Survival of the Fittest (1997)

De vijftienjarige Irit Carmeli wordt koelbloedig tijdens ten schoolreisje in de berger van Santa Monica vermoord. Rechercheur Milo Sturgis staat voor een raadsel en roept de hulp in van Alex Delaware, de kinderpsycholoog. Al snel wordt de zaak een van de grimmigste in de carrière van Alex Delaware. De moord op Irit, dochter van de Israëlische consul, staat niet op zichzelf. Er worden meer slachtoffers gevonden. Ogenschijnlijk hebben ze niets met elkaar te maken, ehalve dat ze allemaal gehandicapt waren...

While I do enjoy Jonathan Kellerman's writing as he presents the usual mystery story from a unique perspective and found this one particularly intriguing. Kellerman has a tendency to have interesting twists and conclusions. In this instance he gave subtle clues regarding the closing of the story. Even with his clues when it came down to it felt he wrapped it up in a very interesting manner that made me wonder how he was going to pull it off; which he did with some tension and drama. Can't say it wasn't a little overdone but while it was, there was also a believable element to it, considering the characters involved.

The story itself was typical Jonathan Kellerman and included the expected psychological elements with all the minor subplots his novels generally contain. Overall I found it a little more entertaining than other of his books. ( )

A competent page-turner of a mystery, easy enough to follow though I see it comes several books into a series. It's showing its age a little but its themes remain regrettably current, with the action kicked off with what these days I'd describe as a hate crime.

While the narrative is fiercely anti-eugenics, I was uncomfortable with the repeated use (by sympathetic characters) of a word that's most commonly used as an ableist slur on this side of the Atlantic. It was clearly intended as a mere descriptor, but it marred the reading experience for me.

Kellerman's Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis are at it again. The book begins with the suicide of a Los Angeles policeman, and the murder of the retarded daughter of an Israeli diplomat. Things get really interesting when other handicapped people are found dead, and an old murder seems to have a similar MO. Alex puts himself in harm's way in an attempt to ferret out the truth and the pages turn quickly as the suspense mounts. I admit I'm not likely to remember the plot of this book in 6 months time, but it was a perfect read for a stormy Sunday. ( )

The slightly retarded fifteen-year-old daughter of a diplomat dies on a school field trip – forced or lured into a deserted corner of the Santa Monica mountains and killed in cold blood. Her father adamantly denies the possibility of a political motive, which leaves LAPD detective Milo Sturgis and his longtime friend Alex Delaware to pose the question: why? The victim's father is so intent on controlling the investigation that Alex and Milo start to wonder if he wants to bring out the truth – or make sure it stays buried. Then there is another killing, and within days Alex finds himself ensnared in one of the darkest, most menacing cases of his career. Driven to find answers, he and Milo will work closely with Inspector Daniel Sharavi, the brilliant Israeli police detective introduced in Jonathan Kellerman's The Butcher's Theatre, but it is Alex who goes undercover, alone, to expose the smug brutality of a murderous conspiracy and a terrifying contempt for human life. Weaving together the threads of a mystery that lead from a child's murder to a young scientist's suicide, Jonathan Kellerman draws one of the most chilling, frighteningly realistic portraits of evil you will ever experience.