NIGHT MOVES

4 stars out of 5

Tempted as I am to give this one 5 stars just because psychologist and LAPD consultant Dr. Alex Delaware has long been near the top of my 10 all-time favorite "heroes," I have to be honest and say this one isn't my pick of the 33-book litter. Do not think I didn't enjoy it, though - it's just that the pace seemed a little slower and the number of characters maybe half a dozen too many for my aging brain to keep straight through a rather complex plot that jumps from suspect to suspect and back again. Also a bit of a disappointment is that Alex's main squeeze, Robin, is noticeably missing for almost all the action (even their lovable dog, Blanche, gets more page time).

Still, Alex remains at the top of his game, and his pal and professional colleague, LAPD homicide detective Milo Sturgis, remains just as curmudgeonly. The story begins when a mutilated male body turns up in an odd place - the home of a family of four, none of whom claims to have a clue as to who the dead guy might be. Milo catches the case, and almost immediately he calls on Alex for help. Clearly, the man was murdered elsewhere - so why would he end up in the home of people he doesn't know? Complicating the case are an obnoxious husband, an even more obnoxious wife, a teenage son with a king-size attitude problem, a sister who might be described generously as three bricks shy of a chimney and a next-door neighbor with hermit tendencies.

To be sure, there's more to that neighborhood than meets the eye, but nobody's talking (except perhaps that obnoxious husband, who just can't seem to shut up). The trail leads Alex and Milo to a few other oddball characters in nearby parts of the state and back again, with driving time interspersed with enough musings, psychological insights and banter between the old friends to keep things interesting until all the trails begin to merge.

Bottom line? Another solid book - just not exciting enough that I was willing to miss the final round of Olympics ice dancing to finish the final three chapters. It was, however, the first free-time task I tackled the following morning.

Night Moves by Jonathan Kellerman (Ballantine Books, February 2018); 416 pp.