Mystery by Jonathan Kellerman

Mystery by Jonathan Kellerman was one of a stack of paperbacks I bought at a book sale for $1.50 each. I usually overlook popular authors, the kind where the author's name takes up a third of the eye-catching cover, the ones you see at the airport or hospital gift shop. These authors have written many novels, have a following, and the novels are being made into movies; however, they can come off as generic.

Mystery stars Alex Delaware, a clinical psychologist who helps his friend Milo Sturgis with his police cases. One night while at the closing of a historic hotel in LA, Alex and his wife Robin see a woman they think is an enigmatic starlet. The next day, Milo asks for his help in her murder case.

Her name was 'Miss Tiara' Grundy, and she went by the name Mystery. The story reveals her involvement with a website for sugar daddies, the wealthy family of her sugar daddy, his bitter wife, and networks of call girls in LA.

Author Jonathan Kellerman is a clinical psychologist. His wife is the mystery writer Faye Kellerman, and his son is mystery writer Jesse Kellerman. Having his character be a psychologist was a good twist, and a side story involves one of the clients.

It has been said: "Few know the city of LA better than suspense master JK does in his thrilling novels of psychological drama."

This was on a poolside reading level for me. The characters were interesting, but it didn't excite me to read more in the series. All the elements were present, but I've read my Alex Delaware mystery.

2011 / Paperback / 336 pages