A Measure of Darkness: A Novel (Clay Edison)

Clay Edison is a coroner. Hehas been called out to a scene of a crime. A raucous party, an argument, turn this party into a disaster. People are dead, some are crying and some are running. Before the end of the night there will be more victims than names. There is one Jane Doe. Who is she, where does she live, who knows her, and why is she dead. All these answers and more in this titillating book by a great team of Authors. Highly recommended!

Once you get past chapter one, this is another good police procedural from the Kellermans. If this is your first Jonathan Kellerman novel, go back and read some of the other Alex Delaware ones first. The first chapter of this one is a mess of overblown descriptions and two or three adjectives where one would do. I'm pretty sure which Kellerman wrote it, but they needed a better editor. But after Chapter 1, it's a fine read. Recommended.

Clay Edison is a likable character in this moderately paced police procedural. This is the kind of series where you will commit to reading just because you like the characters, and want to know what happens next in their lives. It is very similar to the Alex Delaware series in its pace. I liked the Oakland, CA setting and the dynamics of the police relationships.

I’ve always enjoyed Jonathan Kellerman’s books but this one just doesn’t cut it. It starts out with a really good storyline but then it goes off on tangents that don’t really make any sense. The dialogue isn’t very good. No depth. I kept reading thinking that there were going to be some really interesting twists or something but there weren’t.

I have read most of the Jonathan Kellerman books. This one written jointly with his son was enjoyable. The second having Clay Edison as the lead. It always takes awhile to accept a new main character but I am warming up to Clay. Like all of his novels there is plenty of procedure, more of what real life is probably like.

I enjoyed this book. It wasn't anything very special. I have read everything Jonathan Kellerman has written and he is one of my favorite authors. I do prefer his Alex Delaware character. Clay Edison just isn't quite as interesting, maybe because I don't "know" him as well.

Another good solid read from Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman. This is the 2nd book in this series and so far it's adding up to be a great series. Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to read this ARC book and give my own personal opinion.

Jonathan Kellerman never disappoints and he has done it again. This well written and engrossing thriller/suspense will definitely fix your mystery itch. Great character development, fast paced story and well researched. I highly recommend.

Had I realized there are two authors on the cover, I wouldn't have bothered. When you have more than one writer involved in a story, it seldom works well. The story seems to pull against itself and the characters behavior doesn't always seem rational. The plot is obviously fighting to find it's way as the two authors move in opposite directions.

I could barely finish this book and found by skipping pages I'd lose nothing in the story, just more of the same dull stuff. Sorry, but the Kellerman's should write independently, in my humble opinion.

Thought this book looked interesting because I’ve been on a murder mystery/true crime kick. Authored by a father and son duo, measure of darkness, opens up with several homicides outside a party in California. Detectives are called in and more bodies keep being found. I lost interest at the point that one of the deceased turned out to be a transsexual and more time is spent trying to figure out who “she” was than trying to solve the case. Jumped around a lot and hard to follow, too many characters.

I HAVE BEEN A FAN OF JONATHAN KELLERMAN FOR YEARS AND THIS BOOK IS POORLY WRITTEN, BORING STORY, AND I COULD NOT CONNECT AT ALL....IT MISSES THE USUAL HEROES MAYBE BECAUSE TWO PEOPLE WROTE IT. I WILL NEVER READ ANOTHER KELLERMAN BOOK IF IT IS LIKE THIS ONE

A sequel to the entertaining novel, CRIME SCENE, where we meet a former college basketball star who gets embroiled in a devastating crime, this one, A MEASURE OF DARKNESS, brings the basketball star to a job in the coroner's office. He has acquired the reputation of a barnacle, sticking to a case all the way through, way past what others would put into a mere job.

A Measure of Darkness starts with a multiple shooting at a wild party, and a stray dead body. A number of police detectives work each death case separately and together, -- shooting victims, a victim hit by a car, lots of damage. And one victim found under a house -- with many mysteries attached. This leads to a school out in the countryside where kids are allowed to run free and educate themselves with a little casual help from teachers and no discipline. Digging into the finances of the school leads eventually to the solution of many mysteries.

It is a police procedural novel making a strong distinction between the Coroner and forensic pathologist.

To me the most interesting facet of this series about Clay Edison is the location -- the San Francisco East Bay area, and Berkeley. I know those streets, those intersections, those old houses, and can see them as I read the descriptions. This is an accurate portrayal of the Oakland area of Alameda County.

The Kellerman family must have a secret writers gene. Mom and Dad now have a new generation of writers. I've been wondering about how the co-authors write. How much belongs to which Kellerman?

A Measure of Darkness is the second book in the Clay Edison Series. Clay works at the Alameda County Coroners Office. In this office the employees do a variety of tasks:notifications, investigations and not autopsies. He's called to investigate a shooting across the street from an interesting old house that hosts big parties twice a month. The only requirement for entry is ten dollars so chaos reigned. A young unidentified woman was found in the alley. It was apparent she had been hit by a car and dragged for a ways. This is not the only victim found that night.

Most of the story was interesting but it seemed a bit disjointed at times. There were issues with Clay's knee injury and problems with his brother who just got out of prison. I thought the book was okay but definitely not great.

I am such a fan of Jonathan Kellerman books!! Then found the wife and now the son. I will never stop reading any of their books. Then to have another book written by Jonathan and Jesse, just wow.
This book drew me in from the very beginning! It was a seamless read, very well written, unstoppable once I started. The details in this book is what makes it shine. They pull you in from page one and don’t let you go even at the end!! Bravo to the two of you!! Can’t wait fir many more to come!
I voluntarily reviewed an reader copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

The first 100 pages are tedious. I hate giving up on a book so I persevered. It got better but not enough for me to be willing to read another book Jonathan co-authors with his son. I have read several of Jesse's solo books but gave up on him a while back. Sometimes the apple DOES fall far from the tree. Talent isn't necessarily inherited. There are too many good books out there to spend time on one that isn't any better than this.

The detailed descriptions.. the easy banter... allows us to imagine each character as they were imagined by the authors!! More than the actual story it was these elements that have got me hooked!!!

Cant wait for the next one from Kellerman & Son!!!

Just the author's name should be sufficient to draw readers to this. He's spun a fascinating plot here, one you won't easily forget. If you'ure a Kellerman fan, this is a must read. If you haven't read Kellerman yet, hey, come on and get with it!

Clay Edison is a deputy coroner whose last case earned him a suspension. But things are going great with his girlfriend and he’s back at work. Then that middle of the night call comes. There’s been a shooting in an East Bay neighborhood and there are multiple victims, including a Jane Doe. Clay decides to take on identifying Jane, which will turn out to be quite a project. While this is going on, his brother is released from prison and shows up for Thanksgiving with a big surprise.

I think this series is a great collaboration from the Kellermans. In the beginning I wasn’t quite sure what to think about Clay but he quickly grew on me. I loved how the story was not limited to the investigation but brought in the challenges of Clay’s personal life as well. My favorite character though, may well be Clay’s girlfriend. She is so supportive but at the same time has a way of keeping him rooted in reality. I like that this story has a real life feel to it. That being said, the story is full of twists and mysteries and action enough to satisfy any mystery lover. The fact that this story is set in California is just a bonus for me. Definitely check this series out.

"Measure" of Darkness was a bit of a disappointment. I was really looking forward to a book by father/son duo --the Kellermans. I have enjoyed the fathers', Alex Delaware novels although the last few lacked something. They were slow and boring. When I saw there was a book by the son writing with his father I thought Jesse (son) would energize the stories. The book was not was I was hoping for. This might be unfair because I rarely enjoy a mystery or crime procedural that stretch over months. The characters, although when first introduced were interesting, they were also forgettable. I kept waiting for the "thrill" in this thriller but never found it.

I was so excited when the library notified me that they were holding a book for me by one of my "Best Sellers" authors, and that the author was Jonathan Kellerman. (My notification did not mention that Jesse Kellerman was also an author.) I love Jonathan Kellerman books, but any he has "written" with his son Jesse are extremely hard to get through. No, make that extremely easy to take back to the library without being read all the way through. (Thank goodness I didn't pay for it.) I tried to give it a chance to see if it would get any better, but I had to stop at page 80, as it was just a waste of time...Even if I had time to waste, I couldn't make myself do it any longer. If Jonathan did any of the writing in this book, I'd be surprised. He needs to stop giving his son a pat on the back by putting his own name on the cover. The way the story flows, it seems that Jesse is hoping for a screenplay of the story some day...I can't pinpoint it enough to be able to explain why I think that, but it left me with that impression. This book doesn't deserve even one star, but rather deserves a big BOO.

The Alex Dellaware series has evolved over almost 3 decades. The main characters have been excellent at their tasks. The skills and relationships evolved as well. The crimes maintained a common level of sophistication. Other mysteries with different characters were of similar quality. The books co authored with Faye Kellerman used different characters which were based on a different community activities. Yet, the quality of the mysteries was maintained. I did not find that to be the case with this book. However I may try others of this is a series and hope the quality rides to a level that makes it unable to put it down.