Thank you for the ARC

Many years ago, I used to be completely enthralled by this series - I owned all the books. I don't know if its my reading tastes or me, but the series has really changed.
This was a decentish storyline, but they are just not quite the same. In fact I found this slightly boring (sorry!).
I didn't give up but wasn't hooked.

Part of a long running series featuring Milo and his gang,including his favourite psychiatrist and sounding board. A complicated murder for them to untangle and solve.

Many years ago, I used to be thoroughly enamoured of this series—in fact, I owned all the books—so I don't know if it's just me and my reading tastes that have changed. This was a decent set-up, but I just couldn't get into the book, and it got more and more tedious. I found the writing pedestrian, and the style started to grate on me after a while. So much so, that I got up to about 80% before giving up. Didn't even care about who did it.

(Review copy from NetGalley)

“When I go to crime scenes, I’m ready to focus on terrible things. I end up at crime scenes because my best friend, a homicide lieutenant, thinks I have something to offer on the cases he calls “different. He rarely gives me details, wanting me to form my own impressions.”

My thanks to Random House U.K. Cornerstone for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Unnatural History’ by Jonathan Kellerman.

This is Book 38 in Kellerman’s long running series of police procedurals set in Los Angeles featuring psychologist Alex Delaware. I only came to the series recently and find that they work fine as stand-alones as each book focuses on a specific case.

LAPD homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis has summoned Dr Delaware to a LA warehouse where Donny Klement, a wealthy photographer, has been found shot dead. This discovery sets in motion a complex and dangerous case.

Seeking a motive Alex and Milo look into the victim’s unusual family dynamics as well as investigating whether his latest project of photographs of homeless people living out their ‘dreams’ could have incited rage either from one of his subjects or another who might have considered his work crass exploitation.

Like others in the series this proved to be a solid police procedural. Kellerman is skilled in crafting a gripping crime thriller with Alex Delaware bringing a great deal of insight and compassion to his interactions with witnesses and suspects.

I can't believe this is already book 38 in the Alex Delaware series! Jonathan Kellerman is an author that never disappoints and this was another brilliant read!

A guy is found dead in his apartment by his assistant; shot three times while sitting up in bed. Was this a robbery gone wrong or was there something else behind the killing? Alex is called in to help his friend Milo Sturgis to calm the poor girl down so that they can interview her. It turns out that he was a photographer and his latest project was taking pictures of homeless people dressed up in clothes reflecting their dream jobs. He also paid them handsomelyfor their time. It is a case that initially bamboozles Alex and Milo and soon more bodies start turning up. Is this a coincidence or not and will they be able to unravel the mystery?

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House, Cornerstone for the ARC in exchange for my honest

#UnnaturalHistory #NetGalley I usually love this series but found this book a bit slow and repetitive in places. There was not as much action as I would like but when it came it was exciting and kept me turning the pages. It will not stop me reading more installments in this series but for me, this wasn't the best.

Alex and Milo are back the psychologist and the detective and what a team they make .
A body with gun shot wounds is found in a LA warehouse, and so the hunt for the killer is on.
The writing as always is excellent and the relationship between the two main characters continues to grow.
This series is like meeting up with old friends and the story is both intriguing and intelligently written .
Plenty of twists and turns make for a perfect read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK.

Another reliable Alex Delaware novel. The child psychologist working in collaboration with detective Milo on the unusual death of Donny Klement. Some unhealthy family dynamics and a backdrop of Californian cuisine make this a gripping read

Unnatural History Jonathan Kellerman

3 stars

I have read a lot of books by Jonathan Kellerman including some of the series featuring Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis but I could not really get into this particular story.

As always it was well written but I found the actual plot quite boring and at the end of the book did not really understand why the murder was committed and did not really come to a satisfying conclusion for me.

Donny, short for Adonis, is a young very rich photographer who has decided to set up a project asking homeless people to come to his studio and choose the person they might most like to be.
He then produces the relevant costume, takes his photos and pays the homeless people 100 dollars. When he is discovered dead in his apartment with shots to the head the obvious assumption is that one of the homeless people, realising how much money he has, is the culprit.

Milo Sturgis is assigned to the crime and as is usual in this series of books enlists the help of psychologist Alex Delaware. It transpires that Donny was a member of a very dysfunctional family. His father is about to get married for the sixth time but is very rarely in contact with any of his children. Alex and Milo try to unravel all the various threads and eventually, as they always do, solve the mystery.

However as stated before I found all the various family members without any substance and although I understood the motive did not really find it a satisfying ending.

This book was worth reading but did not really resonate with me.
,

Karen Deborah
Netgalley Reviewer

Book 38 and no sign of flagging still... how does he do it!?
It's always nice to reconnect with old friends and Alex, Robin, Milo, Rick and Blanch (and the fish) are just that to me. Opening one of these books is like all the good things about a reunion. Catching up, as well as delving into another cracking case for our masters of crime-busting to solve...
So in this book, a PA delivers a coffee to her boss only to find him dead in bed. Shot. Enter Milo and Alex to investigate and they soon hone in on what could be a lead. The victim is a photographer and his latest project was taking homeless people and dressing them up in their dream jobs. Paying them for the privilege though. All sounds a bit disrespectful irrespective of the remuneration. Has someone from there taken umbrage in an extreme way? Or... is there something else going on? With a plethora of suspects, this case will take our duo to some of the darkest places before they finally figure out what is really going on.
I love this series so much. It is the only thing I have to thank my ex-husband for - he introduced me to it! The way that Milo and Alex work together is just brilliant. The cases the author sets them on are always interesting and intriguing. So much so that a little over-description that adds little to the story but is always interesting is wholly forgiven.
All in all, the only thing left to say is that I hope the next book is not long coming. I always hate having to say goodbye to the characters at the end of these books.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I really enjoy reading Jonathan Kellerman books and was not disappointed in my expectations of this one. Alex Delaware and Milo team up again in this psychological thriller., very well written with good intrigue and twists throughout.

Unnatural History is the 38th book in the long-running Alex Delaware series by Jonathan Kellerman. I've long enjoyed this series and read/listened to most of the books. I was excited to see a new one released and eagerly launched into this police procedural. A psychologist myself, I liked the character of Alex Delaware and the mix of psychology and police work. This book delivers everything we have come to know and love about this series and would appeal to fans of the authors works. It can be read as standalone but I'd recommend you read from book 1.

I've read a lot of Jonathan Kellerman's books and I never get bored of them.
This time our favourites, psychologist Alex Delaware, and Lieutenant Milo Sturgis, investigate the murder of a freelance photographer, Donny.
Despite having a billionaire father, Donny lives a basic life with no extravagance. Having recently worked on a project photographing homeless people, Donny is found murdered in his bed. Delaware and Sturgis must track down a colourful cast of characters whilst they unravel the case.

I'm not sure what it is about Kellerman's writing that draws me so completely into the narrative. On the whole I think it is the observations on human nature that dop this , which combined with the puzzle and the brilliant characterisation of the repeating characters, that made me flick the pages at speed. The vulnerability of the homeless people being abused, the way Kellerman brought each of them to life without making them caricatures, the underlying theme of family and family relations all combine for a cracking read. One which I thrroughly enjoyed.
Kellerman has a way of making short, pithy observations through Alex Delawares viewpoint and I find myself laughing aloud at them. He's always so throughly the psychologist, but one who craves a bit of excitement and a chance to excercise his brain. Loved it

Psychologist Alex Delaware and police lieutenant Milo Sturgis investigate the murder of a freelance Los Angeles photographer with a billionaire father who had been working with and photographing homeless people.
The book was an enjoyable read with more subtlety and psychological insight than most thrillers I've read recently.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Alex' and Milo's 38th adventure.
Always a good read....I didn't feel that this was great however. The synopsis has already been given so I won't repeat that here. Would not miss the next adventure but I hope for a bit more life in the story.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for an advance copy of Unnatural History, the thirty-eighth novel to feature psychologist Dr Alex Delaware and his friend Lt Milo Sturgis of LAPD.

When photographer Donny Klement is found murdered in his studio Milo asks Alex to consult, because he sees another tricky case ahead. Donny had been taking pictures of the homeless dressed in the costumes of their dream job and while some raved others thought it exploitative. Is someone offended enough to kill him or does the answer lie in his extremely dysfunctional family? More murders give them focus.

I thoroughly enjoyed Unnatural History, which is another fine addition to a series I have been reading for over thirty years. I like the dynamic and banter between the two old friends, Alex and Milo, and I like the way they constantly hypothesise about scenarios and potential suspects as it chimes with the way my mind works.

In terms of format the novel is very straightforward with Alex’s first person narrative and a linear timeline. It makes it easy for the reader to get immersed in the story and to follow events. The actual plot is less straightforward. Where do they look for a perpetrator when there are no forensics or prime suspect? The meat of the novel is Alex and Milo gaming scenarios that change as more information becomes available. I think that the author is fully in control and manages to produce some surprising connections in a few clever strokes. I was fascinated by Donny’s family situation as it hardly seems believable, but it is Los Angeles, where the unbelievable seems to happen every day. I was glued to the pages from start to finish.

With the victim having recently been in contact with homeless people the author explains in some detail why people end up on the street. I understand that this is a massive problem in L.A., but he does a good job of evoking sympathy, while perhaps underplaying the danger. My takeaway - it’s probably unsolvable.

Alex seems in a reflective mood in this novel. He has more memories of his difficult past to share, but he’s optimistic and always seems to have a positive attitude to them. Milo is just Milo, capable and empathetic, and plays well with Alex. It’s a relationship of old friends with the accompanying humour and dialogue.

Unnatural History is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

This book is part of a series about detective Milo and his psychologist friend Alex. I've never read any other novels in the series so found it difficult to understand the relationships.
In my opinion you cannot read this as a standalone novel. I did not understand the dynamics and how they went about solving crime. I
Found it really random that they would have brief mentions of Alex's clients and what they were being treated for, it brought nothing to the storyline

Alex Delaware is called to a murder scene by long term friend Lieutenant Milo Sturgis. A young man, Donny Keltman, has been shot in his own bed. Donny was a photographer and his last project was taking photographs of some homeless people. With no obvious suspects and no forensics pointing towards anybody Alex and Milo set about identifying the homeless people he photographed - Donny came from an affluent family and someone may have got greedy. When some of those homeless people are killed themselves it becomes clear that a serial killer is on the loose.

Another great instalment in the Alex Delaware series. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley, Random House UK and Jonathan Kellerman for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

I'm not sure you're really going to get a 5 star rating for a book that is number 38 in a series but this is an enjoyable read and coming from someone who has read all previous 37 I am pleased when it doesnt feel repetitive or old.
This book definitely felt as though it was trying to explain the backstory a little more than past books and so maybe pick up new readers who dont want to read all previous books, this is good for those who like the synopsis and are not familiar with Sturgis and Delaware, they are a good duo and this book can be read on it's own.
The plot of this murder and whodunnit was an easy read and full of obvious stereotypical characters as well highlighting some of this stereotypical beliefs can lead to misconceptions.
This wasn't too gruesome and actually I felt pretty sad for the victim, this book seemed to really reflect on who the young photographer /artist was rather than who everyone else was.