellerman is a child psychologist who has written a series of novels featuring the partnership Milo Sturgis, a Los Angeles police detective, and Alex Delaware, a psychologist who consults for the LAPD. The psychologist, Alex Delaware, often goes well beyond mere consulting, and occasionally endangers his own life in pursuit of the bad guys.

Flesh and Blood begins ten years in the past, with Dr. Delaware’s treatment of Lauren Teague, a teenage girl with behavior problems. The skeptical father ends treatment after just two visits, and Alex remembers the case as one of his professional failures. Six years later, while making a token appearance at a colleague’s bachelor party, Alex sees Lauren, who is now a stripper. He leaves feeling ashamed of himself.

Four more years pass, and Lauren’s mother calls Alex to tell him that Lauren, now 25, has been missing for a week. Aware that Alex works with the police, Mrs. Teague hopes that he can get the police to search for her daughter. Alex discusses the matter with Milo, but before they make much progress, Lauren’s body is found in a dumpster.

As Alex and Milo investigate, the clues lead them to the unsolved murder of a small-town beauty queen who came to Los Angeles for college, then to an elderly billionaire who made his fortune in pornography. Alex, as usual, takes the case personally, and almost gets himself killed investigating on his own while Milo is busy with other tasks.

Dr. Delaware’s tendency to obsess over cases frequently interferes with his relationships with his live-in lover, Robin, who does not appreciate the way Alex neglects her and puts himself in danger. This thread pops up throughout the series, and gets a bit tiresome at times.

My Thoughts:

Jonathan Kellerman’s novels draw heavily on his experience as a practicing psychologist, which adds gratifying depth and complexity. His characters are complex and convincing. I could have done without the ongoing crisis situation between Dr. Delaware and his girlfriend.