Night Moves: An Alex Delaware Novel

What can I say. I read all of his books. This carried on. A non stop story. They we’re screwed up people and that’s the way Alex wants it.

Beckerman weaves another great story. Great dialogue, and a wonderfully twisty plot. Another great Alex Delaware novel. He doesn't disappoint.I

Love Milo and Alex. The plots are great and finding out ‘whodunit’ is always a surprise. Can’t go wrong with this series.

NIGHT MOVES is one of the best of the Alex Delaware novels. Why? Because it draws on all of the core strengths of the characters and returns to the series’ central conceit: LT Sturgis sometimes confronts human realities which require the skills of a child psychologist to penetrate. This is a very ‘human’ story in the sense that some individuals are leading lives on the edge while others are leading lives of quiet desperation. Family tensions are at the breaking point. Communication has been breaking down or been completely lost; individuals have turned into human detritus. Meanwhile the sun is shining in southern California, in ironic contrast with the dark nights of the collected souls.We are in Pacific Palisades. A body has been found in the den/office of an insurance executive. The body’s hands have been sawn off and his face has been obliterated by a shotgun blast. There is little blood; the body has been carried and placed there. Even when the body is eventually identified there is no apparent connection with the family in whose home it has been found. Thus, we are in a posh suburb into which evil has intruded. It is as if we are in a John Cheever story that has been commandeered by Stephen King. The Palisades are not Mayberry. I was at a meeting of the Johnson Society (which overlaps, often, with the Jane Austen Society), having dinner with a couple from the Palisades. They said that nearly everyone there is in therapy but that they receive that therapy from their unlicensed neighbors. In short: unique American gothic. From the Palisades we travel up the coast to Santa Barb and grittier points in between, then to the downscale environs of San Berdoo and the slightly tacky shores of Lake Arrowhead. I know these places and Jonathan Kellerman knows them far better. He knows how to find the dark shadows within the glare.The structure of the novel is very linear. Parker described it as ‘going to see people and asking them questions’. Eventually the answers come together. They are straightforward in one sense and endlessly entangled in another. Alex and Milo find the tangled web woven by some very evil people. The ending is somewhat convoluted but it is not unintelligible. What they discover is the heart of darkness within the California sun and their hope is to salvage as many of the victims as they can. Alex’s psychological skills are on full display, as are Milo’s tenacity and the support of Milo’s larger team (Reed, Binchy, Petra, et al.).The high point of the novel may well be JK’s dialogue. It is not wry like Parker’s or marmoreal like Elmore Leonard’s, but rather the authentic speech of people in trouble, people who hide behind their own anger and confusion, people who are clinging to whatever remnants of the truth and civilization they can grasp that will save them from the abyss. JK has captured it exquisitely. Along with the sense of place and the journeys of lost souls it stands at the center of NIGHT MOVES and it is very, very impressive.Highly recommended.

Even with all his years of experience, LAPD homicide detective Milo Sturgis knows there are crimes his skill and savvy cannot solve alone. That’s when he calls on brilliant psychologist Alex Delaware to read between the lines, where the darkest motives lurk. And if ever the good doctor’s insight is needed, it’s at the scene of a murder as baffling as it is brutal. There’s no spilled blood, no evidence of a struggle, and, thanks to the victim’s missing face and hands, no immediate means of identification. And no telling why the disfigured corpse of a stranger has appeared in an upscale L.A. family’s home. Chet Corvin, his wife, and their two teenage children are certain the John Doe is unknown to them. Despite that, their cooperation seems guarded. And that’s more than Milo and Alex can elicit from the Corvins’ creepy next-door neighbor—a notorious cartoonist with a warped sense of humor and a seriously antisocial attitude. As the investigation ensues, it becomes clear that this well-to-do suburban enclave has its share of curious eyes, suspicious minds, and loose lips. And as Milo tightens the screws on potential persons of interest—and Alex tries to breach the barriers that guard their deepest secrets—a strangling web of corrupted love, cold-blooded greed, and shattered trust is exposed. Though the grass may be greener on these privileged streets, there’s enough dirt below the surface to bury a multitude of sins. Including the deadliest.My Thoughts: The duo of Milo Sturgis and Alex Delaware always keeps me reading, but  Night Moves: An Alex Delaware Novel  is especially captivating, with no shortage of evil and odd characters.What, if anything, connects a teenage girl sneaking around a posh neighborhood at night, and a long-haired teenage boy whose car seems to show up unexpectedly where murderous events are happening? Nothing is quite what we think it will be, as twists and turns take us down strange pathways.How does a very troubling murder scene lead to finding a missing woman from years before? Will the night moves of the teen girl and the young boy connect to someone we least expect? What will eventually bring all the clues together to solve the mysteries?Following the trails of those who seem to be on the sidelines can take us to the true perpetrators. Will their hidden crimes of the past finally lead to solving these recent gruesome crimes?Along the way, we get to watch how Milo and Alex work, and enjoy their banter with other detectives, as well as with some of the witnesses and perpetrators. A 4.5 star read.

As usual Mr. KELLERMAN's novels move along at a very quick pace , twisting along a curvy story & coming back to the beginning. Very , very good read .

Lots of info to digest and speculate on! Great read.

I've read every Kellerman book he's ever written, starting from the first "Alex Delaware novel to this one. I've also read the Butcher's Theatre and others which I 'also enjoyed. But, my favorites are the Delaware novels. Some I' ve liked better than others, but I was never disappointed with any of them. This one, I couldn't put down from beginning to end. I actually gave myself a headache and I didn't care. This is one of those books that you can't wait to see what happens, but you don't want it to end. I think by now, no one has to tell anyone, what a great author he is. His career speaks for itself. But, for anyone who enjoys mystery novels and doesn't know what to read next, I would definitely recommend this one. This is a series, but each book can stand on its own. It's not a continuation, that if you don't start at the first Delaware novel, you won't be able to follow along. But, the relationships between characters grows with subsequent novels and enriches the enjoyment of simply reading. I love the way small pieces of information are revealed, and the fact that he doesn't over explain things. All in all, I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it to anyone who loves great mysteries.

If you're a Jonathan Kellerman fan you kind of know what to expect, and I that's part of the reason why he so well. Fast moving plots, characters that you know and that you need no explanation at this point, and a straight, get to the point mystery that doesn't require a lot of effort to read.Night Moves starts out promising. A man's body turns up in the house of a middle class neighborhood of LA, with the head shot to a bloody pulp and the hands cut off. The family that lives in the house, have no idea who this man could be or why someone leave a body like this in their house. As usual there are lots of suspects to go around, the veneer of the picture perfect happy family begins to crack as Milo and Alex investigate the death and then there is the creepy neighbor next door who makes a point of not being co-operative with the police investigation.The only reason why I didn't give this book a 4 star review, is that the ultimate resolution was unsatisfactory to me. I don't want to how tp say more without giving away the ending.

I usually love reading Mr Kellerman,but for whatever reason I really struggled with this book.It remains well written with all the characters remaining 'well kent faces ' ,as we say in my neck of the woods.But still, it was difficult to to get a foot hold, or hold my attention.Maybe I'm coming down with something, and that's why I was unable to get enthusedI'll still try another.

A reader never makes a mistake by picking up a book by Jonatan Kellerman. The combination of psycholgist Alex Delaware and homicide detective Milo Sturgis promises a thriller than never lets up and won't let you put the book down. Los Angeles is a city of glamour, illusion and many people apparently normal live there wrapped in a style of life envied by many until they are discovered with bloody hands and guilty of murder.The duo Delaware and Sturgis always work perfectly together to uncover the guilty parties even when a body that cannot be identified is found in the living room of the upscale home of a person that is certain - as does his family - that the victim in unknown to them all.