Unnatural History: The gripping new Alex Delaware thriller from the international bestselling author

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Milo said, “Not compared with the decedent. Hopefully you can calm things down so I can concentrate on the decedent.” I received a complimentary copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine and Jonathan Kellerman via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for February 7, 2023.

Gearing up my hypnosis voice—soft, rhythmic, and, most important, monotonous—I said, “You’re doing fine . . . ​if you feel like it, slow your breathing . . . ​not a lot, just a bit.”He is also the author of two children's books and numerous nonfiction works, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children and With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, and has been nominated for a Shamus Award. Los Angeles is a city of stark contrast, the palaces of the affluent coexisting uneasily with the hellholes of the mad and the needy. It is that shadow world and the violence it breeds that draw brilliant psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis into an unsettling case of altruism gone wrong. The writing is tight and crisp. The characters are multilayered, vulnerable, and elusive. And the plot is a sinister tale full of twists, turns, deception, mayhem, suspicious personalities, revelations, homelessness, familial dysfunction, mental illness, and murder. The 38th Alex Delaware novel from the No. 1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense, perfect for fans of Michael Connelly and David Baldacci. Milo said, “Not compared with the decedent. Hopefully you can calm things down so I can concentrate on the decedent.”

Kellerman has a deft hand with description, and it's easy to picture the characters and what they're wearing. We also see Milo and Alex's peregrinations around Los Angeles, which provides a good feel for the sprawling city. Jonathan and Faye Kellerman live in California and New Mexico. Their four children include the novelist Jesse Kellerman.In this narrative, Alex is asked by Milo to consult on the case of murder victim, Donny/Adonis Klement — photographer and son of megabillionaire who married 6 times and had an “only child” with each wife (two children have now met early demises as did a couple of wives, including Donny’s, plus Pregnant Wife #6 is younger than all her step children). Alex and Milo zero in on the messy family as well as Donny’s “The Wishers Project” that brought strangers into Donny’s home. He would dress up homeless people “like full-sized marionettes” and coax them to talk about their fantasies. He has a portfolio of 8 befores and afters, all immediately suspects. In this 38th book in the 'Alex Delaware' series, the psychologist helps LAPD detective Milo Sturgis investigate the murder of a photographer. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a plus. IN 1975, Jonathan was asked by the hospital to conduct research into the psychological effects of extreme isolation (plastic bubble units) on children with cancer, and to coordinate care for these kids and their families. The success of that venture led to the establishment, in 1977 of the Psychosocial Program, Division of Oncology, the first comprehensive approach to the emotional aspects of pediatric cancer anywhere in the world. Jonathan was asked to be founding director and, along with his team, published extensively in the area of behavioral medicine. Decades later, the program, under the tutelage of one of Jonathan's former students, continues to break ground.