I was very surprised by this book. I love the characters of Dr. Delaware and Spurgis in Kellerman's other books. This character, Clay Edison, is nothing like those.

After three chapters, (my must read this far before giving up) I was ready to stop reading. Those chapters detailed a crime scene and contain many characters to keep track of. Since I am usually a fan of Kellerman's work, I kept reading, hoping it would get better. It did not.

After reading 3/4 of the way through, I was determined to finish the book. It even got worse. Nothing was very engaging. Now all I wanted was to know who "done it". I am making a note to not pick up another Kellerman book with Clay Edison as the main character.

A Measure of Darkness by the Kellermans kept me entertained reading about Deputy Coroner Clay Edison's sleuthing skills. Jonathan Kellerman has always been a favorite mystery author and Jesse is becoming one, too. The plot intensifies as the book progresses and twists and turns lead to a satisfied ending.

This is book 2 of the Clay Edison Series. Clay is busy, he just cleared a decades old murder, and got a suspension for it. He and his fellow coroners are busy with an argument that turns to shots fired. But when the smoke clears and one murder doesn't match, he must find the true killer.

When Deputy Coroner Clay Edison gets the late night call, he didn't expect what he found. A huge block party had erupted into violence. Opposing groups had opened fire and a panicked stampede had occurred. There was a vehicle death on top of the gun deaths. There was a six year old boy killed when a stray bullet came through the walls of the apartment he and his mother shared.
All of this was bad and everyone turned out. Clay was the last to leave and so he got the last body found. It was found hours after the initial call and was the body of a young woman hidden in a shed at the back of the large property. She didn't seem to have a gunshot wound; instead there was blunt force trauma and strangulation. She was the victim of a murderous attack, probably by someone she knew.

Clay's job is to identify all the victims he is assigned, notify their next of kin and make sure all of the paperwork that accompanies a sudden death is correctly filled out and filed. His job is not to investigate crimes but his curious nature and tenacity leaves him unable to leave things unexplained. It takes weeks to identify the woman in the shed and when he does, he and a policewoman uncover credit card fraud of a massive nature the woman had been involved in. Did this cause her death or did the answers lie even further back in her background?

Readers will enjoy this father/son team of authors who combine talents to bring another Californian professional to life. Clay is a former basketball star who lost his chance at a professional career when his knee was hurt. He has fallen into the coroner's office by happenstance but enjoys the work and the occasional mystery he encounters. He is dealing with the return of his black sheep brother into his family and with the intensifying of his relationship with his girlfriend. All of this makes Clay as interesting as the mystery he solves. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Clay Edison #2


I enjoyed this second in the Series by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman more than the first installment, CRIME SCENE. I think that protagonist Clay Edison seemed more endearing and well-rounded here, and I'm anticipating Book 3, HALF MOON BAY.


Clay Edison is a Coroner's investigator in Alameda County, California, returned to work after a temporary suspension in CRIME SCENE. Clay is notable for his massive integrity and pursuit of justice tempered with mercy. It seems a villain has not a chance when Clay Edison sets his sights on uncovering truth and justice.

Although I read this book ages ago, I never submitted a review. The entire Kellerman family is amazing!!! I have read all of the books they have written. I especially like the book written by father and son. This book was no exception and was fantastic. I have recommended this book to many others. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

A fun read! I love this father/son duo and will read everything they put out! Police procedural, likeable characters, and a satisfying ending!

I expected to read something like the Delaware books so I was disappointed at first. Once I got past my expectations, I started to like the book.
The characters are fully developed and are likeable (for the most part). I think there were too many minor characters. It was hard to remember them all, and the story didn't need them.
The story starts with Clay Edison going to a crime scene. There was a shooting at a big party and as a part of the coroner's office, Clay was there to investigate. He takes a special interest in two of the victims and sets off to identify them so he can notify their families and solve a murder.
In my opinion this could have been a shorter book. Everything was described in great detail, which is great for a visual image but I felt it detracted from the story.

I have been a fan of Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware series for many years. I can appreciate his efforts in helping his son, Jesse, with his writing. The authors did a good job of developing the characters and creating the various relationships throughout the book.

This was an okay book that had moments of intrigue, but it was a rather disjointed read for me. I doubt I will read any more books in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Johnathan and Jesse Kellerman not only write great stories and characters but let readers into the psyche of humans.

I love Jonathon Kellerman. I have read multiple books by him in the past. So, when I saw this on NetGalley I knew I had to try to get this book. I did enjoy this book but I found myself having a hard time focusing or being engrossed in the characters. It was a decent read if you are into these kinds of books. It just felt like there was something missing. Maybe it’s because I haven’t read the first book in the series. I’m going to give this book 3 stars. I will be reading the first book in this series so maybe my opinion will change. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review this.

A Measure of Darkness opens with signs of gentrification of a neighborhood and touches on gender identity, very progressive education, etc. but it is at its heart a detective mystery. Clay, the main "barnacle" of a detective assigned to the coroner's office is called in to what had been a party gone violent. He can't help but step beyond his area as he digs far and wide following the tiny clues that touch on the multiple deaths. His persistence sometimes draws the anger of his superiors and colleagues, but he finds someone that he can work with and together they trace the evidence to an unlikely set of killers. Set in Northern California, A Measure of Darkness is an engrossing read!

A measure of Darkness was an interesting mystery novel. Great humanly flawed characters, and an easy flow. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the e-book for my review. All opinions are my own.

I was so excited to see that there was a second Clay Edison book. I grew up in the Bay Area and for whatever reason, reading about the places, and knowing where they are at, makes me enjoy the book more.

In this installment, Clay Edison (he works for the Coroner's office for Alameda County) gets called to a scene where multiple people have died during a huge house party/rave. Two were shot, one was ran over, and another was found strangled in a shed in the backyard. With his meddlesome ways, he ensconces himself into the middle of the investigation though he has little to no jurisdiction.

If you enjoy twists and turns, this is a book for you, if you're looking for suspense (which according to many reviews, some people were) then this is NOT the book for you. It's clearly written by two people and while the plot didn't interest me too much, the moments of just utter "I can so relate to him, kept me turning the pages and looking forward to book #3

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2342783899

Clay Edison is a deputy coroner whose last case earned him a suspension. But things are going great with his girlfriend and he’s back at work. Then that middle of the night call comes. There’s been a shooting in an East Bay neighborhood and there are multiple victims, including a Jane Doe. Clay decides to take on identifying Jane, which will turn out to be quite a project. While this is going on, his brother is released from prison and shows up for Thanksgiving with a big surprise.

I think this series is a great collaboration from the Kellermans. In the beginning I wasn’t quite sure what to think about Clay but he quickly grew on me. I loved how the story was not limited to the investigation but brought in the challenges of Clay’s personal life as well. My favorite character though, may well be Clay’s girlfriend. She is so supportive but at the same time has a way of keeping him rooted in reality. I like that this story has a real life feel to it. That being said, the story is full of twists and mysteries and action enough to satisfy any mystery lover. The fact that this story is set in California is just a bonus for me. Definitely check this series out.

Short Take: Interesting, but not exciting.

I’ve seen a lot of memes that end in “...there are two kinds of people”, and I have found a new one to add: People who like mysteries, and people who like thrillers. There’s a TON of overlap in the genres, of course. They’ve practically become synonymous over the years, to the point that “Mystery/Thriller” is one category, and many readers don’t even realize that they are, in fact, two entirely different things.

Which is where A Measure of Darkness comes in. The book opens with the charming Hattie preparing dinner for her visiting grandson, Isaiah, in a part of town that used to be a neighborhood, then became the bad part of town, and now is starting to undergo gentrification, with all the problems that tend to follow.

Problems such as eccentric new neighbors, who have bought and renovated an old Victorian, and now throw parties that feature loud music and a parade of people in varying degrees of altered consciousness in and out at all hours.

Isaiah goes across the street to ask them politely to keep it down a bit, for his grandmother’s sake, and then we jump ahead a few hours to when it’s all gone wrong: several people have been shot and killed, a person trying to get away runs over another partygoer, and oh yeah, there’s another dead body in the gardening shed, which may or may not have anything to do with all the other carnage.

Enter Clay Ellison. He’s a sheriff’s deputy who works with the coroner’s office, and it falls to him to identify the various bodies, and notify the families. He also volunteers to help the detective who’s actually investigating the murders find the killer(s).

In the end, all Secrets Are Revealed, and some of them are pretty good, including a strange cult-like “school”. Watching Clay work through the various puzzles and clues is interesting, and it seems like a pretty realistic depiction of how investigators do what they do.

The problem I had is that there are no real stakes for Clay. He doesn’t face any danger or threats, or even an argument with his girlfriend. There’s a bit of tension between him and his brother, but nothing out of the ordinary. The worst thing he personally comes up against is that other cops think that he tends to get involved in investigations that aren’t assigned to him, which, well, the whole book is him working an investigation that wasn’t assigned to him. And his job isn’t threatened or anything, it’s merely an observation by a colleague.

So while it’s satisfying to see a puzzle get solved, it’s hard to get deeply invested in a story where a guy goes to work, does his job well, and goes home. Most of us read to escape that kind of thing.

The Nerd’s Rating: THREE HAPPY NEURONS (and a sweet pair of extendable angel wings. For all my party needs!)

The Kellerman name on a book insures a quality read. As the second book in a new series, the characters are maturing and the author's skills are expanding. This father/son author team is building steam as Clay Edison grows into his coroner job. As the coroner's office is trying to sort the details of a multiple murder scene, it becomes clear to Clay that one death is not like the others. His efforts lead him to not only do his job, but to use his previous experience as a police investigator to make sure the victim receives the justice she deserves. The story will leave you wanting to see where Clay's next adventure will be. I'm looking forward to more stories from these authors.

Clay Edison is a deputy at the coroner’s office. He enjoys the job, even if it means late night calls and going out at odd hours, investigating another death in the Bay area. This time it is a late-night party. Invitees are connected via social media. Everyone arrives with having a good time in mind—only this party ends in tragedy, which is where Clay comes in. Clay’s job is to figure out what went down, including notifying the next of kin of any deceased. Clay becomes obsessed with this task, as he works his way through clue after clue to figure out who the deceased are, how they died, and who was responsible or had part in it all. This search takes him all around the area, touching base with anyone who might hold a clue or have an idea of who the dead individuals’ identities and who the next of kin is.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series, and could not believe that this author was the same one co-writing this book. I had also read an earlier book by Jesse Kellerman, which I did not really enjoy, so attributed my dislike of this book to that. The writing was okay, but the book sloughed along slowly and tediously, roaming around among esoteric things that really had little or not much to do with the story’s ending. It almost seemed as if the authors had to write a book a certain length and were dragging things out to meet this goal. In addition, the plot, while okay, was not really one that pulled me in. Of course, it may have been the round about way the book sort of meandered all around that threw me off. Clay is a likable enough person. He definitely enjoys his job and does it well. I was a bit thrown off because I always thought police detectives and officers investigated deaths, not the coroner’s office. I also was surprised when I found out Clay was an officer, since I had not realized coroner’s office personnel were law enforcement officers. In this case, though I do not know for certain, things seem to be run a bit differently, or the police department and coroner’s offices are set up differently, for whatever reason. I have not read the other books or book in this series, but I have one, so before totally giving up on the series/combo team of authors, I will probably read that one. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

Clay Edison is a likable character in this moderately paced police procedural. This is the kind of series where you will commit to reading just because you like the characters, and want to know what happens next in their lives. It is very similar to the Alex Delaware series in its pace. I liked the Oakland, CA setting and the dynamics of the police relationships.

Ballantine Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of A Measure of Darkness. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

A Measure of Darkness is the second story by writing team Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman about Deputy Coroner Clay Edison. When a wild party leads to shots fired and chaos, the police and the coroner's office have their work cut out for them. With a reputation for grabbing hold of a case and not letting go before it is solved, will Clay be able to help get justice for the victims? Will a discovery during the course of the investigation lead Clay down a different path?

This novel is a good, solid read, with a well paced plot and developed characters. I like Deputy Coroner Clay Edison for his strong moral compass and his desire to solve the cases put before him, big or small. A Measure of Darkness centers on some timely issues, which gives the book some legitimacy. Clay Edison is similar to Alex Delaware (Jonathan Kellerman's beloved character) in some ways, such as his strong desire for truth. As there are many possibilities for future plot lines, I would recommend readers start at the beginning of the series and get the full effect of the character and his setting.