Gone (Alex Delaware, No. 20)

Another Delaware, ho hum. Fot those that like this sort of thing they'll like this sort of thing. It's better than a wet Thursday in Ballybunion in February - or at least it'll pass the day.

Really bad, couldn't get past the first five chapters. Slow, irrelevant intro failed to grab me. I didn't even get to the girl character's murder (as promised on the book jacket.) DNF.

Several murders are committed over a several years. All are related to an acting school in LA. The culperate is a family leader who is manipulating some of the family members to rape and kill the people because they remind him of his mother and father.

Dylan Meserve and Michaela Brand, young lovers and fellow acting students, vanish on the way home from a rehearsal. Three days later, the two of them are found in the remote mountains of Malibu. They were carjacked at gunpoint by a masked assailant and subjected to a horrific regimen of

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confinement, starvation, and assault. Before long, the abduction is exposed as a hoax and the aspiring actors are exposed as criminals themselves. Michaela is examined by Alex Delaware, the case is closed, but reopened when Michaela is found savagely murdered. Dylan has disappeared and Delaware and Sturgis start their search.

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Mildly interesting, twisted story of a seriously dysfunctional family. I think it gets to the point that it is impossible to invent worse horror. We are told that Alex is really spooked, but I do not feel it. The bomb shelter was not described in enough detail to gross me out. Actually, the best

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action scene was the sub-plot where Alex blows out the knees of a deranged psychologist.

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The first half drags ridiculously. I'm not going to encourage him by buying any more of these books.

I found this to be a disappointing story. It is slow and plods along. I've read better Kellerman books.

This novel opens with a young, naked girl running out of a forest in front of an old farmer's truck claiming she was kidnapped. When it turns out to be a hoax perpetrated by two wanna be actors/actresses, Alex is asked to evaluate Michaela to see if she is mentally stable. Shortly after meeting

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with her, he is told the case has been settled. Shortly after that, it all come to an ugly head when she is found murdered and left in a vacant lot. Milo is on the case and immediately calls Alex. The two fo them take on the case. Alex is a psychologist, but he is more like a detective the way he works with Milo to solve this case. One question leads to another and another. One suspect leads to another and another. Lots of suspects, more victims, missing persons, questionable property owners and a helpful neighbour all populate this story. Once again Milo plays the big yet unassuming detective that people talk to and Alex plays his role as sidekick and shrink to the tee. This is not a novel full of action, it is a slow, dramatic story that relies a lot on dialogue between Alex, Milo and those they are interviewing. It was not the best Alex Delaware novel I have read, but it was still enjoyable.

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Typical Kellerman. Never fails to entertain.

Enough murders, too many suspects, twists and turns to keep you up all night--reading. What has Dr. Delaware got himself into? One of Jonathan Kellerman's best.

Gone is a story about a seriously deranged and pathetic family. It is horrible to learn about the mentally ill who turn on helpless dreamers. The characters all seem real. The settings are real. Everything takes place in the Los Angeles area which makes it more upsetting for a person who lives in

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Los Angeles. Four stars were given to this book in this review. As always, a very well researched book and story.

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