Bones (Alex Delaware, No. 23)
by Jonathan Kellerman
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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.
Book Review: Why Bother With Delaware At All In "Bones" ?
Summary: 2 Stars
Have never read Kellerman before. On starting "Bones" & not knowing Delaware is a recurring character I was almost immediately struck by the resemblance between the narration by him and an old Philo Vance book from the 1930s I have here someplace.
In the Vance book, the story is told by (and from the observational viewpoint of) a friend of the great detective. The friend obviously had to tag along with Vance on everything Vance did to be able to chronicle his cases, but the friend contributed nothing to the story, the advancement of the plot, or the solution of the crime. His sole purpose in being there was to tell the reader what Vance was doing throughout the entire book.
Unlike Watson or Captain Hastings who at least interacted with "their" primary detective characters, provided comic relief, and occasionally contributed (even inadvertently) to the solution of the mystery, Delaware as of the first 200 pages I've read so far is largely irrelevant to the story in "Bones". He does little beyond tagging along, his personal life with Robin is devoid of interest or relevance, and he offers no earthshaking bits of wisdom or psychological insight to justify his presence.
Until I got curious, looked for reviews, and discovered Delaware is a long-running character I was actually wondering if Kellerman had deliberately set out to write an updated insider "joke" using the old Philo Vance formula.
Reality aside (this is not the way a genuine consulting police psychologist operates), I keep waiting for an interesting premise to develop more...interestingly, and I'm beginning to skip sections of pointless dialogue.
I'm waiting for Delaware to pay for his ticket to ride along.
For Kellerman fans who find familiar characters in an apparently long-running series, it may be enjoyable. As a stand-alone book it's not doing much yet.
Book Review: Not great, not too bad
Summary: 3 Stars
A mysterious caller to Save the Marsh tells the young "volunteer" doing community service at the marshlands that a body is on the premises and doesn't tell anyone right away. After the brother of one teen's friend call the police to report said fact, a body of a young, gifted piano teacher to a wealthy child prodigy is found with her right hand cut off. Soon three more skeletons are found on Save the Marsh property. They are determined to be female. A man attending an auction buys a beautiful box in which are human bones. Intriguing plot, but poor execution.
Kellerman devotes an entire chapter developing the buyer of the box only to have this character to make a cameo appearance later in the novel. The reader is bombarded with the teen volunteer's usage of the F word throughout the story and even devotes a whole chapter to it, wonderful...not! Immediately the investigation focuses upon the hapless, somewhat disabled caretaker of the Vander estate, and I mean focused to the point that Milo Sturgis (is he gay? And why would I care?), Moses Reed, and Delaware almost exclude everyone else. When the skeleton's were identified as long missing female prostitutes, psychologist Alex Delaware should have pointed the two detectives in another direction, though he does investigate a couple of leads himself. No red herrings here, unfortunately for an avid mystery reader. Even the dialogue was confusing. All of the characters sounded the same except Fox and Simone Vander.
The side story of Reed and his bi-racial brother, Aaron Fox, as well as the identity of the prostitutes' killer kept me reading. My introduction to Joseph Kellerman reminded me of James Patterson, good plots, bad dialogue, and the hard deadline forced poor execution of a very promising plot.
Book Review: An improvement
Summary: 4 Stars
Kellerman has long been one of my autobuy authors, someone I bought in hardcover because of how much I enjoyed the books. After the last few in the series, however, it all started feeling like more of the same, with the sparkle I'd loved so much not quite so bright. I switched to buying the paperbacks, because it just wasn't the same investment anymore. This book has me hoping that the downturn of the past few titles has finally swung back around, though.
It's a definite improvement. Characters are more interesting, Alex isn't so morose, the crime itself a tad more intriguing. Sometimes, it feels like Kellerman is playing too much with side characters, like he wonders if they're worth getting their own stories, and while I felt that here, I didn't resent it as much as I have in the past. I buy the Delaware books because I adore Alex and especially Milo. I don't really have the need to explore other possible good guys, because they're usually just not as interesting. He finally seemed to tap into some that might be worth following, however, which for me is enough to give me hope that the books themselves are returning to the exciting reads I remember.
Not one of the best in the series, but stronger than the ones previous to it. I'm still invested, and if it continues like this, will go back to buying hardcover.
Book Review: Bored!
Summary: 1 Stars
I'm an avid reader that is usually willing to give any book a chance, but I had a hard time keeping my eyes open for this one. In fact, it was very difficult to finish. I felt like the dialogue was provocative and foul simply as an attempt to keep me awake (I actually fell asleep more than once reading this book). The cursing didn't add to the characters or to the flow of the story. The descriptions were bland and obsessive. It was like reading a bad play. Simply put, it was a disappointment.
Secondly, I had this nagging feeling that I've read this book before. Then it hit me, "27 Bones" by Nasaw has a similar concept. The writing style is different and the stories aren't close enough to be considered a rip-off, but the similarities in the plot are just enough to distract a reader (especially one that is already struggling to focus on the novel).
All in all, I felt this book could have been much more than it was. It felt rushed for publishing sake. It reminded me of someone writing because they know they have an assignment due, not because they have a story to tell. They ramble, then count the words and repeat until they have enough to turn it in.