When the Bough Breaks

Alex Delaware is a child psychologist, retired at the age of 34. Must be nice, huh? Except, he gets bored and finds a new zest for life after his friend Detective Milo Sturgis asks him to consult on a case. A prominent psychiatrist and his client/girlfriend have been murdered and a 10-year-old girl is the only witness. Alex’s involvement deepens when he discovers a link to a local home for orphaned and severely disabled children.
With more twists and turns than a theme park ride, Kellerman keeps his protagonist jumping, discovering more links to prominent personages and more twisted and disgusting motives. The plot isn’t entirely plausible, but it’s certainly suspenseful and logical. Even though one of my pet peeves is show more non-law-enforcement types having a direct guns-a-blazin’ confrontation with the evil bad guy in the climax of the book, I thought this was pretty well done, and less egregious than some I’ve seen.
I also tend to agree with Alex’s philosophies on child psychology, particularly when it comes to the excessive use of pharmacology in treatment of children. I’ll be reading more of these. show less

I've read the latest 5 or 6 Delaware novels. I am pretty sure I had read a few of the early ones as well - but in no real order and without the backstory.

That one is the first one in the series, written 30 years ago. But if you ignore the technology (and lack of it mainly), the book is not dated at all. It does not start with the first meeting of Alex and Milo - that had happened in the past. By the time this novel opens, they are already friends - the doctor and the cop, the unlikely partners that would solve so many cases through the years.

And this first novel is unusual in a way - it actually has two cases as its focus - the one that Milo goes to Alex for and the one that made them friends, that broke Alex and almost forced him show more into retirement. The new case is a double homicide - with a single witness - a non-reliable 7 years old girl that does not seem to be talking. Which leads to Milo calling on the only child psychologist that he knows - Alex Delaware.

It is a very dark novel, not as dark as some of the newer books but extremely dark anyway. Child abuse, an old conspiracy and blackmail are intertwined in a story that makes you hope that this cannot happen in the real world... and chills your bones knowing that it does.

It is a wonderful start to a series that I had grown to really like. I miss the side characters and the more mature friendship of the two men but then as a first book, you cannot expect that. The only reason I miss them is because I know what that brings to the stories. Onto book 2 in the series shortly. show less

After coming across so many book titles written by Jonathan Kellerman, I thought I'd check out the first Alex Delaware novel. Wow...a plot filled with dark and dirty secrets hiding under a veneer of wealth and (supposed) respectability. A real interesting mix of characters - some absolutely horrible, some tragically sad and last, but not least, the stalwart good guys who want justice served. A good start to this series and I'll definitely check the next one out.

After winning Heartbreak Hotel, #32 of Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware series, in a Goodreads Giveaway I picked this up to get an introduction to the character. What I got was that plus a suspenseful thriller with a plot that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. I really liked that the case was presented from the unique viewpoint of a psychologist who was buds with a homicide detective. I also liked that the detective wasn't the usual straightforward d either, so to speak. Now I'm looking forward to reading #32 and, who knows, maybe a few more in this series.

It's not strange how being older and not wiser but more aware makes someone a more critical reader. It's still a good novel but there are pieces of it that made me want to spit and hurl my Kindle across the room. My memories of Alex Delaware were good and I was in my late twenties, early thirties when I first read this series so all the macho posturing and sexist remarks probably annoyed me but I must have let it go. This time, well, I kept reading because I love Milo, Doctor Delaware I would gladly send him on his way. I know why I had stopped reading the later books but now, I'm not revisiting the earlier one any time soon.

So the plot, it's about child molesters and entitled white men that think because they have power, money they can show more use up children. That's the plot in a nutshell. I've read better novels with the same plot, John Morgan Wilson does a much better job and makes you care unlike Kellerman who made me want to smack Alex around.

2 stars because of Milo and only because of Milo. show less

I read a few of Kellerman's books way back when, also way into the series (flesh and blood, dr. death, etc...) By this point Alex and Milo had already solidified their relationship and Alex knew the mud that would inevitably cover his boots. I put them down for a few years until recently as I have developed a weird interest in terrible 1990's criminal intent and criminal minds shows.

These fine novels (30 of them I might add) were glaringly watching me in all of this time and I am very glad I decided to pick them up again. This first novel in the Alex Delaware series shows a timid, hedonist Delaware whom was just sliding into his early retirement inadvertently forced into a strange public service. Honestly, it's his fault for being such show more a badass.

I found these pages terribly difficult to put down for Delaware, through guise, wits and sheer genius cracked this case wide open where otherwise the trail was dead cold, pun intended. There where quite a few heated moments and a bit of action when it was necessary. I rated this as 5 stars because 6 is currently unavailable. show less

It's the first book in the long-running series, showing Alex Delaware just six months after his retirement, his mind scarred from trauma. Trying to get things kickstarted for his old bud, Milo (a homosexual homicide detective), enlists in the aid of the child psychologist for an especially troubling case. After following through with the favor of hypnotizing a small child, Alex finds he can't let go and continues forth with the investigation on his own.

It's a great introduction to the series, giving one a good idea of the main characters at play, yet holding onto the usual awkward stumbles of a first book. It's simply not as engrossing as Kellerman's later stuff, although I dare you to be able to put this one down. It feels like the show more author is trying to find his footing, testing the waters in different areas to see what should make his main characters tick. One of the more notable standouts of this one was the absence of Milo during most of the investigation. Alex does nearly all the detective work without phone conversations with the big guy, which isn't as preferable. Milo's wit that comes later and the discoveries he feeds Alex (and vice versa) end up working so much better.

The mystery is as usual a complicated one, and Kellerman's typical knack for distracting the reader works its magic. He always includes so many characters it's almost easy to lose track of them, with various red herring trails and pasts always eventually tying in with the present. Here it's on the semi-unrealistic side as the past too conveniently ties in with this cases's answer (does this situation have to do with everything?). Too many people seem to be involved with the main uncovering, but I did enjoy the shocking revelation coaxed out from Milo on the last few pages.

If you're a fan of the series, you definitely should dive in to learn the history of Alex, how he met Milo and Robin, etc. Don't expect quite the same pizazz as other works, but be prepared to have to spare an afternoon or two to read this book with no distractions. If I could find another fault, it would be that the book could use some minor trimming to perhaps speed up the revelation and action. At least all the questions are answered in the end. show less