'True Detectives' is a Jonathan Kellerman Book that Barely Mentions Alex Delaware

Review of TRUE DETECTIVES (Random House Audio 2009)
By guest blogger Star Lawrence
Author, Jonathan Kellerman; read by John Rubenstein

If you are expecting the usual Kellerman fare of a French bulldog-owning shrink and his gay detective friend Milo, bleeepppp . . . rewind. The TRUE DETECTIVES are half-brothers, one white and still on the force, the other black and now a PI.

Their fathers used to be squad car mates. When one is killed, the other marries the first one's wife. Mom started out a little hoochy, then married rich. So no pathology to see there, keep on walking.

First introduced in BONES, Moses Reed, the white cop, is neat, orderly, humble and serious. His half-bro Aaron Fox is hip, drives a Porsche and is a self-styled player. His friends and sources are dotted around "the business" in LA, which is handy because the two are sort of informally teamed up on a missing persons case of a young college student, which soon leads to various DBs (dead bodies, to the innocent), libidinous housewives, skeevy hookers and pimps and a missing infant presumed hideously disposed of.

The wisecracks keep coming and Kellerman's endearing habit of describing in detail the clothes each person is wearing is intact, thank goodness.

TRUE DETECTIVES only leaves you with one question. . . . Are these guys really detectives? For the longest time, they drive around in cars and mull the people and clues. All that mulling.

On the upside—Blanche the French bulldog is mentioned. She is straight-up cute.

Star Lawrence is a writer in Chandler, AZ, and can be reached at jkellaw@aol.com. She's a frequent contributor to The Book Grrl and authors the blog Do the Hopey Copey, a humorous how-to guide to handling the recession.