The Lost Coast
by Jonathon and Jesse Kellerman
Pub Date: August 6, 2024
Thanks to the authors, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I love this brilliant father son writing duo!
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.
I am a big fan of Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series and enjoy this one as well. These books have the authors’ characteristically vivid detailed descriptions that paint a good sense of place. They are observant and often amusing. This is a quick read with a bit of a tangled plot A new player, a fellow female PI is introduced who is quite the character. And speaking of characters, the inhabitants of Swan’s Landing are uniquely peculiar.
Enjoy this book as a stand-alone if you desire.

This is the fifth in the Clay Edison coroner turned private eye series written by the father and son Kellerman team. It is the third I have read; it works well as a standalone.

While investigating a property sales fraud case, Clay finds a relatively unknown and dangerous section of the California coast known as Swan’s Landing that seems to be a hotbed for a real estate scam that preys on vulnerable individuals. When he visits, his questions put him in danger especially when he becomes interested in searching for a missing person.

I am a big fan of Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series and enjoy this one as well. These books have the authors’ characteristically vivid detailed descriptions that paint a good sense of place. They are observant and often amusing. This is a quick read with a bit of a tangled plot A new player, a fellow female PI is introduced who is quite the character. And speaking of characters, the inhabitants of Swan’s Landing are uniquely peculiar.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Clay is happy being his own boss. His next case involves finding out why a grandmother was paying money to a company for decades. This investigation takes Clay in directions he never anticipated. This book intrigued me.

Anyone following the Clay Edison series by bestselling and award winning author Jonathan Kellerman and his son, Jesse Kellerman, will want to immediately pick up the fifth novel in the series, The Lost Coast

Clay edison, who is working as a private detective now, is asked by a wealthy client to look into a fraud case where vulnerable people have purchased worthless land, and have been paying for years for it, as well as additional costs. As Clay investigates, he is taken to a remote area that is very difficult to get to, and, as he poses as a person interested in purchasing land there, puts himself in danger where he is shot at and stalked; there is no one there that he can trust. Murders have possibly been covered up, and things aren’t as they seem.

Jonathan Kellerman, of course, is known for his excellent storytelling ability, and it seems that his son also has that talent. This novel flows and is easy to follow, but has ups and downs and building suspense. The sub characters are well developed, as is Clay, who is the protagonist and well known from the previous novels. This novel does contain some profanity, which is not a usual thing in Kellerman novels, but it is strictly to characterize a PI who was previously on the case and who helps Clay assists him. The profanity is pretty much just her and it fits.

All told, this is another good novel from the Kellermans. Because of the history of Clay in the previous novels, it is suggested that they be read before this one.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I am embarrassed to say that even though I have read all the prior books in this series, I didn't retain much memory of them beyond enjoying reading them at the time. Once I got into book 5, elements of the previous books came back into focus. This is a longwinded way of saying you need not have read the other books in this series to enjoy this one.

Having the deeper backstory from reading the books in order won't necessarily provide any meaningful advantage over others who haven't. The only downside to starting here would be when you go back to start the series from the beginning, you will have information that will serve as spoilers in these earlier books.

So, no spoilers here! With this installment, Clay is back and finds himself mixed up in another caper. A seemingly common real estate scam melds with a missing person case that gets kind of twisty in an unexpected way. This time around Clay acts much more maturely when it comes to his own well-being and dealings with his wife, Amy. Sometimes it was clear where things were going and other times were perplexing, all good things in a mystery book.

One of my favorite things about the Kellerman father/son duo books is trying to see if I can figure out which parts the Dad wrote. Full disclosure, huge fan of the Alex Delaware books. Sometimes I think yeah, totally Jonathon then second-guess myself until I give up and read on.

Disclosure: Received an uncorrected ARC of this book from NetGalley and Ballantine Books/Random House (Thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent entry in the Clay Edison series. Clay takes on a case for former client. What looks like an easy solves turns into a convoluted case of scam, crazies, murder and accidental death. Clay assumes a new identity to gain the trust of the few citizens of a hidden community. There is lots of intrigue in this one and it's worth the read.

I do the the characters created in this series. This installment had me guessing with all the twist and turns in the story plot. The story was humorous and I can't wait until the next installment.

The Lost Coast, written by the father-son team of Jonathan and Jesse Kellermen, is an exhilarating thriller that captivates readers from beginning to end. The story follows Clay Edison, a private investigator, as he embarks on a journey to Humboldt County in search of answers for his client. The inhabitants of this mysterious place are both peculiar and intimidating. With its relentless pace, I found myself engrossed in the book, reading it in one sitting. I highly recommend adding this riveting tale to your "To Be Read" list.

Thank you to Net Galley and Ballantine Books for the ARC to read and review.

Clay Edison, a former coroner and now a private investigator, takes on a client whose deceased grandmother was paying years of maintenance to a organization defrauding people to pay for useless plots of land. In finding this remote area, Swan's Landing, he also uncovers a group of questionable characters and leads to a missing person's case. Upon further investigation, the book moves from land fraud to uncovering a bizarre series of disappearances and deaths. Clay teams up with another investigator Regina as they work together to unravel the schemes and hopefully come out of it alive. Another great book by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for giving me the opportunity to reach this amazing ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. Lots of interesting information and surprising how things all fit together in the end. I would recommend it.

This is the 5th entry in the Clay Edison series, though I think you could read this as a standalone.

Clay Edison, a former coroner turned PI, is called into assist a young man whose grandmother just died and left him to manage the estate. As he's working through this, he finds a payment being made to someone he can't identity. As Clay researches, he discovers they were made to a firm for the purchase of piece of sea front land on the CA shore. This sets him off on a case that gets increasingly dangerous.

Interesting story. It was a little slow for me at first, but picked up after the 35% mark. By the time you get to the end, you'll be flying through the pages.

Another solid entry in the Edison series.

another incredible novel from team kellerman at the start of this book you are lead to believe it is just a case of an elderly woman being taken advantage of what follows is a mystery of twists and turns keeping the reader rapt until the end filled with a fascinating cast of characters

Really good story with deep intrigue and extremely interesting characters.
Clay Edison is busy with his second career as a P.I. having lost his first
job with the Coroner's office and is doing okay when he is visited by
a referral from a friend. It seems his prospective new client's grandmother
recently died and as the executor of her estate, he is busy trying to sort out
and understand the financial pieces of her life, through a myriad of paper
receipts and logs. He discovers that she has neem paying a monthly fee for
years and years to a company with initials only. He wants clay to track down the
company and find out what she was paying for.
And off it goes.
Clay travels to a barely accessible coastal city in the CA wilderness that is home
to the strangest group of characters he ever met. A Shangri-la of
home lots touted to be a seaside community is actually a bunch of unfinished lots
and unpaved roads; with very strange and somewhat sinister characters living there.
As he investigates what is really going, on, the story takes off with becomes a fast flipping
page read as you hurry to discover what the next weird happening will be.
No one in this isolated, self policed area actually seems to be who they claim to be.
Characters are very well defined with all their varied eccentricities and secrets and the story moves along at a fast but steady clip.
Hope Clay's cases continue.

I’ve read — and loved — every Jonathan Kellerman book, but this collaboration with his son Jesse was a surprise treat.

Clay Edison is a great character, and the storyline is engaging and propulsive. I will definitely be on the lookout for future novels by this dynamic duo. Highly recommended. #TheLostCoast #NetGalley #SaltMarshAuthorSeries

A new Clay Edison thriller. We picked up with Clay a year after he lost his job.
Doing PI work now, he receives a request to investigate a very old fraud case.

The case is intriguing and leads him to a group of people living in a remote wilderness area. They are not fond of outsiders and the questions Clay is asking aren’t welcome either.

This is such a good suspense tale! It is definitely a page turner. These two do make a great writing team.


NetGalley/ RHPG Ballentine August 06, 2024

Private investigator Clay Edison takes center stage in this novel from the father-son team of Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman. Tasked with unraveling the mystery behind his client’s grandmother's mysterious payments to an unidentified individual, Clay finds himself navigating the murky waters of northern California's real estate dealings. The story unfolds swiftly, with well-developed characters and a plot that keeps the reader engaged. Overall, this thriller offers an enjoyable read, leaving me eager for the next installment from this talented writing duo. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and author, for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman do it again with a great addition to the series that will have you guessing right up until the end.

I love, love, love this series!! Clay Edison is just the character you want to cheer for. Witty, sarcastic, yet so smart. Whenever I read these books, I can't put it down until I'm finished!! Great characters, ones you love and ones you despise. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.

The Lost Coast by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman is my first read of this father and son author team, although I’ve read and reviewed many Jonathan Kellerman ‘s books. It’s certainly different than the Jonathan Kellerman books that I’m familiar with, different characters and a very different type of plot. This one is actually the fifth novel in the Clay Edison series. Edison is a private investigator who had involuntarily left the police force a year before for reasons that were not fully explained. Edison was approached by a former client about digging into a land deal on the coast in northern California which appeared to be fraudulent. What unfolded was a carefully designed plan to bilk seniors out of their retirement savings, as they were being sold land that never had a chance of being worth the asking prices and appreciating as promised. There’s an assortment of characters in Swann’s Flat, but that also included some disgruntled people who wanted their money back and others who just wanted to be left alone.


I must say that this was not my favorite Kellerman novel although it sort of held my interest to the end. I read it out of a sort of reader-loyalty thing, but I probably won’t stay with the series unless the books get a bit better.

I have been a devoted Jonathan Kellerman since his first book and have read every book. I was curious how Jonathan Kellerman and his son Jesse would blend. The Lost Coast was outstanding. I could not put it down. The story line was exciting and the main character, Clay was well defined and believable. This mystery/thriller was filled with interesting characters and a great deal of intensity. Don’t miss this one! Now I’m must happily go back to read the others in this series. Thank you to Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman for this excellent book and to NetGalley for the Advanced Copy..