Serpentine is the 36th installment in Jonathan Kellerman’s excellent series featuring psychologist Alex Delaware and his curmudgeonly partner in crime solving, LAPD Detective Milo Sturgis. It has been a few years since I’ve spent time with child psychologist Alex, his girlfriend Robin, their French bulldog Blanche, Milo and his rarely seen partner, Dr. Rick. Within a few pages I felt like I was back with a group of old, familiar friends. They’ve all mellowed a bit over the years; however, the chemistry among the characters just works,

This time Milo enlists the help of Alex to solve a 36 year old cold case murder for a women seeking answers about her mother’s seemingly accidental death in a luxury car found burned in the rolling hills outside of LA. The plotting is believable and filled with enough twists and turns to keep one guessing.

Jonathan Kellerman has done what few authors of series are able to do- he never just ‘phones it in’ and has kept up an engaging style of writing with new adventures that never feel like a retread.

Psychologist Alex Delaware and detective Milo Sturgis find their involvement with a cold case murder in Los Angeles. Working together will mean more exploration to bring this case to light.

My first time introduction to the work of Jonathan Kellerman and what an exceptional read Serpentine is. Los Angeles is a well trodden city for crime/detective based novels and yet the descriptive richness of the city has made me fall in love with LA and California all over again.
Ellie Barker's mother was found in a torched, overturned car with a bullet in her head. Decades on the culprit behind the killing has never been found. Today Ellie is a multimillionaire with a successful company and still doesn't know what happened to her mother when she was just 3 years old.
LAPD homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis works alongside psychologist Alex Delaware. They've been asked ot solve the case. What they discover is that a rich entitled family, whose gated enclave is just metres away from where the torched car was found, knew Ellie's mother - she used to frequent the house with the family's late father. The plot takes off from there. No spoilers, but it was a genuinely interesting take on solving the murder - very enjoyable read.

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It was a well written book.

Serpentine – Jonathan Kellerman

Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis return to the pages, as another strange case finds its way into Milo’s hands, this one long since gone cold – thirty-six years to be exact – when, without warning, Milo is summarily tasked with solving it.

When she was three years old, entrepreneur Ellie Barker’s Mom died in a fiery car crash after driving off the side of the famed Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles. Initially presumed to be an accident, it was re-classified a homicide after a bullet was located in the woman’s remains. The case was never solved. Ellie knows very little about her mother, and is hopeful, at long last, to learn more.

As Milo & Alex start to dig into the past, some strange information comes to light. There is absolutely no documentation about, Ellie’s mother, Dorothy Swoboda, other than her death certificate. The original case file is missing, and a former cold case investigator hit dead ends in his own investigation, before having the case taken from him. A search for the owner of the car Dorothy died in, leads them to his living children, one of whom remembers the victim, but also provides little useful information.

As the duo continue to dig into the past, it’s a memory from an old ex-socialite, a decade’s old picture & an old True Crime magazine that help to really spur the investigation, along with Milo’s pit bull tenacity, that inadvertently leads them in the direction of a long-forgotten murder spree - one that may have never ended…

I have read Mr. Kellerman's novels religiously and have a years long fondness for this crime solving pair, and this book is no exception to that - in fact this might have been one of my most favorite so far! As with most series novels, it's like stopping to visit some old and dear friends when you start one of these books, and he adventures within the pages never disappoint!!


I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from #Netgalley, in exchange for an objective review. Do you love to read?? Visit netgalley.com and start reviewing books today!!

A cold case to solve this time and the irrepressible pair work hard to solve it. Slow start but soon became fast and furious. Two main characters(make they four,including the dog),are great.

Jonathan Kellerman keeps pumping out the thrillers. Mild-mannered child psychiatrist, Alex Delaware, often accompanies Milo Sturgis when Lieutenant Sturgis is investigating an unusual crime. This is another in a series of always pleasing books featuring these two unlikely "partners." When Sturgis is handed a cold case, he is reluctant to take it, but soon he is all-in, hunting down a killer who is still lurking in the LA area. As usual, there are a few twists and turns, a few unreliable witnesses and a modicum of surprise. Kellerman is trying to add a few more characters in the form of some recurring police assistants and so far that is working well. But, the main idea is a mystery told through the sardonic voice of Delaware, with a little romance on the side.

Thanks you to NetGalley for the ARC copy of the book. I am a big fan of Jonathan Kellerman and have read most of his books. It was good but I was a little disappointed in the plot. The coincidences that set up the main characters and their interaction seems so unlikely it was hard to believe. It was an amazing ending and a surprise that I never saw coming. Even though parts of this one seemed unbelievable, I will look forward to his next one.

I haven't read a Milo and Alex book for years, it was like going back to old friends who have grown and matured but not changed fundamentally. You think that the book is going in one direction and then it completely goes in a different direction, but one which makes perfect sense.

You really do get to know the LA scene and the foodie scene - loved the food descriptions. What a great book.
You don't need to have read previous ones in the series to enjoy.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley but the review is entirely my own. .

Ellie is reclusive and a self made millionaire. She lost her mother as a toddler and after so long is wanting to reopen this cold case with the help of Detective Milo Sturgis.

Working with Alex Delaware as in all his cases, the psychologist and the detective start uncovering a startling history totally unlooked for and in the process opening a can of worms that many wanted to remain untouched.

There are too many slick endings, too many sudden deaths even amongst the people investigating the case. The characterization was good, the writing was smooth and polished and moved easily depicting the Los Angeles area nicely.

A solid addition to the Alex Delaware series with a well written plot and lots of twists and turns, making this a must read for all Jonathan Kellerman readers.

I loved this book. It was the first that I had ever read in the Alex Delaware series. One of the best things is that even thou the book was number #36 in the series it still read like it was the first one. The relationship between Alex and Milo is a dynamic that is truly amazing. They work together to solve a cold case that has zero chance of being solved. While they are working together on the case you also see Dr. Alex working with his patients and the work that he does in helping adolescents in various situations. His intuition and reading of people and Milos detective skills make for a fun and enthralling adventure as you watch them pick apart the case. I would highly recommend and personally plan on reading other books in the series.

As a lover of mysteries, I'm embarrassed to say that Serpentine is my first time reading something written by Jonathan Kellerman. I was a bit panicky to note that this is the 36th (!!) entry in the Alex Delaware series -- but I really had no need to worry, as this the characters and their relationships are made clear enough to read this book as a stand-alone with little confusion. The story, following psychologist Alex Delaware and his partner LAPD detective Milo Sturgis as they attempt to solve a 36-year-old cold murder case, was tightly written, if a bit slow moving. The slow pace could probably be due to the crime being so cold, and most of the action taking place decades ago. The characters were well-developed and felt authentic. Based on Serpentine, I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of this series. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK Cornerstone for giving me the opportunity to read Serpentine in return for my honest opinions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

*I requested this book on behalf of my mother and all opinions are hers*

I really liked this book, and I like Jonathan Kellerman as an author, like his usual books this one was really interesting and gripping.

Lieutenant Milo Sturgis is assigned a cold case, making him third in a string of detectives who have worked the murder without success. Milo enlists his friend, psychologist Alex Delaware, to help him sort through the past and answer, whodunit? It doesn’t take long for the investigation to make someone nervous. A photograph and a serpentine necklace lead Sturgis and Delaware through hoops as they search for the truth. This story is full of familiar Milo and Alex charm, plus some crazy characters that misdirected this reader and kept me guessing. A great read in a great series.

Jonathon Kellerman has his formula down but he still does manage to create an engaging mystery. A well off woman forces Milo into investigating her mother’s murder. As usual Alex Delaware tags a long. It all becomes rather complicated before the resolution.

I was given a copy from Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Although this is book 36# in this series, and I had never read even one of the other books, I had no problems reading this book and understanding what was going on.

This is not to say that I didn't have issues, but they weren't serious issues. For one, there were just too many descriptions-what they were eating, drinking, wearing, how much food was being consumed, and when. It finally just got on my nerves. I've seen female authors do this repeatedly, but this is the first time I've seen a male author do this.

Secondly, I couldn't keep track of all of the characters. I had to look back in the book to refresh my memory constantly. (thank goodness for my Kindle)

There were many red-herrings and a whole lot of re-hashing. Too much was redundant.

I'm not saying this was a horrible book - not at all; it just wasn't my thing., and I love hard-boiled murder mysteries. Even though this was about a murder with a cop and a psychologist, it just seemed to me to be wishy-washy.

*ARC supplied by the publisher, author, and NetGalley.

Pocos autores pueden presumir de tener una serie de libros con treinta y seis entregas. Desde que Jonathan Kellerman publicó la primera novela en 1985, los casos del psicólogo Alex Delaware y el detective Milo Sturgis han capturado a sus lectores. Esta es la primera vez que leo un libro del autor, y estoy bastante seguro de que la serie se puede empezar por cualquiera de las entregas: los personajes no me parecen demasiado profundos pero cumplen su función. Los datos básicos se apuntan al principio del libro. El caso está interesante, mucho trabajo de investigación a la vieja usanza con un buen ritmo. En general me ha gustado.

A solid procedural. This is another great installment of an old school detective with a twist, You do not have to read the previous books, I've only read a few, to follow the story or enjoy the characters. I like this one more than the last one I read. I think the more I read of the characters the more I may enjoy the series as a whole. If you like the good old procedural, though, you should enjoy this.

3. 5

I'm a really big fan of Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware series and have been a reader of his for years.

Serpentine was a slow read for me and this is the first time I've experienced that with a book in this series. Normally I devour the book the second it hits my hands. This time I struggled . The pacing didn't flow for me and it took until the last 25% of the book for me to really get into the story and feel the tension that I've come to expect for a Delaware book. At points, Alex almost seemed like a sideline character and the deep dive into the psychology of the criminals (which is my favourite part of this series) wasn't as central to the story.

If this was your first read of the series, I highly encourage you to give the other books a try. While this was not my favourite, I am still eagerly awaiting the next one in the series and will be a lifetime reader of the series.

Thank you to Negalley and Ballantine Books for the eARC.