Breakdown: An Alex Delaware Novel

Front Cover
Ballantine Books, 2016 - Fiction - 350 pages
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Jonathan Kellerman has been universally hailed as the master of psychological suspense, and the blockbuster new thriller featuring Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis confirms his status as today's preeminent practitioner of saber-sharp storytelling.

Psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware meets beautiful and emotionally fragile TV actress Zelda Chase when called upon to evaluate her five-year-old son, Ovid. Years later, Alex is unexpectedly reunited with Zelda when she is involuntarily committed after a bizarre psychotic episode. Shortly after Zelda's release, an already sad situation turns tragic when she is discovered dead on the grounds of a palatial Bel Air estate. Having experienced more than enough of L.A.'s dark side to recognize the scent of evil, Alex turns to his friend LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis for help in finding out who ended Zelda's broken life.

At the same time, Alex is caught up in another quest: the search for Zelda's missing son. And when other victims vanish from the same upscale neighborhood, worry turns to terror.

As Alex struggles to piece together the brief rise and steep fall of a gorgeous, talented actress, he and Milo unveil shattered dreams, the corruption of a family, and a grotesque betrayal of innocence. With each devastating revelation and damning clue, Alex's brilliant mind is challenged as never before--and his determination grows to see a killer caged and the truth set free.

Praise for Breakdown

"This is a book you should not miss. . . . A master craftsman at the top of his game . . . one of his best to date."--Bookreporter

"Gripping . . . an exhilarating masterclass in the art of plotting, suspense, characterization and brilliant mind games."--Blackpool Gazette

Praise for Jonathan Kellerman

"Jonathan Kellerman's psychology skills and dark imagination are a potent literary mix."--Los Angeles Times

"Kellerman doesn't just write psychological thrillers--he owns the genre."--Detroit Free Press

 

Selected pages

Contents

Section 1
3
Section 2
8
Section 3
11
Section 4
25
Section 5
40
Section 6
50
Section 7
64
Section 8
73
Section 23
180
Section 24
187
Section 25
201
Section 26
209
Section 27
221
Section 28
231
Section 29
241
Section 30
247

Section 9
82
Section 10
91
Section 11
95
Section 12
100
Section 13
104
Section 14
110
Section 15
118
Section 16
123
Section 17
130
Section 18
134
Section 19
145
Section 20
156
Section 21
161
Section 22
173
Section 31
260
Section 32
267
Section 33
281
Section 34
286
Section 35
291
Section 36
295
Section 37
306
Section 38
310
Section 39
315
Section 40
319
Section 41
338
Section 42
348
Copyright

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About the author (2016)

Jonathan Kellerman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than three dozen bestselling crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher's Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, True Detectives, and The Murderer's Daughter. With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he co-authored Double Homicide and Capital Crimes. With his son, bestselling novelist Jesse Kellerman, he co-authored The Golem of Hollywood and The Golem of Paris. He is also the author of two children's books and numerous nonfiction works, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children and With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and has been nominated for a Shamus Award. Jonathan and Faye Kellerman live in California, New Mexico, and New York.