THE GHOST ORCHID

4 stars out of 5

Sometimes, even psychologists get the blues. This, the 39th book in the series, opens with Dr. Alex Delaware not quite sure how to deal with his longtime friend, Los Angeles Police Detective Milo Sturgis. As they worked together on a previous case, Alex was seriously injured, and Milo feels responsible and has been keeping his distance by not calling Alex in to help with investigations as he usually does. That changes a little bit, though, when he does need help at a crime scene in Bel Air; two victims, a man and a woman, have been shot through the heart, and Milo doesn't yet know who to blame.

The man, part of a family that owns a ritzy Italian shoe company, lives here, and the woman - who's married to someone else - lives in an even more oppulent home just down the street. With the bodies found outside and no signs of anything missing from the house, both Milo and Alex suspect that their presumably illicit affair could be a motive. But the husband, a successful businessman who's on the road far more often than at home, insists he knew nothing about the affair.

Little by little, clues pile up that suggest the dead woman might not be who she's been claiming to be - thus raising the possibility of an entirely different motive and an expanded search for the killer. Ferreting out her background, though, is no easy task - and Milo brings in other trusted department colleagues who are familiar to fans of the series to help. In the midst of the investigation, another body turns up - further complicating matters. A major turning point comes when Alex's longtime main squeeze, guitar restorer Robin, identifies an important clue (one that relates to the book title). To that end, I must say it was a treat to see Robin play a bit greater role than usual in this installment - as well as a little less of the descriptions of every street that Milo and Alex drive down (don't get me wrong - I enjoy that part, but sometimes it gets to be a bit much).

Of course, everything works out in the end, as does a potentially nasty situation with one of Alex's private patients that's a secondary thread throughout the latter part of the book. And oh yes, for those who haven't read other books in the series, don't sweat it; this one stands on its own. As for me, I'll just thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me once again to read and review a pre-release copy. Now bring on the next one!

The Ghost Orchid by Jonathan Kellerman (Ballantine Books, February 2024); 304 pp.