by Jim Bessey

Created on: May 24, 2009

"Bones," by Jonathan Kellerman, is the 23rd novel in the Alex Delaware series.

On a murky night, a shy and lovely piano teacher's body is dropped on an isolated marsh-bank in the heart of LA. An obnoxious prep-school flunky serving community-service parole takes the call: "East side of the marsh. Look, and you'll find it." He says nothing to his boss, Silford Duboff - "wearing his Save the Marsh T-shirt, geek shorts...plastic sandals...stupid gray beard." Duboff will join the teacher eventually, involuntarily.

A bit later, cadaver dogs sniff-out three more female bodies, carefully concealed in the marsh itself. Each body faces east, and each is missing her right hand. Rookie homicide detective Moses Reed draws the case, with assistance from Lieutenant Milo Sturgis and psychologist-consultant Alex Delaware. Much later, a down-on-his luck landscaper named Hernandez contributes a key puzzle piece: a small, exotic wooden box purchased unseen at auction contains bleached bones from three feminine hands.

Investigations into the identities of the murdered women lead to the secluded estate of millionaire Simon Vander. His property manager, Travis Huck - limping, face off-balance, sweating profusely - becomes the Prime Suspect. Huck disappears. Vander's anorexic daughter Simone hires private help, in the form of Det. Reed's half-brother Aaron Fox. Simone's half-brother, piano prodigy Kelvin Vander, was the star pupil of Selena Bass - the lady on the marsh-bank. And that's only the beginning of this intriguing who-dunnit from Jonathan Kellerman.

Kellerman masters both the twisted plotting and deeply-drawn characters needed for an engrossing murder mystery. Every participant in both sides of the search for answers about these "Bones" plays a key role in the convoluted trail. You'd have no trouble casting the movie; the author chooses critical details that provide vivid depth for even the most minor players. This one is from our first meeting with Travis Huck:

"A man in a navy-blue shirt, pale jeans, and a large gray knit cap squinted in our direction. The shirt was baggy and untucked, tails flapping like breakers. The jeans puddled over white sneakers. The cap was pulled down over the tops of his ears. He walked toward us in an unsteady gait - uneven shoulders, a foot that turned outward every other step, on the verge of stumble. ... He ... offered an iron-streaked view of long, gaunt face, hollow cheeks, deep-set brown eyes. A three-day stubble, mostly black, some gray, coated

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