Bones (Alex Delaware, No. 23)
by Jonathan Kellerman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jonathan KellermanEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-02-24
ISBN: 0345495179
Number of pages: 448
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of Bones (Alex Delaware, No. 23)
Book Review: A few bones to pick with this one
Summary: 2 Stars
The good news is that Jonathan Kellerman's next book is not an Alex Delaware book, which of late has not been where he's been doing his best writing. The bad news is that his current book - the subject of this review, Bones - is a Delaware book. The good news is that while it is not very good, it also isn't as bad as other recent efforts. Either that, or I'm just getting used to his tepid writing.
The main story in Bones begins with the discovery of a dead woman in a swamp that is also a Los Angeles nature preserve. Her body is not the only one found; soon enough, three other corpses turn up. All are women, all have a hand cut off, and except for the latest one, all were prostitutes. The case goes to new detective Moe Reed, but series regular Milo Sturgis gets involved soon enough, and where Milo goes, Alex is sure to follow.
The original dead woman was a piano instructor whose sole student was the son of a very wealthy couple. The caretaker of their estate is immediately put under suspicion, principally because he's a twitchy loner. Vague evidence does point to him, but of course it wouldn't be much of a mystery novel if the case was really that cut-and-dried.
While the story moves along, there are the standard problems that plague the Delaware books. For one thing, there's very little action: the story mainly consists of Alex, Milo or Moe going around interviewing people. The eventual revelation of the culprit involves a plot so needlessly complex that even Kellerman seems a little bit embarrassed by it. Worst of all, Alex continues to be an almost non-character, with none of the depth or personality that he had in early books: his girlfriend Robin contributes little to the story and the vague attempts to give Alex a bit of substance (such as hints of an abusive father) seem tacked on.
I stick with Kellerman because I know he can be a good writer, even though his quality has been quite off over the past several years. I think that if he really wants to continue with Alex as a character, he needs to give him a serious reboot: have a Delaware book be about Alex delving into his own past, rather than insinuating himself into yet another murder investigation. In the meanwhile, I can't really recommend Bones to anyone other than the die hard Kellerman fan; anyone else will be as let down as I was.
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