Kellerman and Kellerman have done it again! This latest installment of the Clay Edison series is phenomenal. It is a slow, seductive old-fashioned, page-turning dime crime novel, written in the tradition of Hammett, Chandler, and MacDonald.

THE LOST COAST is the fifth installment in the series, but readers need not fear. They can pick up this book and easily follow the story without having read earlier books. Edison is no longer a Deputy Coroner; he has acquired his PI license and hung up his shingle. Breaking with tradition, this PI is married and is a family man. But this aspect of his character makes him that much more relatable to the reader. One day an old friend makes contact with Edison, informing Edison that he is going to be contacted by a young man who is managing his grandmother's estate and has uncovered some financial irregularities that he wants investigated. What should be a simple case turns into something much more complex - it leads to a real estate scam, a missing person's case, and even . . . murder? The climax of the story will have you reading faster and faster, desperate to find out how Edison is going to extricate himself from this mess.

Clean, crisp prose. A story that builds gradually over time to a powerful revelation. Relatable characters. A seemingly simple premise that could have been ripped from the headlines. This book has everything you want from a mystery procedural. And it reads like the start of a whole new direction for the series.

Fans of Robert Crais and Robert B. Parker are going to love THE LOST COAST.

I love this series and it continues to get better with every book. In this entry, protagonist Clay Edison, now a PI, starts working on what seems to be a simple case of fraud, but quickly turns into a much more intriguing case involving missing persons, a mysterious beachfront housing development, and an unfinished novel. The pacing is brisk, the cast of characters quirky, and the setting is creepy and dangerous.

What starts as an investigation into a property scam turns into so much more. Coroner turned private investigator Clay Edison dives into a search of a decades old scam targeting vulnerable individuals. He drives to Swann’s Flat to view the properties and learn more about the town, surprised of how remote it is and how difficult it is to drive on the road to Swann’s Flat. He is sidetracked when a posted flyer about a missing young man named Nick seems to tie into someone in Swann’s Flat.

I enjoyed Clay and his wife’s interactions, as he kept insisting he wouldn’t take chances, while his wife knew him better. When Regina, who had been investigating Nick’s disappearance, accuses Clay of trying to take over her totally different investigation, they instead join forces. I really hope Regina appears in the next book, she was totally unexpected and so much fun.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC of The Lost Coast. This is my honest opinion.

I struggled to get through this one. It was a very descriptive plot (almost overly descriptive). There was so much happening and so much to remember that by the end of the book, I was trying to get my head on straight to figure out what was even happening.

This is one of Jonathan kellerman's spin off characters, Clay Edison, who has left his job at the coroner's office. He is now working as a private detective.

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

All the evidence points to a tiny town on California’s rugged, remote Lost Coast. It is almost impossible to get to and the people who do live there are not very friendly.

Being in Lost Coast brings Clay into collision with a host of other players: a grieving mother, an enigmatic teenager, a reclusive military veteran, a foul-mouthed PI pursuing her own agenda. It is Clay's job to determine what is happening in the Lost Coast. It was a great book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

I LOVE all the Kellermans!! I have read Jonathan and Faye for YEARS and now am happy to add Jesse to my "favorite authors" list.

No longer an associate coroner for Los Angeles county, Clay Edison now makes his living as a private eye. Not a GREAT living, but a decent one, and his wife makes more, so that helps. This particular case begins when Clay is contacted by a young man who is trying to straighten out his deceased grandmother's estate. The lady was not much on bookkeeping, and kept EVERYTHING, so there is a lot to go through. But a recurring monthly payment to a company identified only with initials, sets off alarm bells for both her grandson and Clay.

FINALLY getting some answers to what the payments are for leads Clay to take a roadtrip to far north California and the "lost coast" of the book's title. There, he thinks he may have found a connection to a young man missing for many months, who MAY have been in the area searching for another man, a writer, who has been missing for several years. When he contacts the young man's mother, she refuses his help, but does give him some information to go on. Another PI, Regina Klein, has worked for the mother and she and Clay eventually team up to find out what happened to this young man and what is going on in this desolate place.

They uncover a land scheme that has been going on for years, buying and selling basically worthless parcels to unsuspecting people sight unseen. Many/MOST of the buyers have never laid eyes on their property, but those who have were not happy, to say the least. Digging in to this mystery takes a while and involves a second visit, accompanied by Regina, and they FINALLY get to the bottom of what happened to both missing men.

WHEW!! A LOT going on, but it makes sense and once you get involved you will have trouble putting it down!

As always, Kellerman continues to keep me interested! The Lost Coast by Jonathan Kellerman; Jesse Kellerman
This one will have you sitting on the edge of your seat and wondering what will happen next. The characters are well developed and the story line will capture your attention from the very first page.
The plot was clever and the mystery kept me fully engaged.
Another fantastic story!

• This is the fifth book in the Clay Edison Series.
• Can be read as a standalone, but will contain spoilers for previous novels.
• Slow burn low key mystery with complex and secretive characters with some comic relief in a new second detective, Regina Klein, joining the ranks. She is great.
• This is a different type of book for this author with different type of plots and different characters.
• Not my favorite book by this author and found it a struggle to maintain interest until the end.
• Overall this was a quick read, although not as engaging as the first four in this series and it was way more predictable.

The Lost Coast by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman is a very highly recommended mystery/thriller and the fifth book in the series featuring private investigator Clay Edison written by the acclaimed father-son duo.

Clay Edison is now a licensed private investigator after leaving the position of coroner's investigator. Chris Villareal, who is referred to Clay by a former client, needs help investigating a monthly payment he noticed while managing his grandmother's estate. It seems to be a simple case of real estate fraud that leads Clay to look at a remote community called Swan's Flat on Northern California’s remote Lost Coast. After reassuring his wife Amy that he will keep in close contact with her and not do anything risky, Clay sets off to investigate the lot Villareal's grandmother purchased.

Once there the situation is odder and more secretive than Clay anticipated. The roads are nearly nonexistent, there is no cell service, and the locals are few, reticent, and duplicitous. He is shot at by one local and another is trying to con him into buying one of the lots. It seems the area has been running an elaborate real estate con for decades. There is another mystery in the area as a local bulletin board in the nearest town is full of posters for missing people and on it Clay recognizes something that makes him expand the case.

The Lost Coast is an extremely entertaining, well-written mystery that it full of intrigue, deception, secrets, and interesting characters. The complexity of the case increases with each new turn in the investigation, which keep interest high, the pace fast, and the plot compelling. It works well as a stand alone novel, although after reading it you will likely want to go back and read the previous novels in the series.

Clay is a charismatic character who will immediately garner your support and loyalty. He is trying to follow the advice of their couples therapist and keep Amy informed of his actions, situation, and safety level. All the characters are fully realized and interesting. Part way through the novel Clay teams up with Regina, another PI, and the scenes with the two working together are golden and sometimes hilarious. I hope to see her team up with Clay again in the future.

This really is a smart, interesting and un-put-downable investigative mystery. I'm looking forward to the next installment. Thanks to Random House/Ballantine for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

While this fifth in the series is going to really please fans, it will also make a terrific read as a standalone because it's not dependent on the previous installments. Clay was only meant to look into the shady real estate dealings at Swann's Flats but he finds himself on a quest to locate Nick, a young man who went missing. Something's really wrong in Swann's, a town more or less cut off from the rest of California thanks to the hostile landscape and horrible road (how did they get the materials to build the houses in?). And something was wrong with Nick as well. This will take Clay off on a side search for a manuscript for answers. And, it sees him team up with Regina, the PI who failed to find Nick the first time. The Kellerman's will make you wonder why Clay didn't just walk away when he finished the job he was hired (and paid) for given how complex and challenging the landscape, the people, and everything else is. Abandoning it, though, is not in his nature. He's a great character, as is Regina (hope we see her again). No spoilers from me! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A page turner.

This book reads like it was written 30+ years ago. In fact in a couple of scenes I was wondering if the setting was in the 80s or 90s, but then I'd be brought back into the modern day a couple of sentences later. For example, all the phone usage was via land lines although the phones did have "answering machines". However, when our hero goes from talking on the land line to driving a car, he's driving a Tesla!! Somehow I think this book was first written by Jonathan 30 years ago and brought back out this year with some updates, but obviously not enough attention to detail.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an early reader's copy in exchange for an honest review. With proper editing and revision, this story should appeal to many.

Ok, so I pushed myself back from the edge of my seat a few times. I admit it. It's a good story that will keep you engaged and hoping for survival of the good guys - though you won't always know who they are.

I like a good thriller and story as much as anyone else. You'll root for Clay and those willing to help him like I did. Enjoy this to the last page when you need a little zip and a lot of mystery.

I have been a fan of the Kellerman father and son's Clay Edison series, and appreciate the opportunity to read an ARC of their latest installment, book 5- The Lost Coast. Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, Ballantine Books and the authors; my review reflects my honest opinion.
Clay is no longer a San Francisco sheriff and coroner, he is now a private Investigator. A referral from Peter Franchetti, a very wealthy venture capitalist Clay helped when he was with the sheriff's department, yet not with their knwledge or approval, refers a new client to Clay. Chris Villareal was named executor of his grandmother's estate- not a responsibility he wanted, yet he was committed to doing a good job for the family. One puzzle was a monthly payment in the amount of $135.00 beginning in 1996 to SFRA. At the time of her death she had paid approximately $50,000 yet no one in the family knew anything about it. After investigating many organizations and places, Clay discovers that SFRA represented the Swann's Flat Resort Area. Swann's Flatt with a population of 10, was also home to a finance, a development, a land corporation and more. Clay agrees to investigate how and for what his grandmother's money had been invested. There are many subplots in The Lost Coast that stem from his initial investigation.
I was not as fond of this book as I was of the previous 4. The first two-thirds of the book were slow and rather dull for me. The book improved when another PI Regina Klein joined Clay; at that point the book seemed to exude a new energy and life.
. I was disappointed in the role of Amy, Clay's wife. A professional woman and mother to their two children, who was with him during his time with the sheriff's department, seemed more like a mother hen than a wife. Like the rest of the book, the rational for this behavior became clearer at the end. In closing, the final third of The Lost Coast made it a worthwhile read for me. The ending was satisfying and tied the subplots together fairly well. I do look, forward to a book six in the series, perhaps with Regina Klein in it. 3 stars

This is a thrilling story. The plot sees Clay Edison as the protagonist searching for answers to a baffling mystery. The setting adds to the drama of the story and makes the reader want to turn the pages quickly to see the outcome. The characters are interesting and fully developed as the plot unfolds. This is a great story that readers will absolutely enjoy.

Clay goes on quite the adventure. When a man asks him to help him figure out his grandmother's finances, he discovers that she had been paying for property in a secluded town in Northern California. What he finds disturbs him and he can't find out the information he needs to do something about it. After his visit, he sees a picture of a missing young man. He isn't sure why he is looking at the disappearance, but he does. All the roads lead him back to the secluded town. What is going on there? He involves another colleague in the search, but it puts both of them in danger. Will they find the answers they need? Will they survive the second trip to the community?

I received an ARC through "NetGalley" and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This story begins with Clay being notified of a referral for a new client. Clay learns from the new client that he was the executor of his grandmother's estate and he discovered something that looked out of place. After Clay did some research, he learned about a place called Swann's Flat. It seemed that there was a great deal of land on sale, so Clay decided to check the place out. After traveling with the last 12 miles on a so-called road he soon reached it. But as he was driving in, he hit a cyclist Once he brought her to her home, he then started his search.

Clay learned about a scheme where land was being sold, but it was nothing more than just dirt. In addition, the owners were being charged fees for services which were nonexistent. Clay meeting with the individuals who were running this fraud, pretended that he was interested in a plot of land and would get back to them. On Clays trip back, he became interested with regard to a missing person flyer. It seems that an item he spotted was something he had seen on the cyclist.

With this new information, this case took a new direction. To discover Clay's adventures in Swann's Flat, what the flyer search led to, who went with Clay on his return trip and how everything worked out in the end, then you need to read this book.

Clay Edison has left the coroner's office to become a private investigator. He is asked to look into a case of minor financial descrepancies. This simple case of simple fraud explodes into a web of deception, A con game that goes back decades and includes numberous victims.
Clay couldn't have imagined how high the price of truth will be and how deadly it will become. thank you netgalley

The Lost Coast by Jonathan Kellerman and Son is a unique non-formulaic novel that keeps the reader engaged. While the core story line stays on point, there is enough there you don’t see coming. The novel keeps you hooked until the end and is an enjoyable read (as are all Kellerman reads).
I eagerly await the next one.

The Lost Coast by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman is the fifth book in the Clay Edison mystery series. With an intriguing and multilayered plot, the authors give readers a story that is suspenseful, full of fascinating characters, and largely set in a picturesque but secluded area of the California coast.

Clay Edison is now working as a private investigator when a client brings him a potential fraud case. Chris Villareal has been named the executor of his grandmother’s estate and has found a reoccurring charge that doesn’t make sense. Investigating what seems to be a scheme targeting those who are easily preyed upon leads Clay to the remote community of Swann’s Flat, California. The small coastal community doesn’t like Clay asking questions, especially when he also starts investigating a second case in the area.

The story has a deeply involved plot, fantastic worldbuilding, and a remarkable set of characters. The characters are well-defined and Clay’s character was especially dynamic as he responded to events and experienced changes in his outlook. His relationship with his wife and children added another layer of depth to his character. It seemed most of the individuals in the story had agendas. But who is prey and who is a predator?

The setting is incredible. This area is mostly natural and undeveloped with geotechnical challenges that only allows for a very rough, curvy, and steep road in and out of the community. The authors made the spectacular setting come to life, making this reader feel transported to the remote coastal community.

The story lived up to its potential with plenty of deceptions, secrets, and an action-packed ending. Additionally, the book did a great job of revealing the past events. An ever-present threat looming piqued my curiosity and kept me engaged. The evolving quest for answers and the suspenseful twists are sure to delight readers. My biggest quibble is that the pacing was slow in a couple of places in the middle.

Overall, this tense, exciting, and gripping book takes readers through unpredictable moments as the authors provide suspenseful twists in the intricate plot. It’s engaging with an unusual and strange set of characters and a complex plot in a great setting. If you enjoy mysteries, then this is a series to consider. I can’t wait to find out what is next for Clay. While this book can be read as a standalone novel, it contains spoilers if you plan to read the earlier novels.

Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine – Ballantine Books, Jonathan Kellerman, and Jesse Kellerman provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for August 06, 2024. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

The latest is the Clay Edison series by the Kellermans explores the scams and bad deals people fall for every day. When a friend of Clay's comes to him with questions about his deceased aunt's financial papers they find a piece of property that she bought years ago. Searching through papers and records without success Clay takes on the investigation of the property company and the land. The premise and the story were eye opening.