Breakdown

An Alex Delaware Novel

By: Jonathan Kellerman

Narrated by: John Rubinstein

Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Best-selling author Jonathan Kellerman has been universally hailed as the master of psychological suspense, and the blockbuster new thriller featuring Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis confirms his status as today's preeminent practitioner of saber-sharp storytelling.

Psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware meets beautiful and emotionally fragile TV actress Zelda Chase when called upon to evaluate her five-year-old son, Ovid. Years later, Alex is unexpectedly reunited with Zelda when she is involuntarily committed after a bizarre psychotic episode. Shortly after Zelda's release, an already sad situation turns tragic when she is discovered dead on the grounds of a palatial Bel Air estate. Having experienced more than enough of LA's dark side to recognize the scent of evil, Alex turns to his friend, LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis, for help in finding out who ended Zelda's broken life.

At the same time, Alex is caught up in another quest: the search for Zelda's missing son. And when other victims vanish from the same upscale neighborhood, worry turns to terror.

As Alex struggles to piece together the brief rise and steep fall of a gorgeous, talented actress, he and Milo unveil shattered dreams, the corruption of a family, and a grotesque betrayal of innocence. With each devastating revelation and damning clue, Alex's brilliant mind is challenged as never before - and his determination grows to see a killer caged and the truth set free.

©2016 Jonathan Kellerman (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Jonathan Kellerman's psychology skills and dark imagination are a potent literary mix." ( Los Angeles Times)

"Kellerman doesn't just write psychological thrillers - he owns the genre." ( Detroit Free Press)

Nuanced....subtle ... heartening

Different from what I expected. a dark world but as a long as Alex & Milo keep going beyond the call of duty!

Another enjoyable listen!!!

Been reading JK for over 20 years. Not bored yet! Rubinstein is the best!!! JK is marvelous writer!

Loved it

Once I started couldn't stop . Love these characters - always interesting Totally engaging and plausible story

Good read

Great narration story line not as fast paced as others in this series but I still enjoyed it very much

Boring

You're 18 chapters in before anything happens, except with one interesting character. It's about asking people questions they don't have answers to, to try to find a little boy...There's nothing drawn about Robin, etc. as if we should have read the other books first. Read the first couple of Kellerman's books; they're better.

A little long

Not the best Kellerman but will do in a pinch. Ending was great but it seemed to take forever to get there. I had to listen to the first half a second time to make sense of what was happening

Great comeback

I had started to grow a little bored with the Delaware books, feeling they had followed the same mundane pattern. This book re-sparked my interest in the life of Alex Delaware.

Would have been a better short story

This was a ho-hum novel. The same story could have been told in half the time. I was looking forward to revisiting Alex and Milo's world and I was disappointed. I never felt like there was any urgency to looking for, or finding the missing Ovid and that his mother's history and death was treated as the the only mystery that needed to be solved. I was not engaged with any of the characters and even the return of the old-school lawyer was not fun because his personality had also changed along with his health status, one for the better and one for the worse. Just not the usual enjoyable Alex Delaware novel I expect.

Great Audio Book

was very easy to follow with enough suspense to keep the readers interested. the narrator is very good.

Interesting story without gore!

Great read or listen, enjoyed the performance. it was a well crafted plot, good Kellerman.