Jonathan Kellerman: Rage

Rage

Jonathan Kellerman

In Los Angeles, the call surprises Dr. Alex Delaware because he had no idea that Rand Duchay was God forbid free; a frantic Rand pleads with Alex to see him immediately. Alex agrees thinking back eight years when then thirteen years old Randolph and his friend almost fourteen years old Troy Turner abduct and killed twenty-five months old Kristal Malley. Alex was the psychologist who dealt with the teen murders. Not long afterward someone at the Chino CYA camp for juvenile defenders killed Troy.

Alex arrives at the meeting place, but Duchay fails to show up. Surprised, Alex, who is to meet his beloved in New York tomorrow, informs Police Lieutenant Milo Sturges about what happened. The cop mentions a murder victim who turns out to be Rand. Is this a revenge killing perhaps the baby's father whose rage was obvious when the state cut a deal with the defense, an idle act, or someone insuring the truth of the infanticide never surfaces?

RAGE is a terrific Dr. Delaware thriller that grips the audience when Alex recalls (in a flashback) the heinous crime and the reactions of the two teens who committed the murder. Alex is super in this novel especially his asides such as fearing Rand will find another dominant personality to coax him along for a deadly ride. The who-done-it is well designed so that readers know that everyone involved just about believe Duchay deserved death including to a degree Milo and Alex, but they overcome their personal disgust while seeking the killer. Fans of the series will be elated with Jonathan Kellerman's latest tale.

Harriet Klausner