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Aug 09, 2010

Susie rated it:

Finished this, it's as good as the first book they were featured in, Bones.

Review - "PI Aaron Fox and L.A. cop Moe Reed, interracial half-brothers who played minor roles in 2008's Bones, take center stage in bestseller Kellerman's routine 24th Alex Delaware novel. When Fox, who used to work for the LAPD, looks into the missing-persons case of 20-year-old Caitlin Frostig, he runs into conflict with Reed. The brothers end up pursuing some predictable lines of inquiry, checking o More...

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Mar 26, 2009

Becky rated it:

Detective Moses Reed was introduced in Jonathan Kellerman's last novel, Bones. In that novel, Moe was an eager rookie learning at the feet of the great Milo Sturgis. He was a fairly minor character, the most interesting thing about him being the seething antipathy that surfaced when he came into contact with his half brother, Aaron Fox, former LAPD turned private investigator. In True Detectives, Moe Reed and Aaron Fox are at center stage, with Sturgis and Alex Delaware being relegated to walk More...

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Sep 23, 2011

Marie-jo rated it:

True, the pace can get slow now and then--but sometimes, slow is good. True, the brother's rivalry theme could have been better developed. True, I am a new Kellerman reader. True, I am somewhat surprised by the reviewers who find this novel either "bland" or "too complex."

Why complex? Is it because Kellerman intertwines the personal stories of the two brothers ironically called "Moses" and "Aaron" with the actual crime plot? (I say "ironic" More...

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Jul 09, 2009

Caitlin rated it:

I'm fond of Jonathan Kellerman's books, but this one was a disappointment. Generally, his books are well-plotted with interesting well-developed characters & unusual spins on behavior that keep me absorbed & in suspense. I also really like his wife's books (Faye Kellerman) & I enjoy the way they mix their LA characters into each other's worlds. It makes the world of their LA more real somehow.

This book is okay, but just okay. The characters are okay, the plot is okay, it's just k More...

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May 08, 2009

Coco rated it:

This book could not be classified as a whodunit, but rather a whothoughtaboutit. All they did was think. And talk. And talk some more. Boring. Where's the action? The tension? This moved along more slowly than a glacier (sorry, Al Gore). I used to be a big Kellerman fan, but his last two books just haven't lived up to his earlier works. I don't think it's because he has introduced new characters, I think it's because he just types 'em up and sends 'em out. I liked his other book where D More...

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Apr 25, 2009

Kayeb rated it:

Alex Delaware is but mentioned a few times, as the younger genration starts to take over more, I guess. The brothers continue the same style of conversation we have seen in his previous books, so the characters are not that different from those introduced before....but a new story line.

[close:] In Jonathan Kellerman’s gripping novels, the city of Los Angeles is as much a living, breathing character as the heroes and villains who roam its labyrinthine streets. Sunny on th More...

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Apr 18, 2009

Wendy rated it:

Wow! What a huge disappointment! I had a horrible time remembering which brother was Moe and which was Aaron. I remember having the same trouble in the last book when they were introduced. Their brotherly conflict, while understandable, was boring to read about. There was WAY too much detail about clothes they were wearing, their home, etc. It didn't make me interested in them or the people they were looking to find and the crime(s) they were trying to solve.

Additionally, the More...

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Apr 18, 2009

Laurel-Rain rated it:

Sibling rivalry colors this tale of two detectives – one brother, a police detective, and the other private – and follows each of them down the winding path to solving a case they are individually working. Occasionally collaborating, they piece together the puzzle that they have inherited.

Caitlin Frostig has mysteriously disappeared. Moe Reed, the police detective, and Aaron Fox, the private detective, approach the case in their unique ways. Moe has to reign in his actions to follo More...

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Aug 05, 2009

Donna rated it:

Fans of the Alex Delaware series are bound to be disappointed in the fact that Alex and his bulldog, as well as Milo Sturgis, make only cameo appearances in this book. Also, as others have observed, a great deal of space in True Detectives is given to developing the personalities and relationship between the two main characters of this spin-off series, the brothers Aaron and Moses. The plot of this book was somewhat sluggish as a result of all that detail.

That said, now that I know t More...

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Aug 13, 2011

Cornmaven rated it:

A lot of readers didn't like this book because Milo Sturgis and Alex Delaware were peripheral. But I really enjoyed the character development between the brothers, and thought their exchanges were fabulous. The two are unique, and both have unique flaws, which is essential to recurring characters in mainstream mysteries/crime stories. Aaron Fox's wardrobe and current fad knowledge reminded me a lot of Spenser (Robert B Parker), and made me wistful for those books.

I though the explor More...

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Apr 08, 2010

Adam rated it:

I am probably one of the biggest Jonathan Kellerman fan out there, but I was a little let down with this book. It started a little slow for me and ended just as slow. The best part for me was when he added Alex Delawares character to the story. I also enjoyed how he added so many other characters to the story that were familiar. I'm not saying it wasn't good because Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis were not in it, becasue I truly enjoyed his book Billy Straight. It just wasnt as exciting as o More...

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May 01, 2011

Dino rated it:

I listened to this book unabridged, and it was a big disappointment. I couldn’t believe how poor the writing was. Some of the phrases used were downright juvenile. For instance, “it smelled like a snot filled nose”. Then there was the inordinate amount of time wasted on describing the way people were dressed. I got the impression that the Author was just trying to fill up pages with words so he could pump out another best seller. All of this would have been okay if the story was good, but it was More...

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Sep 20, 2009

Evyn rated it:

I have been a long-time fan of Jonathan Kellerman's and have read all of his books. I also enjoyed his son's books (Jesse Kellerman) and the 2 he has co-written with his wife Faye.
This story follows the half-brothers Moses Reed (LAPD) and Aaron Fox (private eye). These 2 were introduced in JKs previous book (I think); their troubled relationship is fleshed out in the process of reluctantly teaming up to solve a couple of murder/disappearance cases. JKs usual protagonists Milo Sturgis and A More...

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Jun 20, 2009

Sherrie rated it:

Very slow going. It's beginning to get a bit better, but it hasn't engaged me yet. I know, I know, there are millions of books out there, why waste my time reading one I don't like. I just have to finish what I start. This books brings back characters from his previous offering, Bones, but Kellerman really needs to stick to what brung him, Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis. Both those characters are barely mentioned in this book. Neither of the new characters are very likeable. Kellerman has always More...

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May 05, 2009

Ellen rated it:

Jonathan Kellerman's latest didn't capture my attention like most of his previous novels. Perhaps it's because Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis are like old friends, and Aaron Fox and Moe Reed are new acquaintances or it's because Kellerman hasn't had years to flesh out their characters. Whatever the reason, I found myself trudging through "True Detectives." The plot became a little muddled - too many undeveloped characters and not enough focus. Sub-plots seemed forgotten until the en More...

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Jan 22, 2011

Cindy rated it:

This book wasn't that bad but wasn't as brilliant as some of his earlier novels. It was a bit ho-hummish and I missed Alex Delaware, Robin, the dog and Milo Sturgis. They basically only had mentions in the book which is based around his new characters who don't quite work quite as well as his previous characters. Maybe it's just because I am getting older, I'm getting more resistant to change.
It took a while to get into the book, which for me with a Jonathan Kellerman was quite unusual. More...

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Oct 05, 2009

NancyG rated it:

I've read all of Jonathan Kellerman's previous books and really enjoyed them. Main characters are Dr. Alex Delaware, a child psychologist who treats abused childeren (like the author) who helps the LAPD solve homicides, his BFF, Milo Sturgis, who is a gay LAPD homicide detective, and Robin, Alex's girlfriend who hand makes guitars. My BFF's lab is named after Milo Sturgis. :) I don't know what happened with this storyline but it was so slow moving and boring I stopped 1/2 way through and rech More...

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Jun 22, 2011

Bryan rated it:

Building on the world created in his Alex Delaware novels, Jonathan Kellerman weaves a story of two half-brothers and their reluctant collaboration in one cold case that leads to another. Elements of detective noir are mixed with contemporary bits of flair, including flashy suits and flashier cars. And let's not forget the sex and drugs!

This is an enjoyable read, giving loyal Kellerman followers a bevy of previously known characters. Among these include Delaware's best friend, Detect More...

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Apr 18, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

Kellerman's books are a guilty pleasure of mine. When I need a break from YA fiction, I tend to grab the latest Kellerman mystery. This one revolves around half-brothers Aaron and Moe, who do not get along. One is a private eye, the other a LAPD detective. They realize they have to work together in order to solve a mystery.

The book was fun, but I find their relationship lacking. Perhaps this is a new venture for Kellerman, who touched on this characters in a previous book. I haven't More...

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Nov 22, 2009

Sharon rated it:

Two detectives, one on the force and one private. One white, one African-American. One mother; the detectives are half-brothers. Aaron is working a missing persons case in his capacity as a private eye; Moses is working a cold-case murder.

The two cases intersect, and the volatile family relationship between Aaron and Moe must be overcome so that the men can work together.

Kellerman has created yet another interesting whodunnit with a twist (I absolutely did NOT see th More...

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May 24, 2010

Marti rated it:

Usually when I write a review of a Jonathan Kellerman book, I give it five stars, but this one had a different feel to it with just a little of Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis. The good guys in this book first appeared in Bones, which I am also reading, in paperback. This was a Large Print Edition--easier to read, but the publisher uses thinner pages so that you can turn two at a time, and realize the action doesn't follow that way. These two feature a pair of brothers--same mother, different More...

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May 02, 2009

ckat22 rated it:

new series (i hope) from kellerman - love the characters, was enjoying the mystery - but there was a little too much narrative wrap up for me ... i like the story to unfold all the way to the end - not be told by a character (see: scene with voldemort in the cemetery in hp4 - goblet of fire). when your story has so many twists the only way to resolve it (quickly) is to have a character give a monologue or a written confession (as happens in "true detectives"), i would prefer a less com More...

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Jul 08, 2009

Christine rated it:

I've always enjoyed Kellerman's Alex Delaware novels; this book is not one of my favorites by this author. In Kellerman's last novel, Bones< he introduced two half brothers who helped with a case Delaware and Sturgis were working on. This book features those two somewhat dysfunctional brothers in what is more a police procedural novel than the usual psychological story featuring Alex Delaware. I don't particularly like police procedurals so am hooing Kellerman goes back to writing about Mi More...

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Apr 19, 2009

Karen rated it:

Does Kellerman write in his sleep? He is now often writing 2 books per year. I prefer his Alex Delaware books, but this one was still full of his trademark elegant/hardboiled style and the usual L A cynicism. Even if the plot stretches one's credulity, and one does get a bit tired of the two feuding detective brothers which were introduced in Kellerman's earlier Bones, no one quite captures L A in all its corrupt lifestyle as well as Kellerman. Delaware does appear in a couple very short scene More...

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Apr 04, 2009

Nette rated it:

A fun, twisty plot, but another example of an author who's apparently gotten too rich and famous for a tough editor. All of his characters, from detectives to murderers to bookstore clerks, talk in the same weird, snappy, and completely bogus way. Detective to perp: "And what do you do? You just slink off like some beat-down dog, go get juiced up at Bob's, then you buy some dope from another mope over near Cherokee, then you wander around Hollywood all day and into the night, walking a More...

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Dec 07, 2009

Susan rated it:

If you are looking for Kellerman's usual characters, Dr. Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis, they play extremely minor roles in this book. The two main characters were introduced in the last Kellerman book. One is a Caucasian police detective who is a bit rough around the edges, and the other is an African-American private detective who dresses in designer suits. They happen to have the same mother, and much animosity between them. They both end up working on the same missing persons case. More...

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Dec 12, 2009

claude rated it:

I admire any successful author who writes a book every year. And Mr. Kellerman has a whole family of writers: I love that. His books are always of top quality: page turners, interesting plots, interesting characters.
This last book is an attempt of renewing his usual genre: it has more "cops talk", I am not too fond of that.

I always end up his books, however, with an uneasy feeling: they are very good, the author is an interesting person, so what it is that I do not More...

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Apr 21, 2009

E. rated it:

Secondary characters from Kellerman's "Bones" novel take the forefront in this novel that centers on a cold case disappearance of a young college student. The background of two detectives, one on the police force working under Milo Sturgis and one who has left the brotherhood and become a private investigator, is explored in more detail as they each strive to solve the mystery while dealing with their complicated relationship with each other. Alex Delaware makes a brief cameo appeara More...

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Aug 30, 2009

Melissa rated it:

I assumed going in that this was an Alex Delaware novel, but he actually only plays a small part. The same is true for Detective Sturgis. Instead, this novel focuses on two characters from Bones: Moses, the by the book boring cop, and his brother, Aaron, the self-made man who likes the finer things in life. As we learned in Bones, the two do not really get along, but they eventually wind up working together to help solve a murder. The more I read Jonathan Kellerman, the more I feel like there More...

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Apr 09, 2009

Donna rated it:

Take 2 half brothers who never have solved their sibling rivalry. Add in the fact that they are both trying to solve a cold case. Then, complicate it by their different approaches to life: Aaron is black, a flashy dresser, and works only on cases where someone is willing to pay exorbitant daily fees while Moses is white, conservative, and works for the city police. Ostensibly, they are working together but both of them are trying to prove they are the better detective. As always, Kellerman has w More...

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