Night Moves by Jonathan Kellerman

Night Moves by Jonathan Kellerman - 416 pages
Alex Delaware Book 33

By the time a series gets to book 33 we all know the drill.  There is a gruesome murder and Detective Milo Sturgis of the LAPD is called in to investigate.  The crime is horrific enough he asks his consultant friend Dr. Alex Delaware to lend his expertise. 

A body is discovered inside a home on a quiet well to do culdesac in the Pacific Palisades with the hands removed and the face destroyed.  The investigation brings to light a web of lies the ends up encompassing the whole neighborhood. 

Kellerman's strength lies in the procedural side of plotting out the mystery details.  He doesn't flesh out the side characters much and the reader is left wondering about their motivation.  Plus I have a long standing wish that Alex's longtime girlfriend Robin would be given something more to do than just wandering through with occasional exposition to share.  That remains a wish at this point.

That said, it's another solid entry in a long running series.  The mystery was good and the plotting was suspenseful and the dynamic of Sturgis and Delaware continues to entertain.   

Victims by Jonathan Kellerman

Victims by Jonathan Kellerman, 352 pages

The latest entry in Kellerman's long running Alex Delaware series is a throwback to the suspense and psychological angst of the the beginning of the series.  The last several books have been disappointing but hopefully this book is the beginning of a return to form.  Grisly murders in LA find Alex helping his friend Detective Sturgis try and catch an elusive killer and find the connections and motives behind the crimes.  Some of Alex's backstory comes into play which helps add depth to the character.  By the end I was starting to wonder if the series might be winding down as Alex seems to be getting pretty burned out by the violence and depravity. 

The Drop by Michael Connelly

The Drop by Michael Connelly - 416 pages

Detective Harry Bosch is trying to pass his last years with the LAPD uneventfully in the open / unsolved cases unit.  A political enemy from his past embroils Harry in a death from a drop from a famous LA hotel.  Bosch must navigate political and personal intrigue along with his duty to speak for the dead to solve both the present and a past death.  This book is a return to the tone and style that was missing in Connelly's previous Bosch book.  It makes for a much more enjoyable read.

Gun Games by Faye Kellerman

Gun Games by Faye Kellerman, 375 pages

Another in the Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series.  Decker investigates apparent suicides of students at a prep school while his fifteen year-old foster son deals with threats to his safety and that of a secret girlfriend.  Very neatly tied up.