Customer Reviews

Bones (Alex Delaware, No. 23)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I just don't know about the direction this series is taking in the last few books. It used to be that Alex was a child psychologist, and occasionally he'd run across something he needed Milo's help on, or Milo would need Alex's take on a crime so that he (Milo) understood it better. Alex's patients were interesting and his cases were interesting.

Now, Alex might as well be a cop. He goes along with Milo on every interview and every meeting, sits by while he does on-line research, and only seems to go home when Milo is going to type his report. Also, in earlier novels only Alex talked like a psychologist (Witness: "I didn't really get what was going on." Alex: "You had a hard time understanding the situation.") In this book, both Milo and Reed talk that way too. Sometimes I had to go back and really figure out who was speaking as they all sounded like Alex.

This book was OK, but I'd like Alex to go back to his career and leave the cop work to Milo.

Jonathan Kellerman's books have been up and down for me in the last few years. It seems that once Robin left, the storylines left with her.

However, in Bones, Kellerman's newest book, I finally found the "old" Alex. Witty, genuine, interesting. The story of murder of prostitutes and of a music prodigy is the center plot, but for me, what worked best in this novel was the strength of the Alex character (something that had been missing in the last few books) he felt present in this storyline.

Of course, Milo is back and the banter and relationship between these two is always priceless.

The story moves at a rapid pace and was intriguing enough to keep me reading throughout with an ending that was a tad predictable, but nonetheless satisfying.

Finally, Alex is back.

When a body is discovered, via anonymous tip and openly displayed in a marsh near LA, the strangest thing about it is the missing right hand. Shortly thereafter, three other bodies are discovered - also missing hands.

Then a man who goes to auctions for the contents of storage units finds a carved box containing small bones. Polished bones, like a treasure. The bones turn out to be human hands.

Detective Milo Sturgis and his sidekicks, along with Dr. Alex Delaware, the psychologist who frequently consults for the LAPD, all team up to search for what now appears to be a very disturbed killer.

Almost immediately, the first victim's connection to a wealthy family, whose musical prodigy child is a student of hers, leads to the pursuit of the caretaker, who has gone missing. Or is he hiding?

Most of the fun in the story is following the clues as the assorted team of "detectives" pursues the connections and where they lead.

Like most of Kellerman's Alex Delaware stories, this one is told with Alex as the first-person narrator - this technique lends itself to understanding how his clever mind works, as he sorts through the clues and speculates about the possibilities. We also are privy to a bird's eye view of his personal life, including his long term relationship with Robin.

These segues into the lighter moments of Alex's life, including his friendship with Milo Sturgis, help to lighten what could otherwise be a very grim tale.

And not at all surprising is the final revelation as to the motives and nature of the perpetrator/s - after all, the art of misdirection has been at play throughout the circuitous path to resolution.

Bones (Alex Delaware, No. 23) is a must-read for Kellerman fans.

The premise is intriguing, the execution is flat and pedantic. The ending is rushed. The character development is virtually non-existent. The detectives key in on one person way too soon. There aren't any good red herrings. There's no intricacy in the plot. It's basically sophomoric. Alex Delaware is just along for the ride. He says "I don't know" more than I would, and I'm not some hot shot psychologist. The book just isn't any good. Kellerman is riding on his reputation on this one.

Jonathan Kellerman has returned to his roots in this entry in the Delaware series, leaving behind the much-criticized passive-aggressive soap opera revolving around Delaware's relationship with live-in girlfriend Robin.

Thank God! That was boring beyond tears.

We are now back to the essential Alex: a tough crime with psychological overtones; the witty banter with Milo; the quirky and unique "only in LA" characters and suspects; all revealing the weird wonder that is Los Angeles.

I live in LA County and can attest to his skill at portraying how strange this place is, rightfully earning the sobriquet "LaLa Land". Sun-washed weirdness, which Kellerman portrays so well.

A fast-paced, highly entertaining book. If you're a classic Delaware fan, don't miss it!

I hate to admit it: I like to read books about serial killers. The abnormal psychology that drives them provides a new perspective on what every day life is all about. This book begins as such a classic, involving lots of weirdness (hands chopped off, bones kept as souvenirs, bodies facing east, burials of prostitutes in a nature sanctuary, the Bird Marsh) . . . but tails off from there. The book's redeeming feature is that Jonathan Kellerman takes the time to make some of the new characters interesting, complex, and likely to surprise the reader.

Alex Delaware also has a bigger role to play than in several of the recent books in the series, especially in acting like a good guy.

The book's main weakness is that much of the plot hinges on the police having not done enough investigation to find out what all of the related parties look like. That seemed like a big miss. As a result, I was left feeling dissatisfied with the book at the end . . . especially after the motive for murder became clear, despite its strong beginning.

Unless you feel like you need to read every word that Jonathan Kellerman wrote about Alex Delaware, you could skip this book and not miss any important developments in the on-going characters.

As the story is resolved, I thought the explanations were weak, not particularly believable, and unsatisfying.

I always enjoy the stories that feature Milo, though.

i usually normally enjoy jonathan kellerman's books, but this is one is such a rehash and reworking of all of his other novels. nothing new or interesting, the repeated description of the indian restuarant almost drove me out of my skull(and i'm indian!!), the abused protagonist, the drugged out crazy killer, the steely eyed female attorney,yada, yada.....................

When I got my Kindle (finally) Bones was the first book I purchased. I have been a fan of this author and have tried to get to all of them. I did enjoy the book, but it did not have the "snap" of the earlier ones. I think what is missing is the multiple plots that were in previous books. While he is working with Milo, Alex always had other psyc cases going and it was intriguing how he would pick up on nuances in speech and body language to interpret what was really behind answers. In my personal life I became aware of how much can be learned by being really observant in this regard. It is almost absent in this book and it makes the story too much a 1 horse show.

No doubt Kellerman can spin a great yarn. But this one seemed disjointed, with a side-story about biracial brothers at loggerheads that distracted more than it added. Robin seems to have had a lobotomy- since when did she ever support Alex's police forays? I personally liked Allison the therapist as a girlfriend more. Back and forth to a marsh that in reality is a couple of blocks by a couple of blocks in size- just not possible to have been the deserted place described (having lived in LA, I know the area well). Story had a rushed ending that wasn't an ending.