For those familiar with Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware novels, "Rage" is the 19th installment of that series. If you enjoy the team of psychologist Delaware's and his friend LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis's often unorthodox approach to solving criminal mysteries with some surprising and unexpected outcomes, you won't be disappointed with this story.
Eight years earlier, Alex was called upon to evaluate two young boys, barely teenagers, who had kidnapped two-year old Kristal Malley from a mall and murdered her. The two boys were Troy Turner, who seemed an intelligent child psychopath, and Rand Duchay, who appeared to be an easily led and slow-witted accomplice. The boys were sent away to California's troubled youth correctional system without any real understanding of why these children would do such a terrible thing to an innocent two-year-old girl. Troy Turner was, himself, brutally murdered in prison. Rand Duchay, however, survived, and at age 21 was released.
Out of the blue, Alex Delaware gets a phone call from the recently freed Duchay asking to meet and talk, but is murdered before they have they have the chance. Was it simple fate that a child-killer himself met a violent end? Did someone try to get revenge for Rand's horrible crime? Barnett Malley, Kristal's father, is an obvious suspect. A young couple who served as "religious advisors" for the boys, however, also seem to be curiously linked in unexpected ways. Alex and Milo are determined to sort it all out. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and, hence, highly recommend this book.
I've read all the other ones in this series, so will check this one out. I'm happy to hear nothing about the koi and the dog and the mandolin-making in this one!
ReplyDeleteJeanne, I have not read many Alex Delaware novels, so you know much more about the series than I do. In "Rage," however, Alex and Robin are not together and Robin has the dog. That might be why you are safe from the dog, koi, and mandolin-making. In this book, Alex has a different girlfriend who actually becomes slightly entwined in Alex's search for the truth. Robin does call him about the dog. This is brief, however, and seems mainly to serve as a hint that they could possibly re-unite in the future. Most Kellerman fans have probably already read the three following Alex Delaware novels out ("Gone," "Obsession," and "Complusion") and therefore know much more about where this is headed. I will try to catch up when I get a chance and read more of the earlier ones.
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