Another great book by Jonathan Kellerman. It kept me guessing until the end. Many books I can predict the killer, but not this one. I can't wait for the next book in the series

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advance copy of City of the Dead, the thirty seventh novel to feature psychologist Dr Alex Delaware, who consults on LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis’s cases.

A removal van knocks down and kills a young male in the posh area of Westwood. A neighbour points them in the direction of a house he suspects is a brothel where they find a woman stabbed to death. Not knowing what to make of it Milo calls Alex and then it gets more complicated when Alex recognises the female victim.

I thoroughly enjoyed City of the Dead and didn’t put it down from start to finish. I found it absorbing in its plotting and the dialogue made me smile from time to time, although some of the LA positivity can be a bit wearing for us in the rest of the world.

I liked the plot, which has loads of twists and turns that drew me in and then I just wanted to know more. As most investigations do it starts with victimology. This starts easy with the female victim as her identity is known, but her life is not so easy to understand. The male victim is an imponderable with no identification and no hits on his fingerprints. Once they get going with it they have to find a motive and a perpetrator and this leads to more murder. This might sound confusing but it’s not, it’s simply complex and compulsive. The answer when it comes is totally different, clever and unforeseeable. The plotting isn’t perfect as some questions are not answered, some threads are dropped in favour of new lines of enquiry and there are some tools in the detectives’ toolbox unused (to my frustration) but on the whole it is a great read.

I like the dynamic between Alex and Milo. By now they are old friends, able to laugh at each other and follow the other’s train of thought. It makes for smart investigation and I enjoy their theorising.

City of the Dead is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Delaware and Sturgess return for another investigation and this one doesn't disappoint.
The relationship between them is a strong as ever and their investigation skills are on point as per usual.
A naked male body is hit by a moving van , but all is not as it first appears, a female body is found in a near by house and a murder investigation begins.
Kellerman writes his books in such a way that you are hooked after the first chapter , the writing is descriptive yet you feel that you are meeting old friends when you pick up a Delaware and Sturgess thriller .
The story is expertly plotted and the conclusion was certainly one I hadn’t seen coming.
Kellerman has done it again and I eagerly await the next book in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK.

This is the 37th book written about Alex Delaware, a psychologist, who often works in an advisory capacity with his friend police Lieutenant Milo Sturgis. In this one, a naked male is hit by a vehicle. A trail of blood leads to another body. Whilst this is the latest in the long line of books in this series, it’s still a stand-alone read.

As always with this author, it’s well written, descriptive and nicely paced. The relationship between the two men is good, and there is a definite chemistry, work wise, between the two. I like that there is such realism in the police enquiries, most leads come to dead ends, but they all keep plugging away til they avenge the victims. That’s how real policing works. I also liked that I didn’t guess the ending. Well worth a read, but I’m glad I’d read previous books.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Alex Delaware back for the 37th time, is called in to help investigate the curious death of a young unidentified man hit by a removals lorry on the LA freeway. His death is linked to that of a woman whose path has crossed with Alex on a custody case. There are more deaths of course and new police characters. I did miss the emphasis on the banter between Alex and Milo and there could have been more descriptions of what they eat, we know Milo loves his food!

After a bizarre traffic accident - where a naked man fell under a removals truck - occurs, Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis are puzzled. The man's injuries seem inconsistent, and when paired with another strange scene of a woman suspected to be running a brothel nearby, it adds up to a very odd situation. Are the scenes linked, and could there be more sinister forces at play?

This is apparently the 37th book in the Alex Delaware series, but can be read as a standalone - as I did. The plot was fairly plodding, and I didn't really have much of a connection with the characters. This could just be because I had never encountered them before, but I didn't really feel a connection with any of them!

This is a solid 3* book for me.

City of the Dead is,quite incredibly,the 37th book in Jonathan Kellerman's massively successful Alex Delaware series.

The book begins with what at first appears to be rather bizarre traffic accident when a naked man is hit by a removal van in the early hours of the morning in an upmarket area of Los Angeles. While investigating the death and trying to find how the man got to be in the road another body,a female, is found in a nearby house. LAPD Homicide Detective Milo Sturgis investigates and calls in psychologist Alex Delaware to help. Are the deceased linked and is the woman's death connected to the circumstances of hers and Delaware's paths crossing years earlier.?

Typically of this series there is a fairly complicated plot to keep the reader guessing. From the initial case spreads a spider's web of possibly linked other cases and Delaware's "day job" plays as big a part in the story as the help he gives the police. As ever Kellerman's characterisation is spot on with well-drawn characters brought to life as well as the Delaware series regulars.

Delaware fans will love this. It can be read as a standalone and you'll enjoy it just as much if this is the first book in the series that you've read, it won't be the last.

Following the deaths of a man and a woman in an upscale neighbourhood Milo Sturgis and Alex Delaware reunite for the 37th instalment in this series. This is one of my favourite crime series and apart from one or two disappointments the novels have all been a gripping mixture of police procedural and psychological insights from Alex. I love the relationship and the conversations between Alex and Milo, I love the setting, the characterisations and the psychological aspect of the investigations. City of the Dead is up there with the best in the series and I was gripped by the twisty storyline over 24 hours. If you've never read an Alex Delaware novel I'd start at the beginning as you have 37 treats in store for you! Equally this can be read as a standalone. Highly recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.