Our favorite coroner Clay Edison returns as does Dr. Alex Delaware in the most fleeting of cameos.
Working with detective Delilah Nwodo, Clay works to solve the murder that took place at a party of an old Victorian in Oakland where few of the people knew each other. Identifying one of the deceased was difficult as she, upon examination, had male parts and lived in a world where most knew very little about each other, much less their past.
Their path takes them to what might be considered as an alternative school where everyone’s vote counted equally, be they faculty or a 5 year old.
A captivating tale that keeps you guessing. This team never fails to impress.

Up, down, whirlwind of deception our heros must find their way through to the end. Characters as varied transgender, homeless and school administrator. Emotions run high and everyone has a secret

The talented Kellermans, father and son, return to the best beach reads competition, mystery genre, with this procedural starring an investigator from the Coroner's office seeking to unravel the threads tieing the victims of carnage from a house party in a half-wrecked Oakland mansion together. There's not much backstory on Clay, the protagonist, or any of the secondary characters, either , except for the founder of an experimental school in the northern California woods and an LBJQT advocate who claims the body of Jasmine, but won't help Clay identify it so he can inform her family. This is not one of this talented duo's best so if you doze off in the hammock, it won't matter.

Clay Edison can't just do his job, but has to help with other people's jobs...if they will let him. This is turning out to be a really good series. Can't wait for more from this crime solver.

Its easy to put your hands on pretty much anything Kellerman, I was happy to see a new one on NetGalley- this partnership with John & his son extends the literary legacy.
This book is a fast, interesting story- an extra victim at a shooting who doesn't fit in. Clay, in forensics, partners with a cop as they first try to find out who the victim is, and then why the murder.
Circling through unhappy parents, a new agey school, and some disaffected kids. they uncover a sad story and ultimately figure out the various levels of guilt and the bad guy(s).
This is a typical fun, fast Kellerman tale. It doesn't have quite the verve Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis tales, but a satisfying read.

I liked that this book was set in the Bay Area in California. I was born and raised in the area. That being said, at first I had a difficult time getting into the book. In the beginning chapters, the sentences were short and stilted making it difficult to get involved in the storyline. I liked the characters of Clay Edison and Delilah and how they worked together. Edison’s style seemed natural and I easily liked his demeanor and the way he worked and interacted with the other characters. Mid-way through the book, it began to feel heavy—meaning I was getting tired and just wanting to find out what happened and how the story would turn out. The story seemed to drag on and had many sub-plots that took me out of the main storyline and those sub-plots felt a little flat. The overall resolution was relatively satisfactory, but I will pause before reading another book by the Kellermans.

I have always up until now given this author five-stars on all his books. This book was a disappointment. I am giving him a four rather than lower hoping that this book is just a one time blip. The storyline itself was rather boring and the characters not very well developed. I kept waiting for the suspense but it never came. Bring back Dr. Delaware

A Measure of Darkness (Clay Edison #2)

Last year I read Crime Scene, the first in this series in which father and son collaborate and liked it very much. (reviewed here)

Long a fan of the Alex Delaware novels by Jonathan Kellerman and having enjoyed the first in the Clay Edison series, I genuinely looked forward to A Measure of Darkness.

I'm sorry to say that this one didn't do much for me-- in characterization, plot, or writing. In some places it seemed to try to hard, in others, not hard enough. There were a couple of spots that I had to reread because I thought I'd missed something.

Maybe it was just me because the ratings on Goodreads so far are three 5* and one 4*.

Read in May; blog review scheduled for July 13.

NetGalley/Random House/Ballentine
Crime/Mystery. July 31, 2018. Print Length: 352 pages.

Measure of Darkness, a well written but rather mundane procedural, takes us through crimes old and new that emerge after a cash party gone wrong leaves several people dead and injured. The authors throw lots of crimes into the mix: guns, strangulation, auto accident, and more. There’s no clear path to a solution until about three quarters of the way through, when the solution, although not all of its details, becomes clear. Narrator Clay Edison, a coroner’s deputy who seems to have more freedom on his job than his little gripes would make clear, is not the most interesting character in the novel. Rather, I would have liked to know more about Delilah, with whom he’s teamed up to tackle aspects of the case. Inserting Alex Delaware briefly into the narrative is a nice touch for those who have read that long established series. If Clay Edison is to join Alex Delaware as the focus of a series, he and the crimes he tackles are going to have to become much more complex and interesting.

This is the second Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman book I've read. I enjoyed both immensely. I like the neutral perspective the protagonist presents, well, neutral until he begins to wend his way through the situations presented. Then I shift to liking his way of actually following where circumstances lead. For me, one of the most annoying aspects of crime and police novels is the routinely utilized story spinning police engage in, theorizing without basis about what happened as if it is fact. There is little of that in this book, which is refreshing.

5 stars

Deputy Coroner Clay Edison gets a phone call in the middle of the night. There has been a shooting at a big party. Little does he know what awaits him. Partygoers were shot, innocent bystanders were shot and a six-year old child sleeping in a basement was also shot and killed.

Clay and his team and several police are at the scene for hours. When he is just about ready to head back to base, he gets a call from a young police officer. He found another body. But this one is partially hidden in a shed. It is a young woman and she’s been strangled. She has no identification on her.

One of the hospitalized people has died. Now there are six victims. When Clay and co-worker Zaragoza arrive at the hospital to pick up the body, they learn that the shooter walked into the hospital with a gunshot wound himself. His name is Isaiah Branch, aged nineteen. Isaiah, however, denies being the shooter. He names a couple of friends who were involved and doing the shooting.

Denied the permission to put Jane Doe’s picture in the paper, Clay and Detective Nwodo go to the vigil looking for anything or anyone who acts suspiciously. They spot one of the attackers and chase him down the street. When captured, he swears and fights the arrest.

After much chasing leads and tracking down clues, they finally have an identity for Jane Doe. She is Wynemah “Winnie” Ozawa. She is the daughter of the school principal of the Watermark School. It is an alternative learning school.

Much searching and investigation later, a homeless man is arrested for Winnie’s death. But Clay gets an idea. He goes back to re-interview one of the witnesses. She tells him a story and is obviously covering up for someone. It all leads back to the Watermark School somehow. When Winnie’s real murderer is identified, the story reaches a high point. It is all action in the scenes. The motive for the killing is senseless and destructive.

This is a very well written/plotted novel. One can certainly see Jonathan Kellerman’s strong influence in the crafting of this novel. I really liked the relationship between Clay and Amy. His family sounds so typical. I’ve truly enjoyed all of the Jonathan Kellerman books I have read, and there have been many, many. I’ve never read any of Jesse’s work, so it was an interesting and rewarding journey into his space as well. I fully intend to look into his other novels, too. I would very much like to read more about Clay Edison. How about it guys?

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing – Ballantine/Ballantine Books for forwarding to me a copy of this most wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review.

Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman team up to write the book A measure of darkness. If you have read Jonathan's books before you will appreciate the mention of ALex Delaware and Milo Sturgiss briefly in the book. I like the character of Edison and Delilah as they worked together to try and solve a couple of mysteries, one from the past and two from the present. Sometimes the book seemed a little disjointed to me as I wondered how all the different experiences would tie in together but they did and it had a satisfactory ending.

Clay Edison is deputy coroner for Alameda County and he’s seen and dealt with some pretty harrowing stuff, but nothing prepare him for the carnage he finds after a late night call directs him to a party gone horrible wrong. A dispute with neighbors over noise led to gunfire on both sides with multiple victims. There are so many dead, that it takes a while for Clay to realize that one of the victims is not like the others. Dead from strangulation, not gunshot, the woman has no ID and is unknown to anyone who attended the party. Clay takes it upon himself to identify his Jane Doe and discover how and why she died. Toss in a new relationship and a brother freshly out of jail and Clay has got his work cut out for him