Killer: An Alex Delaware Novel
Psychologist Alex Delaware’s custody consultations can get ugly, but Alex enters uncharted territory when his best friend, LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis, warns him that there’s a contract out on Alex’s life. Successful (and apparently unhinged) scientist Connie Sykes has just been denied custody of her sister Cherie’s daughter, and she’s exacting revenge for Alex’s recommendation in Cherie’s favor. Hours after the LAPD’s hit-man sting operation fails to snag her, Sykes is murdered. In quick succession, two men she named in court as the baby’s possible fathers are also killed, and Cherie and the baby go missing. Is Cherie eliminating custody threats, or is someone else involved? With Milo focusing on Cherie, Alex follows his gut instinct that she’s no killer and hunts for other leads. As usual, the rapport between Alex and Milo is a show-stealer, and longtime fans—some of whom may have noted an unevenness in the series recently—will love the well-executed flashbacks to Alex’s professional past. This twenty-ninth entry reads like a straightforward thriller until the appropriately insane ending twist. --Christine Tran