Time Bomb: An Alex Delaware Novel

The word boring would be a real understatement, I found myself flipping thru as many pages as I read. Just hoping something interesting would FINALLY happen. But no, endless pages of useless information and description, really bad.
Waste of money and time.

I usually like Kellerman, but this book is slow starting, with a complex, improbable plot, and a lomg explanation at the end. Mostly his characters spout various political views; a few are quite unbelievable. It was unsatisfying to read and I almost put it down before finishing.

I have purchased many of the Kindle version books with numerous typos but could usually figure out what was intended. This one had so many errors, it took away my enjoyment. The story was great, but each page had many errors; some indecipherable. I wish there were some way I could correct these, so that next time I pull up the book, it will be easier to read, or better yet for other purchasers to read. I would even be willing to check out the printed version to correct it.

Fifth in the Alex Delaware psychological thriller series and revolving around a semi-retired child psychologist.

My Take
It's all about exploitation and corruption. Using the kids to further their own political agendas. People promoted for who they know and what they know that may be destructive to another. The lack of consideration or care from public officials and law enforcement. It's disgusting and fascinating. Disgusting for what these politicians and quacks will do to make a buck, to further their own agendas. Fascinating for Kellerman laying it out for us and how Alex discovers the truth. The stupidity of law enforcement refusing to share information with each other.

The truth about Dobbs' need to be involved in "helping" the children is disgusting, as is Massengil's involvement. That Dobbs was some shyster doing some scummy pandering. Sending out his assistants, claiming they're doctors, doctors who see nothing wrong with interrupting someone's session. Their idea of therapy is to blow in, do their spiel, and fly out. Badgering parents into sending their children in for paid therapy sessions. I do love how Alex took that Mendez down.

By using first person protagonist point-of-view, we get Alex's perspective, and I gotta say I loved his verbal beatdowns on the politicians, Dobbs, his assessment of Holly's father, and that REALLY tense scene at the end. Whew...

Kellerman definitely made me see Burden as a cheap narcissist, but Kellerman did not make me feel it, and it was definitely an area that should have been exploited. Oh, it's not that Kellerman doesn't have plenty of scenes that make me want to strike out at someone, but it was more intellectual than emotional. In Holly's case, I really wanted that emotion. Not that I enjoy crying...

Matthew's experience demonstrates how "dinner table conversation" can affect a child's choices and outlooks. That PC switch from melting pot to "we are a salad bowl" sounds "Californian" to me. Interesting note about zip codes and mailing lists. Wonder if I can move to a place that doesn't have zip codes and still be in the US? Also interesting, in a purely negative way, is all that rhetoric spouted about Zionists, Rozenvelt, Jewish brainwashing, ape cultures... Gimme a break. How stupid can people be?

This comment from Cecelia was pretty sad: "'Actually,' she said, 'we can't do nothing. We're kids. If people wanna be mean to us all the time, they can.'" As was that comment on the plethora of Spanish street names in this so-very-white community that "street names are one thing; letting them marry your sister's another."

There is also Milo's series-spanning problem of being gay and out of the closet in a cop shop. The gabarge that's thrown at him is, yeah, disgusting.

A sad memory of a more revolutionary time when the government was scared and reactive, susceptible to inner plotting to achieve individual ends. Scary, ain't it? That nothing has changed. Kellerman's story was originally written in 1990, and it could be set in 2018. Of course, Terry's own escape was in direct contrast to the other rebels who slipped back into their wealthy families' bosoms.

The Story
By the time psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware reached the school, the damage was done: A sniper had opened fire on a crowded playground, but was gunned down before any children were hurt.

While the TV news crews feasted on the scene and Alex began his therapy sessions with the traumatized children, he couldn't escape the sight of that slight teenager clutching an oversized rifle. Were they really a would-be assassin, or just another victim?

Intrigued by a request from the sniper's father to conduct a "psychological autopsy" of his child, Alex begins to uncover a strange pattern of innocence, neglect, and loss. Then suddenly it is more than a pattern, it is a trail of blood. In the dead sniper's past was a dark and vicious plot.

And in Alex Delaware's future is the stuff of grown-up nightmares: the face of real human evil.

The Characters
Dr Alex Delaware is a child psychologist who keeps getting caught up in murder cases thanks to his friend Milo. The shoe is on the other foot with Alex's ex-girlfriend, Robin, an artist building musical instruments. Seems she wants back in.

Westside PD Division
Detective Sergeant Milo Sturgis is a friend of Alex's and has been promoted to D-Three, a supervising detective at his division in Robbery Homicide. Dr Rick Silverman is Milo's partner who also does good words at the Free Clinic.

Detective Maurice Smith, who's putting in his time until retirement, is with Southeast Division and investigated Novato's shooting. Detective Mehan from the Pacific Division investigated Gruenberg's disappearance. Officers Burdette and Ziegler are on the Massengil case with help from Martinez and Pelletier.

Anti-Terrorist Division (ATD)
Lieutenant Kenny Frisk is more interested in the sound bite.

Nathan Hale Elementary School had been...
...a school in Ocean Heights, a housing tract originally conceived for engineers and techs, that has falling enrollment (capacity for 900 with only 86 students) that is now upped by busing. The principal, Linda Overstreet, majored in psychology. She's estranged from her daddy, a Texas Ranger, for an excellent reason. Jerk. Carla is her secretary. Miz Williams and the bigoted Esme Ferguson are some of the teachers. The students include Ramon, Tranh, Anna, Martha, and Cecelia. Pete and Mrs Buchanan's son, Matthew, is easily led.

Holly Lynn Burden, who had been a student at Nathan Hale, is described as slightly above retarded in a family of intellectually superior people. I'd say most of her problem came from her father Mahlon Burden, a control-obsessed widower self-employed in producing health and security catalogs and mailing lists, as New Frontiers Technology, Ltd — and who used to be with Intelligence in the army and then with the US Census Bureau. Gregory Graff, Esq, is an actor Burden hired to be photographed as Chief Consulting Officer of Burden's company. Betty was the mathematician mother who died. Howard Burden is Holly's brother. Gwen is his wife. Amy is their child. None of them see Mahlon. Dr George Goldberg helped Howard with his childhood issues.

Dinwiddie's is the local grocers run by the wanna-be charitable Ted Dinwiddie. Isaac "Ike" Novato was a light-complected black who was bright and a straight arrow who worked at Dinwiddie's and took pity on Holly. Sophie Gruenberg was his landlady, described by all as either a cossack or a commie.

The Beth Shalom Synagogue
David Sanders is the rabbi from Auckland, New Zealand, who teaches elementary school on weekdays; he's also married with five children. Sophie Gruenberg is his landlady as well. We first meet him leading a discussion that segues into the participants' — Mrs Cooper, Sy Morgenstern, Dora Sindowsky, and Rose Steinberg, — personal interests.

The Holocaust Center is...
...a Jewish museum. Judy Baumgartner is a senior researcher. Janie and Ike had worked there.

Wannsee was a conference that took place in Berlin during World War II. Werner Kaltenblud had been "president of the Poison Gas Club". Fritz Kuhn had been the Bundesführer in America during World War II. Wannsee II is an "upgrade" that allies the radical left and right.

The Politicians
The quick-to-judge State Assemblyman Samuel Massengil is a loudmouthed jerk with a rep of law-and-order and a stance against pornography who is insisting on Dr Dobbs seeing the children. Hattie is his wife. Beth Bramble is his executive assistant. DiMarco is not one of Massengil's fans.

The self-promoting Dr Lance L Dobbs is billed as an expert on childhood stress. "Dr" Patricia Mendez claims she's a clinical psychologist when she's actually a psychological assistant to Dobbs.

City Councilman Gordon Latch is a typical politician, helpful when it helps him. He had been a hippie back in the day and married Miranda Brundage, the only child of a movie tycoon, Fritz Brundage, a crypto-fascist. Darryl "Bud" Ahlward is his chief administrative assistant (and bodyguard).

The New Walden group at Bear Lodge, Idaho, was on...
...some land owned by Mountain Properties (land inherited by Randy from her dad). Members included Thomas Bruckner, a founding member of the Weathermen; Catherine Blanchard Lockerby was living with Bruckner; Antonio Rodriguez, a forger and burglar, and his wife, Teresa Santana, a suspected FALN cell leader had a son, Fidel; Mark Grossman was another Weathermen founder; Harold Cleveland "Big Skitch" Dupree was a murderer and armed robber; Terry Crevolin who went on to work in television; Norman Green is believed to be the leader; and, Melba Johnson-Green was Green's wife while Malcolm Green was their two-year-old son. The second tier group included Harry and Debbie Delage, Ed Maher and Julie Bendix, Lyle Stokes, Gordy and Miranda Latch, and Jack Parducci.

Dayton Auhagen was a buckskin-clad trapper. Southern Idaho Regional FBI Agent-in-Charge Morrison Stowe has his own perspective. Nellie Barthell owned the Maybe Drop Inn Tavern and Truck Stop in Bear Lodge, Idaho.

FBI "Task Force
Special Agents Hoyt Henry Blanchard and Audrey Crisp pick up Alex.

San Antonio PD, Texas
Linda's father had played the fiddle and encouraged Linda to enjoy music. Armando Bonilla Mondo was a rookie on the force who also played in a band, Magnum Four, which became Magnum Four and Lady Derringer, when Armando hooked up with Linda Overstreet. Rudy was another cop and band member.

Dr Ada Small is Alex's own psychologist. Superior Court Judge Steve Hupp has requested Alex's help on several child-custody cases. Julie is his wife. Brigitta is their Swedish au pair. Cheryl "Cheri" Jane Nuveen, a.k.a., Sherry Nuveen, Sherry Jackson, Cherry Jackson, Cherry Burgundy, Cherry Gomez, and actually Sheryl Jane Jackson, is a "recreational counselor" who works out of her house. Her son, André, has a great voice. Vagabond Books has a big section on the 1960s. Dejon "the Chiller" Jonson is an entertainer whose time was requested by Latch.

The Cover and Title
The cover is spare with its deep brown background. A pale thin banner in peach spans the top with an info blurb in brown. The author's name is in a bright embossed orange. Just below that is a disembodied hand atop the handle of a detonator. The title is in a limey yellow to the left of the plunger handle. Beneath that at the very bottom is the series information in white.

The title refers to the hidden reasons behind it all, a Time Bomb that is about to go off.

All of the Alex Delaware novels are good, and this is no exception. As always, we have the team of psychologist Alex and his best friend Milo the police detective. This book has a particularly creepy and gruesome killer! I think what made this book so scary and suspenseful was the investigation into old mental health institutions and the people who were locked away for their own (or the public's) safety. The clues leading up to the conclusion were great, the entire plot held me at the edge of my seat. I especially love how Alex and Milo are not unrealistic “perfect” crime solvers, they make errors, go down blind trails, follow red herrings, but keep trying and working at it until the exciting and disturbing ending.

It is generally hard to predict what's going to happen in Kellerman's books, and this one was among the most suspenseful, with several twists that I didn't see coming!

"Time Bomb" is Jonathon Kellerman's fifth Alex Delaware novel wnd was first published in 1990. Delaware is a psychologist based in LA who earns his living as a consultant - largely working with the courts and the police.

Alex is contacted at the book's beginning by Milo Sturgis, his trusty pet detective from the LAPD. There's been a shooting at the Nathan Hale Elementary School, in Ocean Heights - thankfully none of the children have been hurt. However, Milo feels that it would be a good idea for Alex to come down and help the kids work through the aftermath. The school had been in the news relatively recently : suffering from a siginificant drop in pupil numbers, it had started admitting inner city kids. This has caused a problem for for certain people, as the majority of these kids are Latino - broken windows, racist graffiti on the school walls...even pickets at the school gates. This `problem' has brought two local politicians to the school - State Assemblyman Samuel Massengil and City Councilman Gordon Latch - who had opposing views on the presence of the kids. It's believed that Massengil - who was far from happy about the kids attending the school - may have been the target.

The would-be assassin, a young woman called Holly Lynn Burden, was killed by one of Latch's men. The police can only guess as to who she intended to hurt, though the most ovious target would have been Massengil. This leap has also been made by LAPD's anti-terrorist department, which means that Milo's time on the case is going to be very limited). However, Alex is subsequently given an alternative line of inquiry when he is approached by Holly's father - who is convinced she wouldn't have been capable of acting in this manner. When he accepts, Alex discovers there's more to the race angle than he may have thought...

The book started out from an interesting - and not an entirely implausible - angle, and was pretty enjoyable for quite a while. I've only read two others by Kellerman, and thought - maybe, just maybe - I'd found one of his books that didn't rely on a certain amount of daftness. (Well, as further I got into the book, I realised that wasn't going to happen). The writing is pretty lame at times, too : Kellerman tends to get overdescriptive and labours on what a room looks like, or what somebody is wearing. (In the case of Dr. Linda Overstreet, the school's principal, Alex tends to focus on her long white legs). There's even a fair number of typos and spelling mistakes in the book - well, at least in this edition I have. (Given that the edition I have was printed in 2002 - 12 years after the book was first published - I'd doubt that I'm alone). It's therefore a little funny that Alex criticises a book written by another character - Terry Crevolin - for being 'typos and grammatical errors'. Easily enough read, but no classic.

Granted, this is early Kellerman, but even so, compared to his later work this book is an unholy mess. The plot advances by fits and starts, the villains are drawn to outlandish proportions, but above all is the amateurish preachiness. The wheels really come off at the end of the book, with a vast neo-Nazi plot, on the order of, "Where did this come from?" To sum up, I had to struggle to finish it. A shame, when I could have been reading Michael Connolly, for example. The verdict: guilty of wasting my time. Not recommended.

TIME BOMB (Just that)
(MILD SPOILER) One expects after several books in a series that the author would have the bugs worked out - or his publisher would have enough editorial control to correct glaring problems. I like Kellerman's work, but this is a dud. He re-introduces a character about 300 pages after first showing without any reminder. Huh? Who is this? The last 75-100 pages feature confusing first-third person narratives explaining all the unlikely previous events. Oh, and resurrected like Lazurus are a couple of previously dead characters.

Skip this one.

(audiobook, unabridged version) Seemed like another good one by Kellerman. It's been years since i read it in print, but this narrator is so criminally bad that it's difficult to fairly judge the merits of the book itself. Milo often sounds like a vary bad imitation of Michael Keaton's "Betelgeuse," & the voices of other characters vary wildly. The women are cringeworthy. The only character who sounded 1/2way decent (the rabbi) was a minor one. The reader's voice often sounds so strained I kept getting a vision of him with fold of skin being twisted in a pair of vice-grips. And his pronunciation of many words was...well, creative (but annoying). VERY unfortunate that 'Alexander Adams' (a.k.a. Grover Gardner) didn't do all the Alex Delaware books. This reader's performance are about middle school level at best. Rather a coincidence that the word "bomb" is in the title.

I read everything by this guy. Main character is Alex Delaware, a wealthy child psychologist who is semi-retired. He solves (rather gruesome) murders with his cop pal Milo. These are great psychological thrillers. Considerably darker than most books I read. I don't typically want to read about this type of evil; it's probably the child psych connection that hooks me.

So I went out and bought another copy after losing the first on the plane to Vegas. I really do enjoy the Delaware series! I have been reading them for years. This is an older one - I could tell because they had to stop at pay phones to make calls - Ha! I found it annoying they couldn't just pull out their cells. Other than the technology gap, this book could take place at any time. An interesting premise, a father whose daughter was killed before she could start shooting at an elementary school wants a post mortem autopsy on her. There is no doubt she was at the school, holed up in a shed with a shot gun - but why? It gets a bit outlandish at times, but that's the genre, right? I had already read the sequel to this one, so it helped fill in the gap. I wouldn't recommend it as someone's first Kellerman, but once you are into him, it's a good read.

Another well written Alex Delaware novel. Alex is called in initially by his friend Milo to deal with students at the Hale School where there was an incident. Milo wants Alex to consult with the school's principal what happened. He has to deal with outside interference, the father of the supposed killer asks for his help in understanding why. As he and Milo delve deeper things become muffler, and he soon realizes that things are not what they seem.

I purchased the audible version of this book from the sister site and my review only pertains to that format. Unfortunately, the publisher switched readers from John Rubinstein - who is always spectacular as Alex Delaware - to Jeff Harding and that frankly ruined my experience. Although I am a fan of this series, I have attempted to listen to this book four times but cannot get through the first hour- the narrator's rhythm and cadence just isn't right for this story.

This is the first Jonathan Kellerman thriller I've read. It seemed to bog down pretty early and I was not captivated by the hero, Alex Delaware, as he was trying to help traumatized kids while several mysteries swirled around him. There's a lot of dark historical events in the hero's research into key figures in the mystery. No one turned out to be an escaped Nazi living in Argentina, but for a while you wonder.

Later, there are many twists which I won't reveal. The problem is they are not convincing. One twist in particular is absolutely unbelievable in the real world since 1900.

The book has a retro feel as the characters keep racing to make that call on a land line -- sometimes a tapped land line. No cell phones back in the day.

Frankly, too, the book was pretty darn steamy -- probably a page-turner device. Of course, that torrid relationship has a "the lady or the tiger" ending.

I had just raced through two Michael Connelly thrillers which were faster moving -- The Lincoln Lawyer and his earlier Echo Park (Harry Bosch)

Probably reading the involving Connelly novels right before this set the bar a little too high. (And I happened to read this particular title; it may well be one of Kellerman's less inspired pieces, whereas I've heard that Echo Park is one of Connelly's best.)

Kellerman constructs a plot twist with lots of verbiage and back story, hoping you'll buy into it. Connelly just throws surprises at you effortlessly. While it may seem K's method will work better, it doesn't.

I hope reading a more current Kellerman work will be more satisfying.

towards the final detonation! A sniper has just opened fire on a school playground, creating trauma and mayhem. She was shot to death before she could claim any child casualties.

She? Yes. The mysterious woman who opened fire a propos of nothing had secrets begging to be revealed. Dr. Delaware and his sidekick Officer Sturgis travel down some seedy side streets before they unmask the sniper's identity and reason for opening fire. The attacker's father enlists the aid of the duo, requesting that they do a psychological portrait of his slain daughter. As the men delve deeper into their work, they uncover a Pandora's box of ugly secrets and are left with the question of who was REALLY a victim the day of the shooting?

On the plus side, Alex develops a new romantic partner, principal Linda Overstreet. A tough Southwesterner, she provides more class than Robin ever did. She also appears to be much brighter. She has an interesting psychological background including "cops and music." It would have been wonderful if Robin had been ushered out the door for good.

As usual, if there is food, kisses or wine you can find Robin. She makes a brief appearance with deli sandwiches and wine and the requisite kiss. I'm tired of Robin and how she and Dr. Delaware spend the majority of their time involved with food in some form or fashion.

Time Bomb by Jonathan Kellerman is yet another great mystery with Alex and Milo, this time trying to make sense of a shooting at an elementary school. At first the shooter seems an unlikely candidate for the crime, but as Alex attempts to counsel the school's traumatized kids he begins to suspect the shooter was also suffering from the effects of a childhood trauma. When asked by the father to conduct a psychological autopsy he agrees even though there is little hope for the vindication the father is hoping for. He and Milo dig deeper into the senseless crime and discover it's all a lot bigger than it seemed. Old hippies, Nazis, and a narcissist genius, fill the pages along with radicals from the left and right, crooked politicians, fraudulent psychologists and a cop with questionable ethics. This story has something for everyone and a surprise ending that makes you smile.

After a sniper opens fire at an elementary school in an L.A. suburb, LAPD Detective Milo Sturgis calls in his friend, child psychologist Alex Delaware (seen last in Silent Partner ). None of the children is hurt, but the shooter, a young woman named Holly Burden, is killed by the bodyguard of one of two politicos visiting the school. While helping the kids overcome the trauma of the shooting, Delaware becomes involved with the edgy, dedicated principal, Linda Overstreet. He also agrees to Holly's father's request to do a "psychological autopsy" to clear his daughter's name. As racist-motivated vandalism at the school accelerates, Milo discovers that a black friend of Holly's was recently killed by police; then one of the politicians is gunned down. Alex's life is threatened as he traces events to a revival of the German American Bund and an unexpected political alliance with roots in an explosion of 20 years earlier, echoed in the fiery resolution here. Kellerman's meticulously constructed thriller, while leaning hard on the anti-Semitic component of its plot, again demonstrates how well the role of sleuth fits that of therapist; Alex, a little lost without former girlfriend Robin, speaks with a a unique, convincing voice.

A sniper, female nonetheless, is killed in a school before she is able to hurt anyone. The dead snipers father asks for Alex Delaware's help, who is already helping the children from the school overcome the trauma. Alex agrees and tries to understand what went wrong in the snipers life. Politics. rivalry ans mystery fill the rest of the plot. Another interesting book by one of my favorite authors.

All hell brakes loose, when during a visit of two politicians, a sniper opens fire in a school. None of the children get hurt, but the sniper, a young woman, is killed by the bodyguard of one of the politicians. Alex Delaware is asked to help the children to overcome the stress and trauma. But when his work is being questioned by the two politicians, Alex and Milo are sure that there is a lot more going on then they originally thought.

As always Kellermans book is well constructed with a lot of action and an exciting plot. Friendship, broken relationships and corrupt politicians play a big part in this book. Fascism and rascism give this book a more dark side, with sometimes horrible descriptions and thoughts. You will really start thinking about these themes when you finished this book.

Well-written, excellent character development, and a twisting, turning plot(s). A great mystery, and another excellent Alex Series' mystery. Loved a new romance. The only drawback(s), albeit a few small aspects, include not tying up the love story enough, and leaving the inventor out there as well. Otherwise, nicely done.

TIME BOMB by Jonathan Kellerman

November 20, 2004

Here's an older Alex Delaware novel originally published in 1990, in which a sniper attacks a schoolyard and Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis are on the case trying to solve the crime. Alex's job is to help out the kids that were exposed to the violence that left the suspected sniper dead, by counseling both the children and their parents.

Meanwhile, the police are stumped as to why a young woman had tried to gun down children at a school, although it was also a coincidence that a local politician, State Assemblyman Samuel Massengil, was scheduled to speak at the school that same day. His political rival, Gordon Latch, also happened to be at the school before the shooting started, and it appears suspicious as to why they were both at the school when only Samuel had been expected to be there.

The mystery soon leads to the young woman's father, who turns out to be an egomaniac. Interviewing the neighbors brings up a young Black American that some say she had been dating, but in any case, had befriended her when she had no other friends. And subsequently, themes such as racism, the KKK and Nazism play central to the mystery of who the sniper was and why she did it.

I've only read a handful of Alex Delaware novels, but I feel this was the most complex of them all. What I like about these books is that although they do have continuity going for them (Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis, as well as some other minor characters, are the constants in these novels), one does not have to read them in order to enjoy them. For those who enjoy a good psychological thriller, TIME BOMB is recommended.

I've enjoyed other Jonathan Kellerman novels, but I thought TIME BOMB was a real dud. This book is probably twice as long as it needs to be, with endless descriptions and ruminations that add nothing to the plot. Put simply, TIME BOMB is one of those novels that could have used a good editor. This might have been a decent novel if it was 150 pages shorter.

Even worse, there's very little genuine suspense; Alex Delaware faces no danger in this story until maybe the last 80 pages of the book. The plot is also too convulted, to the point of straining credulity. The identities and schemes of the book's villains, for example, are downright ridiculous.

In the end, this novel is a slow-paced bore. In particular, the dialogue in TIME BOMB is very poor and stilted -- too many conversations where characters give long, pretentious speeches instead of talking like real people. I also thought that Delaware came across as pompous and arrogant in many of these scenes, too much of a know-it-all for my tastes.

Kellerman's a very decent writer, but his plotting skills are highly uneven. If you've never tried him before, my advice is to read his earlier novels such as WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS, SILENT PARTNER and OVER THE EDGE. Those novels have better structured plots, and are far more enjoyable reads.

From beginning to end I wanted to just keep turning the pages to see what was going to happen. Just enough love interest for Alex. Milo, is of course a great detective and keeps the story moving to the next level. Mr. Kellerman always keep you guessing right to the last page. This was a good one!

Crimes committed by misguided souls is a fertile ground for the psychiatrist turned detective, Dr. Alex Delaware. In this particular story he involves himself with modern day Nazis who have the maturity of six year olds and the criminal mind of Count Dracula combined with racism doomed for failure. That's cliche of modern writers, when they depict the evil and it has become repetetively boring. However, the author uses fascinating English, is quite resourceful with words. The most colorful character is the narcistic father of the girl with the rifle in the schoolyard. Was the father in his self absorption and mad obsessions with technology the cause of the ticking timebomb?

Time Bomb by Jonathan Kellerman was released in 1990. A good novel about a psychologist left to help after a sniper incident at a school. Not as violent as books these days. Fans of Jonathan Kellerman will like this the most.

Interesting could-it-happen? plot. And plenty of Milo, my favorite character, balanced by very little of Robin, my least favorite. Wordy in places because a lot had to be explained so everything made sense.

I have listened to nearly all of Jonathan Kellerman's books and this by far was my least favorite. It was slow, but I also thought it wasn't nearly as well researched as others. I am married to a school administrator in Southern Cal and some of the assumptions the author made were not just a stretch, they just flat out would never happen. In addition I HATE the new voice. He makes Kellerman's writing sound bad! What happened to the other guy? His voice was believable and kind of "disappeared" so it didn't take away from the story or the writing.

Go back to mystery solving and avoid the political stuff. And bring back the old voice!