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True Detectives  By  cover art

True Detectives

By: Jonathan Kellerman
Narrated by: John Rubinstein
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Publisher's summary

In Jonathan Kellerman’s gripping novels, the city of Los Angeles is as much a living, breathing character as the heroes and villains who roam its labyrinthine streets. Sunny on the surface but shadowy beneath, this world of privilege and pleasure has a dark core and a dangerous edge. In True Detectives, Kellerman skillfully brings his renowned gifts for breathless suspense and sharp psychological insight to a tale that resonates on every level and satisfies at every turn.

Bound by blood but divided by troubles as old as Cain and Abel, Moses Reed and Aaron Fox were first introduced in Kellerman’s bestselling Bones. They are sons of the same strong-willed mother, and their respective fathers were cops, partners, and friends. Their turbulent family history has set them at odds, despite their shared calling. Moses—part Boy Scout, part bulldog, man of few words—is a no-frills LAPD detective. Aaron, sharp dresser and smooth operator, is an ex-cop turned high-end private eye. Usually they go their separate ways. But the disappearance of Caitlin Frostig isn’t usual. For Moses, it’s an ice-cold mystery he just can’t outrun, even with the help of psychologist Alex Delaware and detective Milo Sturgis. For Aaron, it’s a billable-hours bonanza from his most lucrative client. Like it or not, Moses and Aaron are in this one together–and the rivalry that rules them won’t let either man quit till the case is cracked.

A straight-arrow, straight-A student from Malibu, Caitlin has only two men in her life: her sullen single father and her wholesome college sweetheart, who even the battling brothers agree seems too downright upright to be true. Reluctantly tag-teaming in a desperate search for fresh leads, Moses and Aaron zero in on Caitlin’s white knight as their primary “person of interest,” hoping that, like most people in L.A., he has a secret side.But they uncover more than just a secret as they descend into the sinister, seamy side of the City of Angels after dark, populated by a Hollywood Babylon cast of the glamorous and the damned: a millionaire movie director turned hatemongering eccentric; a desperate Beverly Hills housewife looking for an exit from the fast lane; a heartthrob actor being eaten alive by personal demons; a hooker who’s probably seen it all . . . and might just know too much. And at the center, a dead young woman whose downward spiral and brutal end loom over Moses and Aaron like an omen of what may come to be if the dark end of the street claims another lost soul.

©2009 Jonathan Kellerman (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

"Jonathan Kellerman's novels are an obsession; once started it is hard to quit." ( Orlando Sentinel)

What listeners say about True Detectives

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Friends don't let friends pick books while drunk

Ugh. Really dumb plot and mediocre writing. He ain't Michael Connelly.

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

I usually find Jonathan Kellerman's books to be riveting, psychologically sophisticated, and overall thoroughly enjoyable. This one is lacking in all areas. The plot is thin, the story drags, and it just feels as if the whole book was thrown together without much fore or afterthought.
In addition, the narrator is completely mismatched for the story. His portrayal of the characters, especially Moses, is very poor, and it further detracted from the already dragging plot.
One wouldn't think that the book was written by the same person who created the Delaware-Sturgis novels.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Alex, Milo - please come back!!!

There aren't many constants in life, but the one thing I always thought I could depend on was a well-crafted, well-narrated novel by Jonathan Kellerman. Even those stories with marginal plots were entertaining because of the fun dialogue Kellerman furnished between Alex Deleware and Milo Sturgis.

But Alex and Milo are here replaced with two brothers, Moses (or "Mo", as he's referred to in the book, which never failed to summon images of the third stooge in my head, and the cartoon bartender from the Simpsons) and his half-brother Aaron. One is a detective, the other a private investigator, and they do not have the cordial relationship Alex and Milo have, nor the witty dialogue, and both are lacking any endearing qualities that might make a reader warm up to them.

I admit I did not finish this book. I made it a quarter way through before deciding it was just to painful to continue. I find it difficult to believe that Kellerman actually wrote this cold, unappealing work. I hope this is the last we ever hear of "Mo" and Aaron. Alex, Milo, Robin - we miss you!

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

A real sleeper

I am addicted to listening to books on my MP3 player. I have even taken a chance on books by authors I have never heard of and have yet to be disappointed, until now. I thought I couldn't lose with a Jonathan Kellerman book but I did, I lost a download credit. It is confusing, over descriptive about things that don't matter and boring.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Warning-buy at your own risk

I also have read all of Kellerman's books as soon as they were released. This one was bad, I am sorry to say. Rambling, circumspect and irrelevant dialogue. The plot was lousy. Delaware's input was trite and equivalent to Psychogy Course 101. Ahab's written confession was impossible. I could go on but I don't want to reveal the plot for those unfortunate ones who buy the book. Jonathan's earlier books are 5-star and if you have not read them, avoid this one and enjoy Alex Delaware, Milo Sturgis, Robin as they are principles in exciting and plausible psychological thrillers.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

So very disappointing.

Usually I really enjoy Kellerman's books, but this one bogs down and it is one of the few audio books I decided not to finish, after listening to about 3 1/2 hours, and I am deleting it from my IPod.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

For J Kellerman fans this is a must!

I have listen to all of J Kellerman books.
This is all time best for me.
I wished a little more for Dr.Delaware and Lou Sturgis. However, the developed of brothers Moises and Erin makes this a must listen.
Bravo! Mr. Kellerman. Can wait for next installment.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

I have read or listened to all of Jonathan Kellerman's books and find this one to be much much below his level in writing. Please bring back Alex and Milo ....

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Decent at best

Jonathan Kellerman has lost something recently. Just have a hard time keeping in tune. Like I said, decent at best.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Poorly written, poorly read

I've read, either in print or via audio, all of the Jonathan Kellerman books. In recent years, I've grown increasingly dissatisfied with the series, but this book really took the cake (if taking the cake means writing a poorly plotted, rambling, and murky book).

John Rubenstein, the narrator, usually does an adequate job, although I much prefer books in the series read by Alexander Adams (aka Grover Gardner). However, in this book, it is nearly impossible to tell which character is speaking. The narrator uses a variation of Milo's "voice" as Aaron (he adds a slight black patois), and he even goes so far as to use the same voice for a seventy-something female interior decorator. Moses, the other main character, is read as though he has a hearing disability. The character certainly is not referenced as having that challenge, but it is wildly distracting and adds nothing to the book (and, I suspect, was not intended by the author).

Save your money or credits for a better book.

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4 people found this helpful