A collaboration by the father/son Kellerman team, Crime Scene is the first in a new series featuring Clay Edison, a deputy sheriff with the Coroner's Bureau.

The death of Walter Rennert, retired psychology professor, appears to be the result of an accidental fall down the stairs, but his daughter Tatiana insists that it is murder, that the elderly man was pushed. Although there is no indication of anything more, Clay feels an attraction to Tatiana, and slowly becomes interested in Rennert's backstory and the study of the effect of violent video games on adolescents that went so terribly wrong that left him guilt-ridden.

Well-written and well-plotted--an excellent introduction to a new character and a new series.

Sometimes the division of labor in a collaboration is obvious, but Crime Scene is pretty seamless. Initially, I thought maybe Jonathan Kellerman would write the part of Alex Delaware, his well-known character, and that Jesse Kellerman would write the part of Clay Edison. But no, Alex Delaware gets a mention (with some playful pokes), but does not take a role in this novel, and the writing is smooth and consistent--whole cloth, not patchwork.

Although I've read Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware series for years, this the first book I've read in which father and son collaborate, and I've never read anything by Jesse Kellerman. I need to rectify that situation.

Read in June; blog post scheduled for July 17

NetGalley/Random House/Ballentine

Crime/Suspense. Aug. 1, 2017. Print length: 400 pages.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Crime Scene very much. I've read all of Jonathan Kellerman's books, and this collaboration with his son Jesse introduces a new character, Clay Edison. Clay is a deputy sheriff in the Coroner's Bureau in the Oakland area of California. He is called to a death of an old man named Walter Rennert, a former UC Berkeley professor, who apparently has fallen down the stairs. Clay's job is to determine the cause of death, which he thinks is accidental. His daughter Tatiana disagrees and thinks he's been murdered.

Clay starts digging and finds that Walter was involved in a study that looked at violent video games and their effect on kids. One of Walter's assistants is dead, and a student in the study was convicted of his murder. Clay feels that some of the details don't make sense, so he starts digging into old case files. What he finds leads him on quite a journey through the past, and to a startling conclusion.

As in all of Kellerman's books, the plot is well thought out and interesting and the book is extremely well written. He keeps your attention through the twists and turns of the case, and makes you invested in the outcome. He's clearly done his research and the details are impeccable. The characters are interesting and are all flawed in some way, which makes them more real and more believable. The sense of place is great as well and the descriptions make you feel like you're right there.

I like this new character and really enjoyed this book. I predict it will another bestseller for the Kellerman family, and I highly recommend it.

4 stars

Clay Edison is a deputy sheriff and death investigator who responds to the call at a home. An elderly man named Walter Rennert has apparently fallen down some stairs and lies dead at the foot. Accident, natural causes, murder or ?

Rennert was a retired psychology professor who also carried out studies involving students. When a tragedy ended his career at the university, he retired into near seclusion.

The autopsy shows that he died of a ruptured aorta, but the man’s daughter insists that he was murdered. No she doesn’t have any idea who, how or why. Clay begins to idly look into the matter before he declares it an accidental death and finds some interesting inconsistencies. But far more interesting is the daughter named Tatiana with whom Clay starts a relationship.

Tatiana is a grade A b***ch. She’s mercurial, shallow, inconsistent in her behavior and flighty.

The more Clay digs into the case, the more it seems to have something to do with an older case. The case was the murder of a young Chinese woman by supposedly a young man who was in a study being supervised by Rennert. Connections beget more connections and Clay finds some interesting facts along the way.

This is a very well written and plotted novel. While it is not up to the standard of Jonathan Kellerman’s usual, it is still a good read. I have never read any of Jesse Kellerman’s novel, but I will go to Amazon and check them out. I’m sure that being the son of two very successful writers isn’t easy, although their other son Joe has been quite successful – and I’ve read and enjoyed him. And it includes a cameo by none other than Dr. Alex Delaware himself. The suspense builds slowly and steadily until the murderer is finally revealed. It is a good book and reads quickly.

I want to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine/Ballantine Books for forwarding to me a copy of this fine book to read.

As part of your duties for the coroners job is to determine how a person died naturally or else wise it looks like an accident but the daughter believes it is murder. She believes it is related to a 20 year old murder. The deputy coroner because of his personal interest in the daughter becomes intrigued by the old closed case to see if there is a connection. Soon it becomes one mans obsession for the truth and the truth finally come out. It's messy and resolved but the case still isn't perfect.

Doctor Delaware it is not but is intriguing nonetheless. A lot of pieces have to fall right and they do. The end is satisfying though not perfect.

A wonderful collaboration between authors Jonathan Kellerman and his son Jesse.
Clay Edison of the county Coroner's Bureau is called out to a dead body in a Berkeley home. While seemingly straightforward, the daughter of the dead man insists he was murdered.
What follows is a classic Kellerman novel and it never gets old. And yes, there is a cameo appearance by Dr. you know who.
A thoroughly enjoyable book with no aha out of left field solution in the last few pages but rather a tale for the more intelligent reader.
I hope to see more of Clay Edison.

Another great read from the Kellermans. Interesting storyline and even the appearance by Dr. Delaware. A book I would recommend to all.