Mystery: A shocking, thrilling psychological crime novel (Alex Delaware Book 26)

Mystery: A shocking, thrilling psychological crime novel (Alex Delaware Book 26) eBook: Jonathan Kellerman: leondumoulin.nl: Kindle Store.
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Headline Book Publishing 13 October Language: Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a product review. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. Liked the story line. Occasionally sidelining though Story has a nice twist at the - found it a bit difficult to understand the deductive process. One person found this helpful. Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon. Alex and Robin are out to spend one last night at the Fauborg Hotel bar before the hotel is demolished and they see a lovely young woman who appears to be waiting for someone who never shows.

That was the only contact Alex and Robin had with her until Milo shows up with gruesome photos of her corpse. With no way to identify this beautiful girl Milo, with Alex's insightful help, and some very unexpected help from the lovely Robin have to track down this poor girl's identity, figure out who would want to kill her in sure a horrific fashion and figure out how it relates to the monied elite, with a bonus tie in to Alex's old acquaintance,former madam Gretchen Stengel. This is by far the best Jonathan Kellerman book I've read in while, and like a true junkie, I have them all.

I loved how the there was more banter between Milo and Alex than there has been in a long time because that has been sorely missing from his books of late. Also, I loved the fact that Alex brought Robin along for a stakeout because ever they broke up and she told him she had a problem with him not sharing much about what he does in his professional life it makes sense for her to take an interest.

Plus, her insights are fresh and in general this just seemed more like the Kellerman I fell in love with and whose books comprise two whole shelves of one of my books cases. I actually chuckled at a couple of places and I haven't done that in a while, so I have to say that Kellerman fans will be pleased.

The only down side I can say is that it did drag a little in the middle and while it may not have been edge of your seat thrilling it was a finely turned novel. In this entry to Kellerman's Alex Delaware series, Dr. Delaware and Lieutenant Milo Sturgis are back and in top form as they investigate the murder of an unidentified woman. Delaware is particulary drawn to the case because he and his lover, Robin, saw the victim in a bar only hours before she died.

As in almost all of the Delaware books, Kellerman's suspects and witnesses as well as most of the other minor characters are so skillfully presented most readers would be able to pick them out of a line-up and give an accurate assessment of their personalities -- if they weren't fictional. And the characters are truly interesting, too, although, as almost always, Rick, Milo's life partner, and Alex's Robin take second place to the murder investigation and the relationship between the two investigators. Be warned that if you're looking for characters who are always in danger, who fight with their fists every few pages, and who grab and down a bottle of Scotch at every opportunity, this book is probably not for you.

Sturgis and Delaware, as indicated in another review, make interviews look almost too easy, but they've been working together for so many years, they'd have to be very slow learners not to become increasingly better at what they do. The plot is entertaining and pulls in the reader as layers of the "mystery" are revealed. A sub-plot, which involves a child and a dying woman, might have been awarded a few more pages, but is probably a realistic depiction of the time a real Alex Delaware would expend on the case. Much of the dialogue between Milo and Alex is snappy and clever, as might be expected between two intelligent, old friends who know each other well.

In fact, as a long-time admirer of this series, I look forward to each entry in the series so I can enjoy the company of characters I think of as my old friends. And, really, be honest now. How can a reader resist Milo, a character who "arrived freshly shaved, hair slicked, wearing his version of haute couture: And who can resist an author who can write that sentence? Alex and his longtime girlfriend Robin dine for one last evening in an iconic hotel that is closing. While there, they see a young girl in a skimpy white dress, diamond watch, and a scarf draped over her head.

They take notice but then think nothing of it until Milo comes knocking on their door telling them she has been found murdered. A few days later, a name they turned up in the investigation is found murdered in eerily similar circumstances. As a side story, Alex consults in a child therapy case for a Hollywood madame that is dying. Kellerman introduces this story, but then it never really goes anywhere. The story is brought in again at the very end of the book, but it was in a rushed oops-I-need-to-tie-this-in type way. Kellerman's writing was a little bit off his usual style in "Mystery.

The story had a few elements of old Hollywood glamour, and noir would seemingly be appropriate, but the elements together didn't quite work. Fans will enjoy the book but I believe find it a bit disappointing. Milo's grumpy attitude, Alex's humorless disposition, and Robin and Alex's settled but boring relationship are wearing thin. What's not to love about an Alex Delaware? This one has the usual suspects, twists, turns and great dialog between Alex and best buddy Milo Sturgis. The victim was registered with the site and had made a connection with a very wealthy patron. Alex and Milo will formulate and discard several scenarios that might have led to the crime before hitting upon the solution.

It's still fun to watch them work, but after twenty-six books, the series has settled into a pattern that can be a bit frustrating for readers who have been along for the entire ride. As an example, Milo's rude eating habits are really getting tiresome. Certainly, there ought to be a way of defining the character without having him clean out every refrigerator in sight and spilling half of his meals all over himself. But the hardest thing to come to grips with here is Delaware's role in a lot of these cases. In the earlier books, which were much better than many of the later ones, Alex served the department as a consulting psychologist, most often dealing with the children who were involved in the homicide cases.

In these instances, he had a legitimate reason for being involved.

Mystery (Alex Delaware series, Book 26) : A shocking, thrilling psychological crime novel

In a lot of the later books, though, he simply tags along as Milo investigates his cases. As in this instance, there's no legitimate reason for Alex to be anywhere near this case, and certainly no real homicide investigator would allow a civilian to play the role that Alex does. During the course of this book, Alex will deal with a situation in which a child needs his help, but it has little or nothing to do with the investigation and the reader is left to wonder why Milo doesn't simply attend to his own business.

That isn't to say that this is a bad book. It is entertaining, but for those who yearn for the more compelling and sophisticated cases of Delaware's early career, it's still something of a disappointment. View all 10 comments. Sep 02, Deborah Gray rated it it was ok. It's still an okay read for most murder mysteries.


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It's just disappointing for an author of his calibre and experience. I expect fussy detail from Kellerman, but the descriptions of people and places went on ad nauseum. It was over the top, mind numbingly boring. Who cares about a minor character's yellow toenails? Especially after a microscopic focus on every other part of his anatomy, when we'll never see him again? Every single detail of every single character we encountered in this book was It's still an okay read for most murder mysteries.

Every single detail of every single character we encountered in this book was itemized, massaged, drawn out and described in minute detail.

Mystery (Alex Delaware series, Book 26) : Jonathan Kellerman :

I listened to this book on CD and found my mind wandering many times. Descriptions started to feel like nothing more than filler. Where was the plot? As if that wasn't enough, the snarky, forced humor felt hackneyed and weirdly homongenous, as if each character with the exception of the superior and oh-so-restrained Dr Delaware were all morphing into one another, and at the same time vying for attention and one-upmanship. I thought Jonathan Kellerman was too consumate a professional to stoop to phoning it in, but apparently I was wrong.

I won't give up on him just yet; I've always enjoyed Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis, but if the next one is as flimsy and arrogant I will not hesitate to relegate him to the ranks of the former favourites, along with James Patterson and Patricia Cornwell. Dec 31, Daniel Audet rated it really liked it. Kellerman is always good for a thrill ride. In this, the 26th installment of his awesome Alex Delaware Series, our hero is after a killer who seems to have a taste for beautiful young women.

A shrink himself, Mr. K gives unique insight to the mind of both the good guys, most notably Delaware who is a shrink himself, and more uniquely, the bad guys. Characteristic of a top 10 writer in this field, thriller fiction, Kellerman's sentence composition, dialogue and arcing work so well it's almost too Kellerman is always good for a thrill ride. Characteristic of a top 10 writer in this field, thriller fiction, Kellerman's sentence composition, dialogue and arcing work so well it's almost too simple.

Simple in the sense that, like say, Patterson, you read along and stay in the action, in 1st person, forgetting that you are a mere mortal reader and feeling and thinking more like our hero. This is the sign of a craftsman. K is a master of narration, description and dialogue and the oh-so-smooth blending of the elements that make up a good story. Where he gets his ideas God only knows - but the ideas work. I'm at chapter 18 and the pace is quickening, having myself just recovered from a low-key beginning to this book and suddenly blind-sided by the twisted murder of a beautiful young woman.

A woman sitting by herself in an upscale and soon-to-close landmark eatery that Delaware and his lovely wife dined at themselves, Delaware and wife notice her but think nothing of it. Then she turns up dead by mutilation and the case falls to Delaware and his partner, a cop, Milo Sturgis. A very twisted tale unfolds, a tale that could only have happen in LA. You'll find out why as you get sucked into this book from page 1.

Get ready for a twisty ending as the pace picks up. Our guy Alex stays on the case and you won't believe what happens. I highly recommend this book. Aug 19, Cheryl rated it did not like it. Robin and Alex attend a gathering for Marcel Jabotinsky. Robin and Alex head to the bar for some drinks. While waiting for their drinks a woman dressed in white and sunglasses is sitting at the bar. Robin and Alex think nothing of the woman until Alex is called on his friend, Milo to help with a murder investigation.

The victim…the woman in the white dress. I have not read many of Mr. Having said this, I did not really care where in their relationship Alex and Robin were at. Like for example do I really care that Robin kicked Alex in the leg but not hard enough to hurt him as that is not the relationship they have. What does this have to do with the murder? I had to give up on this book after chapter 12 and this is only because the chapters are short that I got this far.

I was hoping this book would get better and this is another reason why I did not give up until I had made it about a dozen chapters in. There were too many details given about nothing. For these reasons, I could not make myself read anymore of this book. Jan 09, Larry Bassett rated it liked it Shelves: I am a bit of a novice with Alex Delaware so I am not sure if he and his girlfriend Robin have aged chronologically as the series has moved along.

Mystery is the twenty-sixth book and would make them in their late fifties if the years have passed as expected. A bar they frequent in an old hotel is closing and they turn out to bid it farewell on its last night. The normal staff has already retired evidently and they are served by a young man from a temp agency who is poorly suited for the job in w I am a bit of a novice with Alex Delaware so I am not sure if he and his girlfriend Robin have aged chronologically as the series has moved along.

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The normal staff has already retired evidently and they are served by a young man from a temp agency who is poorly suited for the job in what must have been once a classy establishment. It was the beginning of setting a tone of faded glory and I wondered if Mr. It is a snow day. I was supposed to be driving to Michigan on this January day but snow in West Virginia has delayed my travel. I am bored but not ready for the challenge of a good author or work of real literature. Intrigued by the passage of years, I think that a current era Delaware might just be what the doctor ordered.

Mystery has some good, concise writing and some fun paragraphs to keep you entertained while you meander through the story. The sandwich was an architectural masterpiece of pastrami, ham, turkey, coleslaw, white and orange cheese, red and green peppers. Her eyes were soft, hazel, world-weary.

Olga Koznikov looked like a woman who accepted herself at face value and that brought a certain serenity. Only longish nails, French-tipped and glossy as they clawed the sandwich, testified to tension and vanity. Shop talk for the reading voyeur. Some kind of carnivore had feasted on the neck, extruding blood vessels and muscle fibers and tendons.

The white shirt was shredded, the black tie turned to bloody ribbon. Splintered ribs protruded from a massive exit wound. The rotted sponge of lung and the degraded rubber of heart littered the ravaged chest. Now, I am something of a neophyte with mysteries but this one does seem to be due an extra star for taking us into the thick of the battle. You might be a smart aleck and note, as some reviewers have, that our child psychologist and homicide cop seem to have little or no rationale to be actually working on this case together.

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But over two decades of sleuthing together does seem to have developed ties that bind and books that sell. The book has a Hollywood, double ending but Alex evidently has never managed to make it into a movie series for some reason. Mystery would require some editing to avoid some of the soft porn aspects but Kellerman must be making enough from the books that he is not pouting about missing the movies. But with the proliferation of cable it seems like only a matter of time until there will be a made for TV series of Dr.

The wrap up of this story made my head spin and stitching in the child psychologist aspect was forced but this book was mostly enjoyable to read. It falls just short of rating four stars but is better than many three star efforts due to the cleverness of the dialogue. Alex and Milo are a fine pair with a wink to a stocky and svelte duo interplay. View all 5 comments. Jul 01, Kate Roman rated it liked it.

A friend warned me this was "the worst Kellerman they'd ever read", which, after the disappointment of Evidence, concerned me some. However, Deception had a number of redeeming features, so I soldiered bravely on, and despite my friend's dire warnings, I am pleased to say I found Mystery not too bad. It lacks the sparkle and brilliance of the early Alex years, I admit that, and it has the ever-present Robin -- present, but barely drawn, this time, I found her.

Which is interesting, as she always A friend warned me this was "the worst Kellerman they'd ever read", which, after the disappointment of Evidence, concerned me some. Which is interesting, as she always annoys me, but I felt he had a puppet-Robin in the book this time. As usual, Alex is far more concerned with running about with Milo than with his nuptial concerns, not hidden by Robin's "girl detective" his words, not mine number.

However, plotwise and writing-wise, it's a very readable Kellerman, it kept me engaged up til nearly 2am in fact, although, I admit, that's mainly because it was due back at the library and I did like that on this occasion, there were three plausible solutions fitted up before the slightly predictable ending.

In short, if you're a Delaware fan, it's a nice visit with the boys: I keep getting the feeling K's tiring of them; it's a great shame, because I feel like they still have stories to tell us. Stories that Kellerman is missing!! Sep 25, Smitha rated it liked it Shelves: Was a mediocre attempt compared with many other Alex Delaware novels. Alex and Robin watch a beautiful and gracious lady with British accent being stood up at a restaurant.

The very next day, Sergeant Milo Sturgis shows them pics of the very same girl dead and sprawled out with guns shot wounds. They set out to ID her and seek out her killer s. And they encounter many strange persons and hidden secrets on the way. The initial hal Was a mediocre attempt compared with many other Alex Delaware novels.

The initial half was quite captivating, but the story soon slid into boredom and mayhem. Overall, a readable book, but nothing to gawp about. Nov 23, Moira rated it really liked it. So I was boarding a plane last week and saw that someone had placed this book on top of a trash can right outside the door to the plane. What a brilliant idea--to leave a book for a fellow traveler. And since I like to read Alex Delaware stories and didn't remember reading this one, I took it. It was especially good--replete with old Hollywood references, twins and a twist I didn't see coming.

But perhaps my enjoyment was enhanced by getting it the way I did. So if you see a book by the entrance So I was boarding a plane last week and saw that someone had placed this book on top of a trash can right outside the door to the plane. So if you see a book by the entrance to a plane some day, it might just be from me!

One of the worst Kellerman books. One to be avoided, really. Jun 22, Mary Chrapliwy rated it really liked it. I admit, I've never read a Jonathan Kellerman novel before, so I didn't have a huge interest in reading this book. Unlike some other authors, whose characters I already know and will slog through dull first pages for, I didn't have that with Alex Delaware and detective Milo Sturgis. I lacked that past history and interest, When the book didn't grab me right away, I put it down If you have already read any part of this series, you'll have the patience required to get to the meat of I admit, I've never read a Jonathan Kellerman novel before, so I didn't have a huge interest in reading this book.

If you have already read any part of this series, you'll have the patience required to get to the meat of the story, where the reward of an excellent mystery awaits. For old time sake, Alex and his wife Robin go to the nightclub and find that none of the bar tenders or waiters they know are there, just temporary staff. Nothing is the same. Also, a stunning girl in white with a diamond studded watch awaits a date that doesn't arrive while they are there. They speculate about who she is and who her apparent body guard outside the door is. They never dreamed that when they woke up, the girl would be dead and friend and detective Milo Sturgis would involve Alex in the case.

The early part of this book did drag a bit and the main characters did seem a bit pompous in the beginning, but overall, this ended up being a really good mystery story. I never guessed who done it. Kellerman keeps you guessing until you turn the last page. When I finished the book, I read the preview to the next one and now I'm looking forward to reading more Kellerman. Feb 01, Sharon rated it really liked it. Jonathan Kellerman's latest Alex Delaware novel, "Mystery," plumbs the depths of internet dating, identity theft and even the so-called "CSI effect.

Within 48 hours, she is found murdered. Through various circumstances, Delaware and his intrepid detective friend Milo Sturgis learn that the woman is a member of an internet dating site, SukRose. The structure of the book is not just that of an outstanding whodunnit which it is -- the twist at the end surprised me so much that I had to go back to the moment where it was actually revealed in a roundabout way and re-read.

It is also a look at life on the so-called Information Highway and perhaps even a cautionary tale about being careful to whom you reveal yourself. Review based on uncorrected advance proof. Apr 08, Nette rated it it was ok. Talk about My Spare Lady. Curtains, I tells ya!

Mar 30, Beth rated it really liked it. Alex Delaware and his partner, Robin Castagna, are having a melancholy evening at one of their favorite places, the bar at the Fauborg Hotel in Beverly Hills. The hotel is slated to be demolished and this is the last night there will be service at the bar.

Most of the furniture is gone, the lightbulbs have been removed from all but a few of the wall lights, and the only member of the staff on duty is the long-time bartender who knows just how his regular customers like their drinks. Alex and Robi Alex Delaware and his partner, Robin Castagna, are having a melancholy evening at one of their favorite places, the bar at the Fauborg Hotel in Beverly Hills. There is a very glamorous woman sitting at a table nearby. She is dressed completely in white, including the scarf around her head. On her feet are backless silver shoes. When they leave, they notice that the burly man who had been outside is no longer there.

They had decided that he was the bodyguard of the woman in white but she is still in the bar. The duo had supplied a few moments of interesting observation to distract Alex and Robin from the depressing reality that some things, like the bar, continue past their prime.

A few days later, Milo Sturgis, a lieutenant with the homicide division of the Los Angeles police, arrives, as he frequently does, just as the coffee is ready. Milo had been called out at 4: There appeared to be two killers involved because two weapons were used. Both guns were aimed at her face. There is no identification. Milo shows Alex a picture of the victim. Alex knows that the clothing could only belong to the woman he and Robin had seen at the bar.

VICTIMS: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman

When the police realize that the man who was presumed to be a bodyguard has also disappeared, there seems no reason not to assume that the murder of the woman and the disappearance of the man are connected. The man is Steven Muhrman and his mother says she saw him with a woman who looked like the victim, a woman whose name was Mystery. Mystery was matched with a billionaire daddy who pre-deceased her, removing one suspect in the murder of the young woman who still has no name.

Alex is also contacted by a former patient who had inhabited the shadow world until she gave birth to a son. Now the boy is six, and she is dying. She pulls Alex back into his real profession, child psychologist. Are the Kellerman books formulaic? Does that detract from the stories? No, the formula serves the story. Alex always gets pulled into a case that has been handed over to Milo because of the impossibility of its successful resolution. Alex and Milo always solve the puzzle. Kellerman has established that Alex made a sizeable fortune in real estate; it must have provided Alex with a very soft nest because he seems not to have to charge people for the work he does.

A child psychologist in his pre-mystery writing days, Kellerman knows dysfunctional families and he peoples his books with characters whose level of dysfunction would be crippling in the real world. I have read all of them, some more than once. They are books that I read from cover to cover in one session. Kellerman writes what many people want to read.

Any descriptions of psychopathy or violence are in service to the story. Sep 01, Marie rated it liked it. In Mystery , Milo Sturgis, a police detective, asks Alex Delaware, forensic psychologist, for his thoughts on a brutal homicide. Stranger still, Alex has seen this striking young woman before.

A shocking, thrilling psychological crime novel

Two nights previous, she caught his attention at the Fauboug Hotel in Beverly Hills, where she had been sitting all alone obviously waiting for someone. As they try to determine her identity and solve this crime, In Mystery , Milo Sturgis, a police detective, asks Alex Delaware, forensic psychologist, for his thoughts on a brutal homicide.

As they try to determine her identity and solve this crime, Alex and Milo stumble upon some sleazy information about the victim and the world in which she lives. I mostly enjoyed this book. It kept me entertained and I really wanted to see this mystery through to the end. The storyline was a bit complex, though, so it was a little hard to follow at times.


  • Mystery (Alex Delaware series, Book 26);
  • A Match Made for Eden?
  • The Embedding (S.F. MASTERWORKS).
  • Mystery (Alex Delaware, book 26) by Jonathan Kellerman.
  • James and Yeshua.
  • Mystery (Alex Delaware, #26) by Jonathan Kellerman.

    • It was complicated even further by the fact that the victim had many aliases, which made it difficult for the police to determine her real identity. Part of the story dragged as it seemed to take an extraordinary amount of time to get to the truth. I found myself hoping for a speedier conclusion. However, I realize that this is probably more like real police work than other books I've read. I can appreciate that. Kellerman has written many books, but this is the first one of his that I've read.