Double Homicide

by Jonathan Kellerman, Faye Kellerman

The "New York Times" bestseller by two masters of the crime novel—and husband and wife—writing together for the first time kick starts a new series of short crime novels, beginning with these two riveting tales of murder and suspense, set in Boston and Santa Fe.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Detective

Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Jonathan Kellerman was born in New York City in 1949 and grew up in Los Angeles. He helped work his way through UCLA as an editorial cartoonist, columnist, editor and freelance musician. As a senior, at the age of 22, he won a Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award for fiction.

Like his fictional protagonist, Alex Delaware, Jonathan received at Ph.D. in psychology at the age of 24, with a specialty in the treatment of children. He served internships in clinical psychology and pediatric psychology at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles and was a post-doctoral HEW Fellow in Psychology and Human Development at CHLA.

IN 1975, Jonathan was asked by the hospital to conduct research into the psychological effects of extreme isolation (plastic bubble units) on children with cancer, and to coordinate care for these kids and their families. The success of that venture led to the establishment, in 1977 of the Psychosocial Program, Division of Oncology, the first comprehensive approach to the emotional aspects of pediatric cancer anywhere in the world. Jonathan was asked to be founding director and, along with his team, published extensively in the area of behavioral medicine. Decades later, the program, under the tutelage of one of Jonathan's former students, continues to break ground.

Jonathan's first published book was a medical text, PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER, 1980. One year later, came a book for parents, HELPING THE FEARFUL CHILD.

In 1985, Jonathan's first novel, WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS, was published to enormous critical and commercial success and became a New York Times bestseller. BOUGH was also produced as a t.v. movie and won the Edgar Allan Poe and Anthony Boucher Awards for Best First Novel. Since then, Jonathan has published a best-selling crime novel every year, and occasionally, two a year. In addition, he has written and illustrated two books for children and a nonfiction volume on childhood violence, SAVAGE SPAWN (1999.) Though no longer active as a psychotherapist, he is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Psychology at University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.

Jonathan is married to bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman and they have four children.

Reviews

[Jerry B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short novellas disappoint -- we wanted Decker & Alex !!

We were so excited to learn that two of our favorite authors -- Faye and Jonathan Kellerman (husband and wife as well) -- had teamed up to write "a novel" entitled Double Homicide. We were all set for a sparkling Alex Delaware (on one murder) meeting Peter Decker (on the other), and the twain happily and merrily collaborating to nail the bad guys. Alas, we and the publishers and authors were not seeing eye to eye; instead, we got two rather short novellas, one set in Boston, the other in Santa Fe, in which respective murders we generally could have cared less about are more or less solved by two new detective pairs in each location. Santa Fe is about an obnoxious art dealer who gets bumped off; the ending is so placid that it defies belief. Boston is about a college basketball player that dies in a shooting at a nightclub after a vicious game. The actual cause of death creates what little mystery is on hand.

Admittedly, the physical packaging was clever, with the two stories upside down so that both book faces look like front covers. Some reviewers mistook the alternating author bylines to presume Faye wrote one story and Jon the other; rather, we suspect they drafted both and took turns writing chapters as the spirit moved. Unfortunately, neither of the stories do justice to the fine writing skills each displays in their longer novels. "Double" looks suspiciously like something due on contract for holiday sales fodder -- but if you must read it, wait for the paperback; and even then you might want to wait for a hand-me-down. We doubt we'll see any more of these joint efforts or these characters, and frankly, it's just as well if this is the best they can do. Now, what about Decker meets Delaware ?!?!

[LG · Rating 1 out of 5]

In my mind, I'm not sure the Boston story qualifies as a murder mystery. Plus, the motivations of the victim's mother felt way too forced. That a mother always protects her child felt way too simple. I just kept thinking to myself - no one's really talked to the mother. And the police officers' judgment of the father went in the other extreme. Mother-good. Father-bad.

I was expecting some cross over between Boston and Santa Fe. Nothing - just people dying in separate cities.

In the Santa Fe story, there's a lot of back story that has nothing to do with the murder. Since it's so short, you feel like you get an awful lot of potential leads before the murder is solved. It eventually comes around, but it feels like a lot of chase more than anything.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really care for either of these books. The plots weren't very developed, nor were the characters. By the time the story gets going, WHAM, they tell you who did it in about one paragraph and there's no more. It's like "I'm tired tired of writing so I'll just tell you who did it". The end.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an audiobook. Not my favorite author. Two novellas that were just "okay". They filled a void while I was planting my tomato seeds and cooking dinner.

[Sheila Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are two good stories. The first story has some interesting twists and turns. The second story also has some interesting action; however, I deducted one rating point for backstories about the two detectives that, while interesting, didn't have anything to do with the plot of the story.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was an interesting experiment between husband and wife authors, Jonathan & Faye Kellerman, that didn't exactly pay off. In their other duel authored book, Capital Crimes, they each wrote a novella; but in this book they each started a story but then had their spouse write part of it too. This created a mash up of both their writing within the two stories, that surprisingly didn't feature cameos by characters in their well know series, which I welcomed due to Delaware burnout. The locales were in Boston and Santa Fe (the Kellerman's now live there part time) and the stories didn't interconnect at all. The stories were uneven, and will only appeal to existing fans of the Kellermans.

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a disappointment. I am a fan of both Jonathan and Faye Kellerman but this book was not as good as either of them alone. First, for some reason I thought it was a single novel about two homicides that were investigated simultaneously in two cities. Instead it is two novellas packaged as a single book. Each novella is very simple with little in the way of sub-plots and not much character development either.

As an aside, the book is identified as being by Jonathan Kellerman alone but the author credits in the book list both him and Faye. I am not sure if one or both of them wrote these novellas but he (or they) should go back to writing their own series.

[Kaye · Rating 1 out of 5]

Life is too short to spend time on a book that was going no where fast. I didn't care what happened to any of these characters. The cops seemed determined to convict a guy before the dust even settled. The plot did not make sense and the characters were stereotypical.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two novellas with two narrators. Each one quite different than the other. My main thing was neither really seemed "finished" to me for some reason

[Steven Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two quick reads that felt like I was watching an episode of Law and Order.

[Gilbert G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really was very bored reading this book.

[Barb Gaffney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read but intriguing

[Carol Jones-Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to the 2 novella-length mysteries - for the 2nd time, I discoverd. Loved the first one - about a mom who is a detective and her basketball--playing son. For the second time, when the end came, I didn't realize it WAS the end. I wanted MORE - and waited for the CD to move to the next chapter. It didn't. Instead, we moved (from Boston, I think, to Santa Fe) to another story - less engaging, with less attractive characters. The end wasn't particularly satisfying, in part because we had no lead up to the characters who were involved in the resolution. I always enjoy the regular characters of either of the Kellermans' mysteries, but not the second set of THESE characters - and the first set of characters, whom I was primed to enjoy for many more chapters cut me off short. I live in New Mexico so I knew most of the locations discussed, so that made it a little more interesting. But still disappointing.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book of Double Homicide. This is a short book with 2 stories - one by Faye Kellerman and the other by her husband Jonathan Kellerman. I liked them, but wasn't overly thrilled. For short stories, there was a lot of description and back story that I didn't think was very relevant to the entire plot. (Unless these characters were being used in other novels by the authors.) They were both definitely quick reads (listens), but the mystery in both was wrapped up really quickly at the end. In the 2nd story, I actually had to rewind a couple minutes at the end because I missed what exactly transpired and whodunit. The Kellermans are both good writers, but short stories are definitely not their forte.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first book of the pack, the one in Boston. The story made sense and I was interested. The one in Santa Fe though? Awful. I couldn't get connected to the characters, and the resolution didn't feel like one at all. I felt like we got a lot of background into the detectives for no reason, and not enough of the motive of the killer.

[Tommye · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't care for these stories as I enjoy their individual novels. Not by a longshot. I was expecting more, not less, from their joint effort.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened on audiobook. I enjoyed the plot of Jonathan's more, but Faye's narrator more. Overall, though, light fare.

[DAISY READS HORROR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty fast read. I liked the first story more than the 2nd one though.

[Brenda Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the first story, but not so much the 2nd one.

[Tehreem Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*
I liked the one set in Boston more than the other. So I'll be talking about that. Because the depth in this story is more blinding than in the other one.

For that matter, one needs to understand that not all murder mysteries centre around a psychopathic killer. Some murder mysteries maybe the result of some misfortune hunting a person. This may surface as relation-based misfortunes where the relationship stays uprooted no matter how much you water it. It may present as societal bias where all good you do for the people around you turns back against you. It may express itself as a physical handicap where all your mental propensities can't make you flawless. It may even come forward as parental hardships where you feel some unnamed force driving you in a corner regarding your child. No matter how good to heart you are, how true your intentions are, how loveable your propositions are, how encouraging your words are, how honest your actions are, you are bound to doom.
Because it's an ill fate.
The story "Double Homicide - Boston" takes the reader to the murder of a rising prodigious athlete that may have taken place due to an in-game scuffle. At first, it seems like some teens getting out of control and rowdy, but the arena widens and at the far end, sits tragedy.
I don't want to spoil the story, so I won't be discussing it further.
But I do recommend this to anyone out there with a heart for love, loss and tragedy playing out on the stage of murder mystery. Do read it.

As far as "Double Homicide - Santa Fe" is considered, it was good overall. An actual murder mystery. But not impactful.

[Moz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Jonathan Kellerman but not so much his wife Fay, who I think is credited as writing part of these stories... probably the boring parts. I've read a few of her books and they're OK but I stopped reading because of all the religious content. If I want to know how a Jewish household runs I'll get a book on the topic. It's got no place in a crime series.

I listened to the audio version of these two stories. A bit different to his usual stuff. I got bored with the first one, the constant banter between the cops was unnecessary and didn't add to the story at all. I nearly didn't finish but kept thinking it would get better. Eventually it did improve a bit and he came up with an interesting ending. But unrealistic in regards to the judicial processing of the shooter. Pleads guilty and goes to jail instantly? Really? Author tidy up.

The second story was just okay but while listening my mind kept wondering off to other things so that'll give you a clue as to how riveting the story was. Lots of back stories in this one, some useful, others not so much. I like a bit of background info on characters but this was overdone. Lazy writing to fill in the gaps I suspect. You're better than this Jonathan.

One of the narrators had a really disconcerting accent. The way he pronounced A in some of the words had a distinctively Australian vibe to it but on research, both readers were American actors. Strange.

But my biggest whinge was the intermittent music. Why? It was unnecessary, sometimes not even in character with the actual excerpt of story being told, too loud and very annoying.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collaboration between Jonathan and Faye Kellerman. They're both great authors and I felt like their talents combined would make for one great book. This was certainly not what I was expecting. While it's good, it's not at the same level as the books they write separately. The first story, In the land of giants, was definitely the better of the two. The characters were more likeable and it's not bogged down with backstory that doesn't add much to the plot. The second story, Still Life, doesn't seem to put a lot of focus onto the plot. It's loaded with backstory. While I enjoy learning more about characters, I just felt like one of them went on way too long without adding much to the story. Not only that, but the mystery wasn't that interesting. I found myself not really caring who did it. I'd recommend this book only if you're looking for a short book that you can finish within a few days.

[Anne Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contained two stories, the first being Double Homicide Boston. Detectives Dorothy B. and Michael M. Investigate what first appears as a shooting of a college basketball player by a rival player at a bar after a game. But the medical examiner sees the truth - it wasn't a bullet that caused the death, but a pre-existing condition that should have been seen on school x-rays. The detectives find out the whole story.
The second book, Double Homicide Santa Fe, takes us to the Santa Fe art world. An art dealer has been murdered in his gallery. Detectives Darrel Two Moons and Steve Katz question people associated with the dealer, even Katz's ex-wife. When the art dealer's assistant finds out paintings by a certain artist have been stolen, solving the case just becomes a matter of finding the artist.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a small book (about 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" and only 275 pages), so it is a quick read. It was published in 2004. Two of what I'd term novellas comprise the book, one set in Boston, and one set in Santa Fe. The Boston portion involves mostly Black characters and is the investigation after a star college basketball player dies. The Santa Fe story involves both an Indigenous and a Jewish cop and involves the death of a prominent art dealer. The writing in both is breezy and succinct. I enjoyed the characters and stories in both, but nothing is very deep, considering how short each is. The Santa Fe story describes the city and its environs better than the Boston portion, and the culprit there was a complete surprise. I suspected the bad guy in Boston before it was revealed. If it weren't winter (at least where I am), this would be a good beach read.

[Sandi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to listen to the audio version of this book. When I started listening, I was not aware that it was actually two short stories. That ,in itself, was disappointing.

I listened to Boston homicide first and made it partially through the Santa Fe homicide. At this point I did something. I’ve only done a few times in my life. I turned it off and said enough, I was unable to finish it.

I can usually find something I enjoyed while listening to a book. In this case, there was nothing worthwhile. The story line was weak and basically boring with characters that were not well developed. To top it off, the narration was acceptable but the background music was actually annoying.

That’s the last of Jonathan Kellerman for me. There are too many good authors in this world to listen to such mediocrity.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Double Homicide is a collaborative effort by husband-and-wife duo Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, bringing together two short, standalone novellas set in different cities—one in Boston and the other in Santa Fe. While both authors are renowned in their own right for their mystery and psychological thriller novels, this joint venture delivers a mixed experience.

The book is structured in an interesting way, with each author taking the lead on one of the novellas. Jonathan Kellerman's Boston-based story follows detectives investigating the murder of a promising young basketball player, while Faye Kellerman's Santa Fe tale delves into the death of an art dealer. The two stories are distinct, with no overlapping characters or plotlines, which can feel a bit disjointed for readers expecting a cohesive narrative.

[Chris Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

This listing should say it is by Jonathan and Faye Kellerman. Each wrote a novella in this book.

Perhaps the most interesting element of this publication is the chance to compare and contrast two writers intimately linked. Their styles are distinct, and I will have to say that Jonathan's emerges as more polished, although I remember Faye's story better. At the same time, you see clearly how a mystery is constructed as both use similar scaffolding: a murder that seems to have an obvious culprit, glimpses into the personal lives of grizzled detectives, a surprise twist, and a tidy resolution.

That is not to seem like a criticism, because it is a formula that works for an entire genre and continues to work.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has 2 novellas set in different cities and although they give the flavor of the areas came through the plots were disappointing. I felt that too much time was spent on the lives of the detectives and not enough on the crimes, especially for such short works, I listened to the audio books and narrators were excellent. they differentiated the voices well and conveyed the feelings of the characters. The stories were OK, not spectacular, but mildly entertaining for someone who likes crime novels without too much violence. I recommend it to pass the time but be warned that you will not be blown away with excitement

[John Morse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two stories in one book, each with its own cover, written by Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, a husband and wife team, who are also best-selling crime/ mystery authors on their own. The two murder locations--Boston and Sante Fe-- are so well-described that the reader feels like they are riding with the detectives in the police cruiser and sitting behind the glass in the interview room. The characters are similarly portrayed, so you'd recognize them on the street. Of the two, I liked the Boston story best because all the characters were very local. The Sante Fe group were all transplants. The plots were a little thin with some good detective work but few surprises.

[Colleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is actually two short 'murder' mysteries. Other reviewers have already stated how I also feel.
One wrote:
"I was expecting some cross over between Boston and Santa Fe. Nothing - just people dying in separate cities. "

Another one wrote:
"I didn't really care for either of these books. The plots weren't very developed, nor were the characters. By the time the story gets going, WHAM, they tell you who did it in about one paragraph and there's no more. It's like "I'm tired tired of writing so I'll just tell you who did it". The end."

p.s. I didn't even finish the 2nd mystery - totally bored.