COYOTE HILLS

5 stars out of 5

If you're looking for a good mystery series, this father-son team has come up with one I've thoroughly enjoyed (this is the sixth installment). And IMHO, it's the best of the lot so far. For those who don't want to start at the beginning (always my recommendation with any series), this book easily stands on its own.

Private-eye friend Regina Klein calls Clay Edison, a former coroner turned private investigator, to ask for help with a case. Adam Valois, who earlier went missing, has turned up dead in a park in Coyote Hills, California. Apparently, he hit his head and drowned, but especially since he had drugs in his system, the question of accident or murder comes into play. 

Adam's wealthy parents are sure it's not an accident, so Clay goes to work - in between spending time with his wife, Amy, and kids Charlotte and Myles (it was not lost on me that Clay's children have the same names as two of my four grandkitties, not that it matters much on the book review side of things). Digging around turns suspicion on Adam's former girlfriend, Olivia, as well as a sketchy childhood friend, Trevor Vogel, who's a known druggie. But then Clay recalls an old case of his in which the victim died in a similar manner and, more importantly, with the same drug combination in his system at the time of his death. Followed by another, and another. Coincidence? Possibly, but Clay isn't so sure.

The rest of the book follows the investigation, and I while it gets a bit convaluted in spots, the generous heaping of humor sprinkled throughout more than makes up for it (hint: Regina is positively a hoot). Bottom line? Easy to read, easy to love and I'm ready for the next one. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to get in on the action once again by way of a pre-release copy.

Coyote Hills by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman (Ballantine Books, October 2025); 352 pp.

THE LOST COAST

4 stars out of 5

By now, I'm well acquainted with coroner-turned-private-eye Clay Edison - this is the fifth book in the series and I haven't missed a single one. I'd have to say the subject matter of this one isn't something I'm personally very interested in, but the story held my interest just fine. Better yet, Clay meets up with a P.I. "buddy" who turns out to be a hoot.

An old friend calls to say a friend of his is serving as executor for the estate of a recently deceased elderly lady, but "things" just aren't adding up; for one thing, payments have been made for many, many years to an entity known only by an acronym - but what it stands for and what the payments signify have proved elusive. Clay agrees, albeit reluctantly, to look into it - and learns the deceased woman owned a home in a remote area of California with initials similar to those of the payment destination. Could it be one and the same? If it is, trouble could be brewing; after a little digging, Clay finds that several disgruntled property owners have taken their gripes against the remote property owners to court.

Early on, it becomes clear to Clay that he needs to visit the property to see what's going on; turns out it's far more remote than he ever could have imagined. It's also clear that what few residents actually do live there are less than hospitable; in fact, he may well have a target on his back. To get to the truth, Clay must put his best sleuthing skills to the test, his weapons at the ready and his eyes on his newfound enemies. The rest of the story follows the investigation through to the bitter end, with plenty of action and a few surprises along the who-can-you-trust scale. All told, it was both an enjoyable and satisfying adventure for which I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

The Lost Coast by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman (Ballantine Books, August 2024); 368 pp.

THE BURNING

4 stars out of 5

Deputy Coroner Clay Edison has led a complicated life, but now that he's married to psychologist Amy and has a young daughter Charlotte, it seems more settled. Then, a nearby California wildfire kicks in, casting a literal cloud on his life and knocking out electric power. Charlotte and Amy have retreated to a still-lit, less smoky part of the state until everything blows over, but she and Clay stay in touch by phone.

His relationship with his ex-felon brother, Luke, remains unstable; once close buddies, they've become for the most part estranged as Luke exited jail and tries to get his life back together. Still, Clay cares about him; and when he's called to a murder scene in an affluent neighborhood and discovers more than a dead body - clues that Luke may somehow have been involved - he tries to track him down. That's not easy, though, because Luke seems to have gone missing; even his hippy dippy wife, with whom he lives off the grid, has no idea why he left or where he's been for several days.

Clay's off-the-record investigation leads to even more suspicions that Luke may have been involved, forcing him - to his way of thinking - to do some cover-up work that threatens his own future. While I concede that blood can be thicker than water, I admit to losing a fair amount of respect for Clay - whom I've come to like as a leading man over the first three books in the series - because of his actions here. That's especially because - to MY way of thinking - everything that came to light in the end would have been discovered by the police had they been allowed unfettered access to all the evidence from the git-go.

But the chase is exciting and dangerous, and it held my attention so well that I polished it off in a single day by pushing back my bedtime by half an hour or so. And while in the end everything isn't coming up roses and a few ends are left untied, all that means to me is that there's plenty of fodder for the next book. I'm already up for it (or these days, should I say I'm down?) As for this one, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy. 

The Burning by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman (Ballantine Books, September 2021); 304 pp.

HALF MOON BAY

4 stars out of 5

This is the third in the series featuring deputy coroner Clay Edison, and having read the previous two, I must say I think this is my favorite so far. Clay is not only competent at his job, but totally likable - as is his psychologist wife, Amy; together, they try to navigate job responsibilities around their infant daughter Charlotte, who isn't fond of sleeping - with Clay working the night shift.

At the beginning, Clay is called to a scene right out of the 1960s. On the Berkeley campus is a park that's mostly occupied by the homeless, but now plans call for renovating the property (read: get rid of the homeless) and erecting a building. In that process - which is loudly protested by the locals - one of the workers unearths small human bones. Clay and his partner, Kat Davenport, determine that it's part of a child's skeleton, raising the obvious question of identity as well as from whence, and when, the body was dumped at the site.

As the investigation begins, Clay gets another call, this time from a businessman who suspects the body might be a sister he never saw but always suspected went missing half a century ago. As the evidence builds up and more is learned about the skeleton, the story necessarily splits in two directions - with Clay investigating both (one officially and the other on his own time). While that adds interest and keeps the story moving along, it also makes for a boatload of characters to keep straight (and made me wonder how Clay, who is sleep-deprived as it is, could spare all those additional, and unpaid, hours). Along the way, he manages to get on the bad side of some very nasty people - not the least of whom are the folks protesting the razing of the park.

In the end, I found this to be a very enjoyable book that held my attention throughout (not that I expected anything less by anyone from the Kellerman clan). Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy. Look forward to the next in this series!

Half Moon Bay by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman (Ballantine Books, July 2020); 368 pp.

A MEASURE OF DARKNESS

4 stars out of 5

After I finished the debut book in this series, Crime Scene, last year, I knew I'd keep going. And sure enough - thanks to an advance review copy from the publisher - I got my chance at the follow-up. It is, I believe, better than the first, thus signaling that the father-son author combo may have found its groove. What it lacks in down-and-dirty action is more than compensated for by interesting, likable characters, a good story and expertly turned phrases.

At its heart, though, it's a fairly basic police procedural; the main character, Clay Edison, is a deputy in the Coroner's Bureau. He's got Amy, his live-in love, a wayward just-out-of-jail brother with whom he has a love-hate relationship and, at the start of this one, some dead bodies that went bump in the night.

But one of those bodies is not like the others; she was found elsewhere on the property, was strangled rather than shot and her identity can't be determined. Intrigued, Clay sets out to rectify that latter point, and once accomplished, begins to work on the whodunit and why. That trail leads to the victim's childhood school - a private one that touts total freedom for the students (think Montessori on speed). As all this is unraveling, Clay continues to work on the case of the other victims, one of whom has an identity crisis of his (or her) own. In the middle of it all, here comes his brother Luke - with a rather brash fiance in tow - claiming to be a changed man and offering Clay an investment deal guaranteed to earn a pot of money.

Beyond that, the whole thing is a fairly straightforward look at how all of Clay's professional and personal scenarios are resolved (including his relationship with Amy). Although I'd personally like fewer characters to keep straight, most things get sorted out by the end (leaving, perhaps, one or two little issues unresolved, presumably to be continued in the next adventure. For sure I'll be watching for it!

A Measure of Darkness by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman (Ballantine Books, July 2018); 352 pp.

CRIME SCENE

4 stars out of 5

If the name Kellerman is on it, it's a pretty sure bet I'll like it. Over many years, I've devoured just about every book by Jonathan, his wife Faye, and their son Jesse. I've also learned, though, that collaborations don't always live up to their hype, and sometimes the first book in a series falls flat. But neither am I one to look a gift horse in the mouth: Pass up an opportunity to read an advance copy of anything written by favorite authors in exchange for an honest review? Just ain't gonna happen.

And honestly? I enjoyed it thoroughly. Perhaps most importantly, I really love the new character, Clay Edison, a deputy in the Coroner's Bureau (a bit of a twist on the standard-issue police detective). He comes with a few flaws - his brother is in jail, a serious knee injury put the kibosh on a possible superstar career in basketball, and he's got a shaky relationship with his parents. There's also no main squeeze, thus paving the way for him to be at the mercy of any gorgeous female character he meets. On the other side, while his degree in psychology doesn't put him anywhere near the big leagues, it does give him a leg up when it comes to reading people, whether they be co-workers (like his hypochondriac partner Zaragoza), victims or perpetrators.

As this one begins, reclusive former psychology professor Walter Rennert  is found dead by his daughter Tatiana (cue in that gorgeous female character). It appears that daddy simply fell down the stairs, but Tatiana insists her father was murdered. She continues to believe that even after the evidence reveals that his history of drinking and a bad heart are to blame. Clay, of course, is intrigued with Tatiana and agrees to take a closer look, to the dismay of his superiors who want the case closed.

As he digs deeper, he learns that Rennert resigned in disgrace when a coed was murdered by a mentally unstable participant in one of the professor's experiments. A few other clues throw more suspicion on the circumstances surrounding Rennert's death; and the deeper Clay digs, the more he wants to know about that experiment and precisely what went wrong. That, in turn, means Clay must call on one of Kellerman Senior's best-known characters, Dr. Alex Delaware, for help. The psychologist and LAPD consultant, it seems, had offered expert testimony at the trial of the young man who confessed to the coed's murder, who has since been released from jail. 

As an aside, Dr. Delaware has long been on my Top 10 list of favorite male characters, so I was happy to see him show up here. But I must say I thought he came across a bit snarky during his meeting with Clay, even allowing for the constraints of doctor-patient privilege. Then again, maybe it was just me; as I was reading that part, I realized I'd been so engrossed that I'd kept reading more than an hour past my usual dinnertime. 

In the end, as I said at the beginning, this is a very well written book with interesting, well-developed characters (especially Clay). Already, I'm looking forward to his next appearance.

Crime Scene by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman (Ballantine Books, August 2017); 400 pp.

THE GOLEM OF HOLLYWOOD

4 stars out of 5

This is a book I've had access to since shortly after it was released, but I kept moving it down a notch or two on my to-read list for several reasons. First, it exceeds 500 pages, and anything much over 400 - unless perhaps it's by Stephen King - is daunting enough that I tend to think twice before opening. Second, I'm a huge fan of the writings of Jonathan Kellerman and his wife, Faye; their son Jesse, not so much. And last but hardly least, the reviews for the most part are bloody awful (at the time of this writing, the average from 485 customers was a pitiful 2-1/2 stars).


Still, every time I saw the title lurking on my Kindle I said to myself, "self, one of these days, you really should give it a go." That day finally came a few days before Christmas, when - quite honestly - I wanted to start a book, but not one that was too engrossing to put down when all the greeting, cooking and gift-wrapping tasks of the holidays called my name. 

Well, guess what? At first blush - and half a dozen nonstop chapters later - I decided that maybe, just maybe, those naysayers got it wrong (love when that happens). As I approached the halfway point - now cursing the fact that holiday demands forced me to stop reading when I don't want to - I had reached the "What were they thinking" mindset when I recalled all those nasty reviews.

That said, I get the objections. This is nothing like the usual Kellerman fare (none of the three), even though it involves a Los Angeles detective who is the son of a rabbi. He's working a case, yes, but it quickly evolves into a thriller mixed with Jewish history and a heap of the supernatural. The chapters switch from the present and the detective's investigation to the land of Cain and Abel. While some have called that difficult, I didn't mind a bit. In the first place, it's easy to tell the "old" characters and settings from the new; in the latter, the present-day chapters are numbered while the former are names of people and places.

Moving in and out this way also is necessary for the progression of the story - and the resolution of everything as the ending nears. It's also important to understand the meaning of the title (yes, I looked it up before I started the book; I'd heard the term before, but I had no idea what it meant). A golem, according to several sources including the dictionary, comes from Jewish legend/Hebrew folklore and describes a clay figure that's endowed with life. Golems began as servants but later came to be thought of as protectors of the Jews in times of persecution.

One such legend is of the Golem of Prague, a creature fashioned in the 1500s by a rabbi who wanted to protect his congregation. The figure has lain dormant in an old synagogue since then - until now. And when Detective Jacob Lev begins his investigation of an unidentified head found in a remote house with the Hebrew word for justice burned into the kitchen counter, he sets off on the adventure of a lifetime - a lifetime that connects with his own in both satisfying and frightening ways.

Because of the mythical aspect, I certainly understand that this book won't be everyone's cup of tea. But now that I've finished it, I totally agree with Stephen King's assessment that it is a "rare collaboration where the sum is truly greater than the parts." I also agree with one reviewer who simply deemed it "weird." It's definitely out of the ordinary - but also, IMHO, well worth reading.

The Golem of Hollywood by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman (Putnam Adult, September 2014); 552 pp.