Jonathan Kellerman, Gone

Gone

Jonathan Kellerman

Ballantine, April 2006, $26.95

ISBN: 0345452615

Dylan Meserve and Michaela Brand met at the PlayHouse where they were taking an Inner Drama seminar. During the day he sold sneakers and she was a waitresses, as both out of towners hoped to take Hollywood by storm. No one would care back home, Brooklyn and Phoenix respectively, if something happened to either of them. The two lovers vanish on the way home from a rehearsal. Three days later, they reappear battered and terrified near Latigo Canyon, on a remote windy segment of the Malibu mountainside. Each claims a masked maniac abducted and tortured them.

Their horrific tale fails to hold up under the slightest police enquiry, and rather quickly empathy turns to loathing for perpetrating such a publicity stunted hoax. LAPD arrests Dylan and Michaela for false filing, and the court orders psychological evaluations. Psychiatrist Dr. Alex Delaware examines Michaela; he concludes she has some emotional issues, especially depression and stress, but he also believes that her current overt conditions are caused by her being caught. He also feels there is something deeper, perhaps even a psychosis that he failed to identify in the short time he had with her. Not long afterward, someone brutally kills Michaela, with the missing Dylan as the prime suspect; that is if he is still alive. LAPD homicide detective Milo Sturgis assisted by Delaware begins the investigation.

The latest Delaware investigative tale is one of the best of this long running award winning series, because the two wannabe actors provide a fascinating look at how far someone will go to achieve fame. The storyline maintains a high degree of excellence, but is especially at its best when Alex, somewhat frustrated, talks with Michaela. Police procedural fans and those readers who appreciate a powerful psychological thriller will want to read GONE, a strong exciting thriller.