I'm relatively new to Jonathan Kellerman, in fact this is only the second or third of his Alex Delaware novels that I have read. Looking through some of the reviews of this 16th instalment in the series, prior to reading it, this may well have been to my advantage. Unlike some of the other reviewers I was able to approach this with a relatively open mind, and I think I probably enjoyed the story more because of this.The story revolves around a historic unsolved case from the past of detective Milo Sturgis, one that is brought back into the light following the arrival of a 'Murder Book' at the home of Alex Delaware. The book is made up of a series of graphic crime scene photographs. All of historic cases, but arranged to highlight the one unsolved case; that of a young girl brutally tortured, murdered and arranged out in the open above LA. Through this story we finally get a bit of solid back story for Milo, fleshing out his character nicely and providing some insight into events from other novels in the series. In their attempts to discover exactly what had happened Milo and Alex uncover a conspiracy that reaches all the way through the LA political and corporate world. I really enjoyed the complicated storyline, drawing in so many different threads to form a coherent whole. The mystery itself was well written and very interesting.I did have a few issues though. Having the story unfold through dual narratives was a great idea. Milo and Alex each had something important to offer to the story, and to the reader's appreciation of the finer details. Unfortunately though there were times when following who's narrative I was reading was pretty difficult. I had to go back and double check a fair few times, being charitable I will admit that I was largely reading this quite late at night, but I don't usually struggle to follow narrative threads this much. Another thing that grated a little was the constant references to Milo's sexuality; I think we all get the point that Milo is a homosexual cop working in a prejudiced department, however it did feel as though this fact was brought up in practically every mention of him. I'd hope that the character could be more rounded than this would suggest. Surely there is more to the guy than his sexuality? There are moments where it seems as though we will get more, such as the flashback scenes at the start; but then these come to little.My final, and by far the biggest issue I have with the novel is how neatly everything falls into place, coupled with the lack of consequences for any of the major characters. To start with we have to initial murder, which has consequences for the people directly involved, but which could apparently be totally removed from the public (and private record). I appreciate that the crux of the story here is the conspiracy, but still it strikes me as a little unlikely that such a total whitewash would have ever been possible. Equally incredible is the fact that the total bloodbath that occurs as a climax to the story is able to be tidied up and dealt with without any involvement of any authorities. We are led to believe that numerous corpses have been quietly buried or left tied up in smouldering buildings, and yet neither Milo nor Alex need to discuss this with any form of police force? This strikes me as maybe stretching reality a little too far.To sum up this is a very enjoyable thriller with an entertaining crime story and some good character building, just don't expect too much from it because it does require some suspension of disbelief in order to hold together. However I'll certainly be looking out some more Delaware novels in the future.
My 2nd book by this author for me, so I am curious to see what else is to learn from this author.Pros- an interesting and intriguing plot, a unsolved murder of a teen troubled female- interesting characters with very unique agendas and plenty of twists and turns- humor is often present making it more entertaining- writing style is very skilled all tho' is clogged with a lot of descriptions some not always need itCons- very advanced descriptions of pretty much everything, from people to places, from cases to situations, very detailed making it at times boring and even confusing, at least IMHO- this is only my 2nd book by this author in this series, but it looks to me like Robin, the female partner of Alex - our main protagonist - is always in some kind of conflict with Alex, always something is going on, she's always on the move, leaving for what ever reason, with Alex remaining alone, frustrated about the relationship and focusing on the murder case working with his cop friend Milo - now if this is the author way of setting up the perquisites for Alex to work on the case, that's OK, but to me it sounds like this Robin is always creating frustration for Alex, I've noticed the same cliche in the previous book and here in this book, the same thing again and I for one I tend not to like it- a bit too much, just a bit, of the gay couple internal struggle, I try to stay open minded and "live and let live" but I don't really care to learn too much about how a gay man feels
What do You think about The Murder Book (2015)?
I’ll start by saying I’m a big fan of the Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis characters, and the narration of John Rubinstein. These stories are always absorbing, easy listens. The Murder Book is not up to these standards, sadly. There are many side issues, way too many characters to keep track of, many of them irrelevant to the basic plot. The entire story arc is much more complicated than necessary. Although I listened to the entire story, as there are interesting segments, I had a difficult time. Reversed the iPhone Audible player a number of times to re-listen and finally just kept-on-keeping-on, and tried to stay with the rhythm of the tale.The narrator, John Rubinstein, does a terrific job with a plethora of voices. If you’ve listened to audiobooks for as long as I have, his voice will be familiar. He’s narrated quite a few for many other authors, and is quite good. He is a good choice by Kellerman for the voice of Alex Delaware.The story is typical of the Delaware/Sturgis modus operandi. A dead girl. Let’s find out what happened. So the premise is pretty much right for the characters; the author execution, however, is not. Complex, convoluted.
—Samyann
This is the first Jonathan Kellerman novel I've ever read, and I enjoyed it a lot. The story was different; the characters were unique, human; and the ending wasn't the all-the-loose-ends-are-tied-up-and-things-have-gone-back-to-normal ending typical of books in this genre.The whodunit aspect was revealed slowly, and even though Dr. Alex Delaware is a psychologist, Kellerman didn't write him as a mind reader (a common trait in the cop genre that usually has me rolling my eyes, even when I'm just beach reading). And there were so many possibilities with the information provided that the reader can piece things together along with the main characters.Honestly, The Murder Book caught my eye because the main character's last name is Delaware, my home state. But now that I've had a taste of Kellerman's style of writing and Delaware and Sturgis' style of detective work, I'll be looking for more.
—Erin
Dear Dr. Delaware, I get about 2 minutes into this and there's a sex scene already. I can't be doing with it! Solve your crimes and keep your bedroom shenanigans to yourself, please. I do not want to know how many times your girlfriend came. In any case, I have always suspected you as a "projection of the author, but awesome" character - you're just too good at everything, which apparently includes sex, and that makes me suspicious. Indeed, according to you, your only real flaw is the one beloved of job applicants asked "What is your biggest weakness?" - "I expect too much of myself and push myself too hard".I had high hopes of a lack of further sex scenes when your girlfriend disappears on a music tour for several months. But the next thing I know, some girl is telling you the details of how she was sexually assaulted as a teenager, she brushes your arm or something on her way past, and you get a hard-on. For a psychologist, you're a really sensitive and empathising guy. Also, you know about as much about technology as George W. Bush: "I booted up the computer and downloaded Google".Having said that, this book does pose an enjoyable mystery and I particularly liked the sections that follow Milo without you on the scene (no offence, of course) - something of a novelty in your books. It seemed a bit heavy on the coincidences, even for the genre, but I guess I can overlook that.
—Rose
