An embarrassment of riches

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/03/2024 (912 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Husband’s away on business yet again, it’s a warm clear night in L.A.’s ritziest neighbourhood, the pool and the hunky young man and the mansion are so inviting, the night was never so right for some moonlight delight — Bang! (very brief pause) Bang!

And there they sprawl amid luxury, a woman and a man, both shot straight through the heart.

But who was the target and who was collateral damage? The place was afloat in garish, expensive jewelry, so rule out robbery as a motive, right?

Conundrum time for our first-person psychologist narrator Dr. Alex Delaware and his BFF, LAPD homicide Lt. Milo Sturgis.

Jonathan Kellerman’s Delaware and Sturgis are two of the great partners in murder mysteries, trading so-cool dialogue as they fly the freeways of L.A. questing for clues amid the evil that great riches can unleash. This is the 39th book to feature the pair.

The woman, Meagin March, was early 40s, married not so long ago, with a — you got it in one — murky past.

Her husband is a brilliant entrepreneur who’s made loads of dollars, is still in his late 20s but totally asocial, as devoid of people skills and empathy as a black hole in a distance galaxy — which is being unfair to black holes. He’s devastated to learn she was unfaithful, but let’s get real here: when can he get his mitts on the jewelry he paid for, so he can cash out?

Did he hire a hitperson?

Then there’s the dead young man, Gio Aggiunta, an Italian Jack-the-lad set up in comfort by his family to introduce their high-end handmade leather shoes — all the rage in Europe — to the California market. Maybe he needed to get away from scandals throughout Italy? As though Bel Air and Beverly Hills are going to turn him into a monk.

Did a cuckolded husband, whose numbers were legion, do the deed?

Alex is by far the calmer of the two sleuths, into health much more than Milo, occasionally letting out a tiny hint of the abuse he suffered as a child.

Milo is a large man, considerably calorie-overadvantaged, kind and generous to the vulnerable and ordinary working stiffs, and doggedly determined to chase down villainy. Milo calls his own shots and picks his own cases thanks to his having the goods on a senior officer who’s been up to no good.

Add in three young detectives, Alex’s romantic partner Robin, Milo’s husband Rick and a darned good plot. And cars, it goes without saying — cars that live for the fast lanes on the freeways.

A knowledge of the geography in the L.A. region helps, though knowing which neighbourhoods have gates and maids and gardeners is essential.

Oh, and pay attention. If anyone mutters something in passing about some unrelated minor case, your Spidey-sense should be tingling. About 150 pages further on, you’ll need to remember.

Did we mention Alex’s day job? He’s also consulting on a family court case in which neither divorcing parent wants custody of their adopted child.

Good luck with that, Alex.

Kellerman’s books follow a well-trod path, leading Milo and Alex through the most grotesque of California glitz and an array of dazzling characters and low-lifes, slowly, inexorably piecing together the truth.

It’s really a treat to follow along — even if we don’t get to grab a seat when Milo inevitably stops for an inordinately large and scrumptious meal.

Retired Free Press reporter Nick Martin makes sure the gates are locked, the dogs are on patrol and the guards are on duty whenever he visits his Bel Air mansion.