Rex’s reviews of anything (but mostly books)

Caitlin Frostig disappeared off the face of the earth – off the face of metro Los Angeles, anyway – some fifteen months back. In that much time a missing person case goes through the usual stages: hot for a couple of days; then by stages lukewarm, cool, cold, and sub-zero. Moses “Moe” Reed inherited Caitlin’s case from the freezer of a retiring and not-very-interested detective, and had the misfortune to keep it when he transferred into West Hollywood’s homicide division to soak up whatever wisdom Lt. Milo Sturgis could spare. No big deal, except that a private detective has just been handed the same case and – as luck have it – the PI is none other than LAPD Detective (ret.) Aaron Fox… Moe’s (half)-brother.

Maybe you can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your relatives. There’s an inability that’s central to the relationship between the semi-sibs; both of whom would likely prefer a more… distant acquaintance.
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A tiny enclave sandwiched between pricey high-rise condos and pricey beachfront “cottages,” the Bird Marsh rarely drew more than a passing glance from tens of thousands of Angelenos who chugged by in stop-and-go traffic every day. That was about to change; change when the first body was found along one of its narrow trails. Poor, pretty Selena Bass; sightless eyes staring east and her right arm terminated just above the wrist: so much for her career as a concert pianist.

When two more bodies – also sightless, also handless – turn up in the LAPD’s search of the Marsh; homicide’s Milo Sturgis gets a nod from upstairs to lend a hand (groan) to the clueless rookie who’d been on call when the Bass case was reported. And wherever Lieutenant Sturgis goes, Alex Delaware won’t be far behind, you know?

It’s patently obvious to Milo and even to Moses Reed, the rookie detective (happily accepting a chance to play second banana to the great Milo Sturgis) that the butler did it. Well, not exactly the butler; but the caretaker at the vast estate where the late, lovely Selena had been giving piano lessons. He’s got the record, he’s nervous, and he seems to be bald (just like the man glimpsed hanging around Selena by her neighbor a few days before she died). Travis Huck, né Eddie Huckstadter, is headed for the little steel room at Folsom when Milo and Moses get done with him – just as soon as the daring duo figures out where he’s disappeared to.

But the contemplative, perceptive Dr. Delaware isn’t quite certain Huck is the right Mark Twain character. After all, there are at least a few other bald men in LA… Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not particularly flattering to be compared to a comfortable old shoe: you tend to forget all about the desirable aspects of dependability and faithfulness, and concentrate on the smelly bits, don’t you? If that’s the case, then Jonathan Kellerman probably shouldn’t be reading my thoughts about Compulsion, the latest in his long-running Alex Delaware series. If you want the truth, the dependability is still there – but the stinky quotient continues to rise. Let me tell you about it…

What looks to be a “routine” case of a stolen Bentley Arnage takes a strange turn when Delaware buddy Lt. Milo Sturgis’s young protégé discovers what appears to be a blood spot in the elegant saloon’s otherwise spotless interior. Meanwhile, somewhere mile after mile down the LA freeway system, an elderly woman is killed at the hands of an elderly man who drives away in a high-end Mercedes luxury sedan. Ummmm, yeah: so what?

A known murder involving a big and very expensive car, plus a spot of blood in a different big and very expensive car clearly indicates a serial killer in action, right? Well, it does to Child Psychologist Alex Delaware, who is either the most visionary human on earth or the most paranoid… Sure enough, Alex’s hunch bears fruit: a little googling turns up another murder involving a luxury car… and it’s off to the races for the Doc and his buddy the gay homicide dick, complete with a snark-laden visit to New York City (Kellerman writing off a visit to Faye’s folks, perhaps?).

Expect several more bodies and lots of twisty-turnies on the way to this one’s conclusion. You’ll also get a couple of secondary plots; the obligatory cold case and a second involving lusty luthier Robin Castagna, presently in the “on” cycle of her on-and-off relationship with Delaware. Little else is interesting… Read the rest of this entry »