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.   

Breakdown by Jonathan Kellerman

Breakdown by Jonathan Kellerman - 368 pages
Alex Delaware Book 31

This book changes the dynamic some in that Alex is the one who calls Detective Milo Sturgis into the case and they don't work it together until a third of the way into the book.  Alex is called out of the blue in relation to the mother of a former client who is now having severe mental health issues.  Alex is ensnared and feels an obligation to do right by the mother (a fading starlet) and her now missing child.  This series is police procedural as comfort food.  This book was a nice return to a more intricate plot with suspense that had been missing some from the more recent entries in the series.

Motive by Jonathan Kellerman

Motive by Jonathan Kellerman - 352 pages
Book 30 in the Alex Delaware series

The latest entry in the series follows the standard format.  Detective Milo Sturgis is stumped by an unusual homicide case so he calls in consulting help from his friend psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware.  This series has been going on so long that it has begun to read like an episode of Law & Order meets Castle.  The police procedural aspects are interesting as they investigate mysterious stabbing deaths with ritualistic elements but the character development is pretty much non-existent.  I really wish the books would follow some of these cases to trial to see how they would justify Delaware's participation in the investigation, much like I'd like to see that done on Castle.

I am starting to wonder if Delaware has totally given up on his regular psychology practice as it is never mentioned in the course of the entire book.  He is able to drop everything to help Sturgis whenever needed.  Delaware's girlfriend Robin still is pretty pointless and just serves as a means of exposition and brief interlude before Delaware is back to the crime scene.  The cases are intriguing enough for me to keep reading this series but I really wish the characters were seemed to be progressing towards something besides just more of the same.

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly - 400 pages
- A Harry Bosch Novel

This series has had more lows than highs over the recent books but this one marks an upswing.  Bosch is in the twilight of his LAPD career working cold cases with a new young hot shot partner.  The intertwining of two different cold cases seems a bit contrived for the plot to all match up together in the end but overall I was entertained.  Early Bosch is much better but this one's not bad either.   

The Beast by Faye Kellerman

The Beast by Faye Kellerman - 384 pages
A Decker / Lazarus novel

This book opens with the trial testimony of Decker's foster son Gabe regarding the incident that was the focus of the last book.  Decker is called away to face one of the more bizarre cases of his career involving a murdered millionaire, a pet tiger, and prostitution.  The case is intriguing and kept me guessing until the end.    Kellerman is very strong at blending the personal and professional narratives into a seamless story that reads like a movie.  The cameo by Jonathan Kellerman's character Alex Delaware was a nice touch.

Guilt by Jonathan Kellerman

Guilt by Jonathan Kellerman - 400 pages
An Alex Delaware Novel

Kellerman has become a habit.  The books have become police procedurals with very little character development.  The crime element is well done and the mystery is interesting when a crime that happens today harkens back to a sixty year old case that reads like a film noir.  But if I hadn't read the early books in the series I would have no real reason to care about these characters, especially Delaware who functions mainly as a sounding board for his police detective friend, Milo Sturgis.  So in the end, a quick read with an interesting plot but this series is not the place to look for three dimensional character development any more.

The Black Box by Michael Connelly

The Black Box by Michael Connelly - 416 pages

Harry Bosch's past and present merge as he investigates a 20 year homicide cold case from the time of the LA riots.  At first blush it seems like random violence but it turns out to be something much more personal involving the victim's investigation into the US military.  This is another sterling entry in the storied franchise of Harry Bosch books.

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.