Adam Colclough lives and works in the West Midlands, he writes regularly for a number of websites, one day he will get round to writing a book for someone else to review.
On a deserted road in the early hours a removal truck hits a man, this is no ordinary RTA, the victim is naked and suffering from a major blow to the head. The body of a woman also naked is found in a house further up the valley. Identifying the two victims and what connects them, provides a more than usually complicated case for detective Milo Sturgis and psychologist Alex Delaware.
The Alex Delaware series is a staple of the modern crime genre. After nearly four decades it remains as fresh as ever, something ably demonstrated by this latest instalment.
As ever Kellerman digs deep under the bright surface of the sunshine state to find dark and alarming things. Here he twists together strands including sex, money, and a very Californian belief in self reinvention with devastating effect. He also provides a portrait of murderous narcissism that is truly horrifying.
His characters are well drawn and, their motives a convincing mixture of self-interest and lack of awareness of the likely consequences of their actions. All teased out by the remarkable mind of Alex Delaware, a centre of calm common sense in a wildly spinning world.
Jonathan Kellerman has delivered a book that will delight his existing fans with its familiar mix of detection and psychological insight. Like its predecessors it is also good enough in its own right to convert to fandom anyone coming to his work for the first time.
