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Book Review – The Museum of Desire, by Jonathan Kellerman

The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Museum of Desire is Jonathan Kellerman’s latest entry in his long-running Alex Delaware/Milo Sturgis series. Like most of the books in the series, it involves the investigation of a bizarre murder with deep psychological underpinnings. Kellerman is a master of setting as character, and this book does not disappoint with its insightful descriptions of Los Angeles. The characterization is also excellent–we meet a number of diverse and well rounded characters throughout the book. A minor point–Alex’s s.o., Robin, has become little more than window dressing in the later books, and this one is no exception. However, the portrayal of the investigation falls somewhat flat–many passages read like Alex and Milo are just going through the motions. Perhaps Kellerman is getting tired of the series at last. The ending is meh–it’s suitably twisted, but the motivations of the killer were unclear, other than evil for it’s own sake, which always falls flat for me.



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Book Review – The Girl in the Snow, by Alexandria Clarke

The Girl in the Snow: A Riveting Kidnapping Mystery by Alexandria Clarke

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The Girl in the Snow was a book that did not reach its potential. It’s premise was sound. Carolina Caccia, a divorced mom, takes he kids to a ski resort so the can have time with their father, her ex. This is complicated because he’s there with his new fam. As one would imagine, fireworks ensue, and one of Carolina’s kids goes missing. Since Carolina is an ex-FBI agent who specializes in missing kids (the first in a series of convenient coincidences), naturally, she becomes involved in the investigation.
What did work for me was the characters. They were deep and believable, far from cardboard. The setting was well-done, obviously based on an actual place that the author was familiar with. But ultimately, this story did not work well for me because it felt too contrived. Carolina did some things that were totally off the hook, which should have gotten her into serious trouble, but was given a bye as an ex-FBI agent. There were also too many coincidences, and the ending was somewhat predictable. And a minor point — who the heck was the girl in the snow? IMO, she never did show up.



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