I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lost souls is the third book is the Clay Edison series. Clay is settled with his partner and their young baby, employed by the coroners office in Berkeley, San Francisco. One day he receives a call to a local park, which has been a freedom park since the 60s. Developers have finally moved in, but when they start digging, they uncover the body of a baby, which leads Clay down a path of mystery, involving nuclear scientists, now-Nazis and kidnapping to try and find out who the baby is and what happened. There is also a second thread of mystery where Clay is contacted by an acquaintance to track down what happened to his sister, who was kidnapped as a baby and never found again, which runs alongside the main story.

This was a decent read, but I felt like the story didn’t quite grab me. There was quite a lot going on, with numerous characters, some of whom were only introduced for a page or two. I usually enjoy wide ranging books with lots of characters but I almost found this a bit tricky to follow, I felt as if I didn’t get to know a lot of the characters very well so when they were referenced later, I sometimes found the thread tricky to pick up. I think the book had a solid plot and was decently well written, although I think the author could have stuck to one mystery without sacrificing too much of the action.

I have been a Jonathan Kellerman fan for longer than I care to remember, but have not read anything but the joint authors.

I have to admit it, it took me a while to get into the book, I didn't realise this was the 3rd Clay Edison book and it took me a while to get acquainted with his life/family. I think it also can be confusing for UK readers to read about a Deputy Coroner who also investigates crimes.

The book opens with the finding of bones at a construction site in Berkeley, which then happens to find itself in the middle of a power struggle between various factions.

Clay is then contacted by someone who thinks the bones could be those of his long lost sister.......

There are two stories which end up being entwined and on the whole I did enjoy the book, there were an awful lot of characters thrown into the story which sometimes made it difficult to keep up with, also a lot of detail on location/events which I don't think was always needed. I did find some of the writing, especially at the beginning 'choppy' but I felt this improved as the book progressed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for giving me the chance to review the book in exchange for an honest review.

Not very often I give a 5 star rating to books of this genre/story line but I thought the book is superbly written, has an excellent story - to begin with you think the two main themes are linked but then discover they are not and provides the right amount of character definition.
I was puzzled on the very first page as I knew I was supposed to be reading Lost Souls but the text says Half Moon Bay. After browsing for both titles I deduced that they are in fact the same book. Not sure if one is a UK title and the other is the US title but given the words Half Moon Bay only appear in the text after 83% then this seems an odd title to come up with.
I've seen several UK police crime books with a glossary of UK terms and words to help our cousins across the water understand. Reading this book I felt a reciprocal glossary would have been useful.
Still I loved every minute of the book with two titles and it is well worth reading.

Deputy Coroner Clay Edison is juggling a new baby who won’t sleep with working the graveyard shift. For once he’s trying to keep things simple.

When infant remains are found by developers demolishing a local park, a devastating cold case is brought back to light. Clay has barely begun to investigate when he receives a call from a man who thinks the remains could belong to his sister – who went missing fifty years ago. Now Clay is locked in a relentless search that will unearth a web of violence, secrets and betrayal.

This was my first book by Jonathan Kellerman and it definitely wont be my last!

What I liked the most about this book was that it had two stories going on at the same time but it did not get confusing at all. In fact, it kept me more engrossed in the story.

It was a quick read for me. Though there were a lot of characters involved, I was hooked on right till the end. Even the suspense in the murder mystery investigation was good.

Overall a very satisfying read! Looking forward to more books by this author.

Thank You to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for this ARC!!

Lost Souls was definitely Jonathan Kellerman at his best, this was such an enjoyable read, with a multitude of gripping characters, keeping me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. I can't wait for more books from Kellerman.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Two stories in one book which gradually meld together to give a very satisfying conclusion. The third book in this series which I must admit I have not read. Can be read as a stand alone, full of suspects and misdirection which had my head spinning. An infant's bones found in a shallow grave and a cold case. I really had to use my grey matter with this one. All in all an excellent murder mystery.
Thanks to Random House UK and Netgalley for the ARC

I haven’t read the previous two novels in this series but that certainly didn’t spoil my enjoyment of this book. The two strands of storyline ran concurrently over a period of a year or so. The first strand was about an infants bones discovered in the park near a university in Berkeley and this formed Clay’s day job whilst he tried to track down a friend of a friends missing sister in his downtime. Clay is an extremely likeable main character. Both stories twist and turn and eventually come to very satisfying conclusions. I look forward to the next instalment of Clay’s life

In the Grisham style although Kellerman is well established as an author. I found this particular book lacking in pace and direction. For e, it wax a real struggle to reach the end.

I gave read and enjoyed others by this author so perhaps it is just a care of not being in the right frame of mind

During excavations a babies body is found. Deputy Coroner Clay Edison is in charge but can he juggle this along with his home life and a new baby?
The someone gets in touch to say he thinks the body is that of his sister who has been missing for 50 years. But even that is a mystery.
is the past dead or will it come back with avengence?

I haven't read any of Jonathan Kellerman's books before, and when I started this one I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it, as the style seemed very American, which can mean a hard read for an English reader However, after about a dozen pages I couldn't put it down. There are two main storylines, both of which are quite complicated, but they never feel unbelievable. The characters are good, and the dialogue is brilliant. I will definitely read more books by this author, and I would definitely recommend this book.

Clay is a deputy coroner who is juggling work with a new baby in Berkeley, California. A local park is being developed amid protests from local residents, when bones are found in the construction site. Peter Franchette believes the remains belong to his long lost sister and contacts Clay for help.

Lost Souls is the third installment of the Detective Clay Edison series. I haven't read the previous books and had no problem understanding the backstory of this novel, as it is a good standalone book.

This novel reminded me of earlier John Grisham / 90's novels that involve political elements, so if you like that kind of story you're in for a treat. The plot is complex and has various layers but it's also fast-paced and easy to read. There are multiple characters with very distinctive voices, and I enjoyed Clay's inner monologue.

This is what I would call an all around unputdownable thriller.

Disclosure: I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

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Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing this book for review. I love Jonathan Kellerman’s books - have read almost all of them, and never been disappointed. Having said that, I found the style of this one a little confusing, and slightly hard to follow. Two distinct story lines in the book led to confusion between characters attached to the two story lines, which led to frustration trying to remember who was who. Having said that, I still enjoyed the book, and thought the twists and outcomes were satisfying. A bit too many assumptions that non-Americans would understand the subtleties of the places and history of the area for an Australian reader!

Overall, a good read, which could have been refined a little more.

The writing style of this book didn’t suit me personally. I found it jumped about between different events in a disjointed way, making it hard to follow. I think the story itself is good and that there are many people out there who would enjoy it more than I did.

I started this book twice as Jonathan is usually an excellent author and also because a lot of people gave it good reviews, but it was a bit of a struggle each time. I found it quite disjointed and a little unbelievable in places. I'm sorry but this just wasn't a book I particularly enjoyed.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a bit confused as i felt the coroner was the one that did the autopsies and in this book clay being the coroner also takes on cold cases and investigates....which seems to be in his spare time...but we seemed to be always reading about his cold case and not so much his job...

i felt i was always missing something with this one but i enjoyed clay and his coroners work and his family so would be interested in seeing where this series is going...

I have read the previous two books in this series and really enjoyed them. This book is a bit of a different style.

Clay is now a coroner with a new baby and wife, working his intricate job with little sleep and still managing to get to the bottom of things.

The plot centers around the demolition of a popular park space and the protesters swoop in. Unfortunately a body is found in the wreckage.

This book is great, usual Kellerman charm and a twisting plot line that will keep you guessing.

Clay Edison is Deputy Coroner and a new Dad, so time and sleep are precious. Work on a People’s Park uncovers the bones of a young child. How did this child die and who are his parents? Clay needs to find answers and at the same time help a man in search of his lost sister. Can he do either?
Fast paced, exciting and a great read. Interesting characters and lots of plot twists, enjoy.

A huge fan of Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series, I have never missed one. Excited to read Lost Souls with a different protagonist: Clay Edison. This story of a lost child played against his own domestic circumstances with his own infant had me gripped. Ultimately I prefer Alex Delaware with his psychological point of view but this is a good start down a different road

Deputy Coroner Clay Edison is sharing baby caring duties with his wife Amy and working nights for the Berkeley area in California.
A baby’s body is found in People’s Park by a construction worker brings the demolition work to a standstill.
Clay is determined to find out who the victim is and how they got there.
During his search he is contacted by Peter Franchette who is searching for his lost sister - Clay, initially sceptical , agrees to help and so begins a long and tortuous journey to find the truth.
I was drawn into the story through the main characters and their lives.
This is a well written story with strong, likeable characters and complicated threads. It is not a thriller, full of violence but is more a slow burn. The violence is there at the edges and bursts through at times but this is more than a wham, bam thank you ma’m story.
Would recommend this book.

I’m afraid Lost Souls lost me towards the end. I read 70%of it, was enjoying it and then I totally lost my way as to whose storyline I was following and unfortunately I decided I did care enough to continue. It was good up to where I stopped but I suddenly realised I didn’t want to find my way back into the story and that said it all for me. Guess this one wasn’t my bag is all. Too many crossing over storylines, too many people I didn’t care about.