Alex Delaware is a child psychiatrist who helps the police–particularly Milo Sturgis, homicide detective–solve crimes. Evidence, however, does not feature any children. It also doesn’t really feature Alex Delaware. The whole book is Delaware tagging along with Sturgis, while Sturgis interviews suspects and picks apart the crime. Seriously, Delaware has a mere handful of dialogue and contributes virtually nothing to the plot. This might have well been in third person for all the first person insight we get. It’s unclear why Delaware is brought in at all.
The plot is convoluted from the start, where two murdered victims are arranged in a compromising position at an abandoned construction site. One of the victims is quickly identified, while the other takes much longer to ID. Different characters come into play–one interrogation goes on forever with little interesting to show for it–and in the end the forgettable culprit is brought down. As I sit here, I cannot even remember anything about the murderer, and I just finished this book.
I remember reading a lot of Jonathan Kellerman some years ago and the books being much more entertaining and in-depth. The books also introduced me to French Bulldogs, which given the way Kellerman’s plot have deteriorated, are now my favorite thing about them. Unfortunately Delaware’s bulldog Blanche contributes nothing but the occasional snuffle. I finished this book on the heels of another Kellerman book, Victims, but realized I couldn’t squeeze much more out of that book as it was as forgettable as this one. I recommend Kellerman’s earlier books if you want to dive in.