Alex Delaware Books

Description /Buy link takes you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.

Alex Delaware is a fictional character in a book series written by Jonathan Kellerman. The character appears in over twenty-five distinct murder mystery novels by the same author. In the series, Delaware is presented as a forensic psychologist. However, the author through backstory describes the character to have practiced Child psychologist.

The character is not alone; he has a friend named Milo Sturgis, a Los Angeles Police Detective whom he helps with his investigations. Sturgis is a gay and appears throughout the series. Despite long separations, Delaware relationship with his girlfriend, Robin Castagna gradually evolves. Detective Petra Connor, a character in Kellerman Standalone book, Billy Straight was introduced in some of the recent books of the series.

Alex Delaware was born in 1951 and is portrayed as a caring more particularly towards his children and patients.

Alex Delaware murder mystery series by Jonathan Kellerman began with the publication of the first novel When the Bough Breaks in 1985. The story starts with the introduction of Dr. Morton Hander, a person described to have practiced a bizarre type of psychiatry, and his specialties being, sexual manipulation, extortion and, fraud. The main protagonist, Alex Delaware is introduced when Dr. Morton is brutally killed in his luxurious apartment.

Alex Delaware is a great example of a post-modern detective. While many detectives are dark and grizzled, Alex is an emphatic and caring individual. This really separates him from most crime solving stories and makes it unique. He is socially aware and thoughtful, painted as the kind of person you’d want to spend time with which sadly makes him unique in the genre.

Even Delaware’s partner in this series, Milo Sturgis, is a bit of a role reversal. He is portrayed as a big, tough cop and a bear of a man, but is also a homosexual. Delaware often gets himself into nightmarish situations and is forced to be saved by his friend, the gay cop. The series toys with your expectations and keeps you thinking.

ALEX DELAWARE AWARDS

In 1986, Jonathan Kellerman won Edgar Award for the Best First Novel (When the Bough Breaks) by an American writer. Subsequently, in the same year, he was awarded Antony Award for the Best First Novel.

ALEX DELAWARE BOOKS INTO MOVIES

When the Bough Breaks was adapted as a television film in 1986, the film was written by Phil Penningroth and directed by Waris Hussein. Starring in the movie was Ted Danson, Richard Masur, and Rachael Ticotin. Ted served as the lead character.

Alex Delaware novels are set to be scripted down for an action packed mystery television series to be aired on the FOX channel. The project is configured to be scripted by the ex- CSI: NY showrunner Pam Veasey while the Executive producer of the TV series being Jonathan Kellerman, Jerry Bruckheimer and Veasey alongside KristieAnne Reed as a Co-EP.

BEST ALEX DELAWARE BOOKS

When The Bough Breaks: The first book on the list is When the Bough Breaks. It is also the pioneer book of the series; the storyline begins with the introduction of a character known as Dr. Morton Hander.

The author describes to the readers that Dr. Morton practiced a weird type of psychiatry and in addition to his specialty; he also practiced sexual manipulation, corruptions and money extortion. The doctor pays for his sins when he is brutally murdered in his expensive apartment. The police have no clues of the possible homicide suspects; however, their only hope is a seven-year-old girl- Melody Quinn.

With no other alternative to obtaining the vital information from the shock stricken girl, is up to Dr. Alex Delaware- a psychologist to try up and down to unearth the deep and shocking secrets buried down in the little girl’s memory.

As the little girl begins to remember the possible perpetrators, Delaware discovers that the mystery puzzle is somehow interrelated to an incident of his past. The only hope lies with Dr. Delaware, the only person who can stop the unspeakable evil before it claims another soul.

Time Bomb: This book describes sniper shooting that occurs at an elementary school in Los Angeles. The sniper is gunned down, and none of the children on the playground is hurt. Holly Lynn Burden is the alleged shooter. Her father insists that Delaware should perform a psychological autopsy.

During his investigations, he encounters families in conflicts, child abuse, neglect and an extent of political extremism. Therefore he must race against the time bomb to bring out the real villain and ensure that justice is served before it is too late.

Heartbreak Hotel: The 32nd book in the Alex Delaware series shows that after all this time, Jonathan Kellerman still has it and knows this character very well. This book deals with the death of a very wealthy woman who is approaching her 100th birthday. This book moves fast with the action getting started right away and the bulk of the book dealing with the investigation of the case.

A quick warning though, this isn’t a book that you can just jump in and read. There is very little backstory on any of the characters and the author seemingly expects you to have read previous books in the series. While this is great for long time fans, it isn’t a great jumping on point. Of course, anyone who thinks that jumping into a series at the 32nd book is the right thing to do is probably a bit off to begin with.

OTHER BOOK SERIES YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Some other book series you might love to read are “Ali Reynolds” series written by J.A Jance and also “Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus” authored by Faye Kellerman. The two authors are New York bestselling with their publication winning several awards. Alison Reynolds series revolves around a retired newscaster residing in Sedona, Arizona while Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus are two couples who are tasked with solving various crimes.

What Is The Next Book in The Alex Delaware Series?

The next book in the The Alex Delaware Series by Jonathan Kellerman is Open Season and will be released on February, 4th 2025.

Home » Series » Alex Delaware

BookSeries.org