THE LOST COAST – Book Five In The Clay Edison Series — by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman

‘Cut loose from his former life at the coroner’s office, Clay Edison has set up shop as a private investigator. It’s steady, safe work. Until it isn’t.’

‘The trouble begins when a young man, tasked with managing his grandmother’s estate, hires Clay to examine some minor financial discrepancies. What starts off as a case of simple fraud rapidly explodes into a web of deception, an elaborate con game stretching back decades and involving countless victims.’

The Ending—My Heart! I love the dynamic between Regina and Clay, which reminds me a little of King’s Holly Gibney and the Finders Keepers Detective Agency.

Recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley and Ballantine Books (Random House Publishing), for providing me with an eBook of THE LOST COAST at the request of an honest review.

The Lost Coast is a great novel of suspense set in northern California. Clay Edison is a private investigator who is looking into some odd payments made to a land company by the grandmother of his client. Turns out to be quite the adventure!

The town of Swann's Flat is the setting. If you are familiar with Humboldt County, you will recognize it as the real Shelter Cove, but with many changes made for fictional purposes. The real town is nothing like the one in the novel! As a local, it was exciting to see this place used as the setting of a story by one of my favorite writers. The roads are bad here, but maybe not quite as bad as in the novel. The Lost Coast is a real place, but it is a wild natural preserve.

Anyway, Clay goes to Swann's Flat to find out what is happening there and stumbles into an incredibly audacious land scheme being run by a family there. It seems they own the town and their scheme has been going on for a long time. Clay has teamed up with Regina, another PI. Together, they dig into the mystery, and encounter danger.

I thought the plot was great. I like the idea of basing a fictional story on a real location, but changing some elements to make it more suspenseful and scary. The two characters work well together. Each has enough backstory to make them interesting for the reader. I thought this novel was well done. It is a stand-alone story. I would be interested in reading other stories in this series after meeting these characters.

Another great father/son collaboration. I've always enjoyed Jonathan Kellerman's books, and this one was unusual, interesting, and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Clay Edison was cut loose from his former job at the coroner’s office. He now works as a private investigator. His office receives a young man who has become the executor for his grandmother’s estate. The executor is puzzled over a mysterious payment made each month. He wants Clay to examine this financial discrepancy and also if he discovers any other financial discrepancies. It starts off as a simple case of fraud that turns into an elaborate con game stretching back decades with countless victims. It seems that all the evidence is pointed to a tiny town on California’s remote Lost Coast. Clay’s trip is a trigger happy welcoming committee who will guard their secrets with lethal force. As he continues to investigate, it brings Clay into a collision of other “players” — a teenager, a grieving mother, a military veteran and a PI investigating her own agenda. The price of truth turns out to be deadlier than Clay thought or could even imagined.

The authors have written a tale of deception and redemption. It includes action and suspense. So when the well-paced story has violence that happens, it came as a shock to me. (It is the first Clay Edison story that I read and it has intrigued me to go back and the first four books of this series.). Definitely worth the read.

The case started with questions surrounding a series of unexplained payments to a mysterious company. The initial answers Clay Edison finds may have satisfied his client, but Clay is still curious. As Clay continues to delve, the mystery deepens. And it just might lead to murder.

The premise of this story is an interesting and, unfortunately, not completely improbable land scam and morphs into a mystery full of tangled twists and turns. Witty, rapid fire dialogue keeps the story moving . While some of the characters are a bit one dimensional, appearing more a stereotype than an actual individual, there was still enough depth to keep me well absorbed in the story.

This is the first Clay Edison story I've read, but it won't be the last. I liked his curiosity and his sensitivity. He can't let the case go, but having been injured in an earlier case, he's always thinking about how his actions may affect his family. And an interesting twist at the end of story assures us there's more stories to come.

A gripping addition to the Clay Edison series..The authors blend psychological insight with suspense. The narrative is taut, with a plot that keeps you guessing til the end. I loved the characters and the setting is awesome.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am a longtime fan of the Alex Delaware series by Jonathan Kellerman, so was excited to see what he and his son would write together. I am embarrassed to admit that I did not realize that this book is also part of a series, and not the first one. So, I read this as a standalone and honestly don’t think I missed anything by not having read earlier ones.

The tense atmosphere of the unforgiving Northern CA coast and the creepy near-ghost town of Swann’s Flat were the perfect setting for a story about long-term corruption and murder. It was a welcome change from the gritty streets of Delaware’s LA. I loved all the quirky characters that inhabited the town and the fact that every one of them not only had something to hide, but also had something to gain by keeping people out.

I was a little disappointed in the main character, Clay. He doesn’t seem to have a personality other than as a husband beholden to an over-protective wife. I thought it odd that we needed a punchy, sassy side character like Regina the PI to liven things up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballentine Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Clay Edison is now working in the private sector as a private investigator. When he’s contacted to work on a fraud case involving property in a remote area on the California coast, Clay dives in and finds more than he’s bargained for. The town is remote indeed and the few residents aren’t any too happy to have visitors. When a missing poster catches Clay’s eye at a store in a nearby town, he’s got another mystery on his hands, but is there a chance that there’s a connection? Clay pairs up with another PI and as they travel back to Swann’s Flat will they solve the case or will the tiny town eat them alive? The Kellerman’s have once again written an edgy thriller that’s difficult to put down. Hoping that Clay and Regina Klein pair up for more cases in the future! Thank you to Ballentine Books and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

Clay Edison has become a private investigator since being asked to leave his previous job. The work has been solid and it isn't dangerous. A friend sets him up with a new client who has been named executor of his grandmother's estate. The young man has found some small inconsistencies in the finances, he would like to know what has caused them. Clay begins to investigate and all signs begin to point to a small town where the grandmother had purchased some property. Clay decides to take a trip to the small town and figure out just what is going on there. He soon learns that the town is filled with secrets and there doesn't seem to be anyone there he can trust. Follow along as Clay digs down deep to find the answers he seeks, sill he be successful or will someone get in his way. This was a wonderful read that had me on edge the whole way through. I look forward to seeing where the authors take Clay next.

Clay becomes a private investigator. He gets a case where someone is ripping off buyers in a remote area in California.
This book keeps you guessing throughout.
Thanks to publisher Ballantine Books and to Netgalley for the ARC.

I have enjoyed this series, but this one misses the mark for me. Clay Edison is still an enjoyable character, and the action writing is fine, but the plot goes in a few directions and in this case, I didn't enjoy the ride. The small coastal town, population 11, with homemade mansions and rife with corruption is more than a little hard to believe. I do look forward to more, but I hope the Kellermans can rein it in a bit an provide a better plot to go with their excellent characterizations.

Father and son are back at it in "The Lost Coast" and they did not disappoint with this one. Lots of action, thrilling from beginning to end and it is a great addition to the series they have written together. If you like Jonathan Kellerman, you will enjoy his latest in the series with Jesse. Looking forward to what happens next in this series!

Chris Villareal becomes the executor of his grandmother’s estate and discovers a suspicious charge to her account. It is discovered to be a scheme. This scheme takes Clay Edison to Swann’s Flat, California where he will then uncover an additional problem during his investigation causing him to solve two cases. I enjoyed the characters in this book. There were so many agendas I became a little confused at one point but it quickly came together. The setting was vividly described I felt like I had seen the area before. This is a series but can be read as a standalone. This book was fast paced and did not drag on. I highly recommend!
Thank you Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books, Jonathan Kellerman, Jesse Kellerman and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest review.

This is the latest Clay Edison thriller from Jonathan Kellerman and his son Jesse Kellerman. The Kellermans make a great writing team. The characters are unique and this is a credit to both authors. Clay is investigating a con game that is being played out on a remote California coastal town. The plot has multiple layers and is filled with exciting twists. A definite must read for anyone who enjoys a fun thriller.

This is part of a series, and it would likely be best to read them in order, even though there is backstory given about the characters. The first half of the book was a bit slow for the genre, but the patient did pick up for the second half. There were a few unexpected twists, and the ending was satisfying. An okay read overall.

This is my first Clay Edison book and it won't be my last. The mystery that unfolded was intriguing from the start. There were so many layers to the story. I enjoyed how everything fit together once we got to the end. Clay is a fun and interesting main character. I liked the other characters in the story too. The ending was quite a surprise. I really found the end to be satisfying. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A big fan of the Alex Delaware series, The Lost Coast is my first book cowritten by Jesse Kellerman. The Clay Edison series, book five, is consistent with the action-packed and engaging Delaware books. Clay, a private detective, is hired to look into a case of possible real estate fraud and soon finds himself deep in a much larger and very dangerous web of crime. It takes place in the lost coast of California, a remote and rugged terrain that takes on its own character of peril. The characters are authentic, and the bad guys are really bad. I recommend this title for its fast-paced adventure and excellent setting. Thank you, Netgalley and publisher, for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

An interesting procedural mystery and a great summer read! Clay is actually hired by a man named executor of his grandmother's estate because he believed she was being scammed. In his quest to get answers, he stumbles upon a second mystery and a quirky off the beaten path town whose residents hold a lot of secrets.

This definitely kept my attention and I enjoy Clay and his family life and the interesting characters he meets and works with along the way.

Thanks to the publisher via NetGalley for a review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the fifth book in the Clay Edison series by Jonathan Kellerman. While I have read and enjoyed several of Kellerman's Alex Delaware series, this is the first in the Edison series for me. It was easily read as a stand alone.

Description:
It's been almost a year since Clay Edison was forced out of his job at the coroner's bureau. Now he's on his own, working as a private eye. When a client brings him a fraud case, Clay dives into a decades-old scheme targeting the vulnerable. His investigation leads him to a bizarre town buried in the remote California wilderness. The residents don't care much for outsiders. They certainly don't like Clay asking questions. And they'll do just about anything to shut him up.

My Thoughts:
A very strange and unusual town Clay is investigating and it puts him in danger. I did enjoy the investigation as well as the well-defined characters. I really liked the quirky private investigator Clay teamed up with to help unravel the intricacies of this mysterious situation. The plot held my interest. It was a little slow in the middle with a fast-paced, tense buildup to the ending. I recommend to anyone who likes a good mystery.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through Netgalley for an advance copy.

The Lost Coast by the father/son team of Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman is the next book in their Clay Edison series. These are books with a definite beginning and ending and can be read as standalones.

"Clay helps a friend by looking into some financial discrepancies in his grandmother's estate. He follows the problem to an isolated community on the coast of Northern California. There he finds a trigger happy group willing to do anything to keep theor secrets."

Clay is an interesting character - a former star athlete, a coroner, a cop and now just a private investigator. Family is more important than solving a case - mostly. Here he digs and digs until he pushes the bad guys to the brink.
The Kellermans do a great job of making you feel the remote isolation because of the rugged road. The town always feels like it's a thousand miles from civilization. What Clay finds is more than a simple con.

Wild ending! The Kellermans make you wonder who will be left.

Great story from J & J Kellerman.