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.