Flesh and Blood (Alex Delaware, No. 15)

Psychologist Alex Delaware hasn't been in private practice for a long time, but when the mother of a former patient calls and asks for his help, he can't turn her down. He couldn't help Lauren Teague when she was alive, but something about his failure with the beautiful, sullen teenager who grew up to be a high-priced call girl won't let him walk away after her bullet-ridden body turns up in an L.A. dumpster. When she wasn't turning tricks, she was a straight-A student; despite his detective pal Milo's demurral, Alex is convinced there's a connection between Lauren's death and another beautiful UCLA psych major who disappeared a year earlier. With his customary skill and compassion, Jonathan Kellerman draws us deep into Lauren's complicated life, from a university campus to a Malibu estate owned by a wealthy publisher of soft-core porn (who bears a distinct resemblance to the pajama-clad mogul who made a small white bunny famous).

Kellerman's last couple of books have been a bit disappointing, but here the bestselling author is writing up to the high standard he set in his earlier ones. With solid plotting, well-realized characterizations, and a strong narrative drive, Flesh and Blood delivers the real goods on every page. --Jane Adams