Gone is a story about a seriously deranged and pathetic family. It is horrible to learn about the mentally ill who turn on helpless dreamers. The characters all seem real. The settings are real. Everything takes place in the Los Angeles area which makes it more upsetting for a person who lives in Los Angeles. Four stars were given to this book in this review. As always, a very well researched book and story. ( )

Alex and Milo track killer of would be actresses, discover rich brother actually a cousin who has seized control

I thought I might have read this before and yes, I had. But I did not remember major details, just small ones, so I read it through again.

Kellerman is not one of my favorite mystery writers but he's more intelligent than many, so holds my attention. I like Milo, the gay detective, and Alex, the psychologist hooked on crime. I like that they have flaws, even though at times some of the flaws seem ludicrous.

For example, Alex Delaware is a psychologist who gets depressed if he doesn't have a woman in his life. He feels lonely. He feels sorry for himself. It seems to me that he could have leaned a few tools of his trade to overcome these feelings, to be okay with himself by himself. But of course it is well-known that people get into this profession because they are screwed up.

But to the story.

At first, a prank. A young woman and man pretend to have been kidnapped in the wild hills of Malibu. The woman, Michaela Brand, is discovered when she runs into the road, naked, and almost causes a truck to run off the edge. The two are acting students of an eccentric teacher, Nora Dowd, who teaches acting for free but chooses her students through audition. Dowd has a large inheritance and can afford to do whatever she wants. She also is a failed actor herself. Why her students should think they can learn from her is never really answered.

Things get a lot more serious when Michaela later turns up dead. Alex Delaware, sometime consultant to the LAPD, wants in. He and Milo Sturgis work together to figure this one out. The characters include fellow acting students, Nora Dowd, Dowd's brothers Brad and Billy, a suspicious janitor named Reymond Peaty, and of course there may be some mysterious boyfriend out there. When Milo learns of another missing acting student, another blond young woman, he begins to think the acting studio may be the base of operations.

And it doesn't end there. An older couple happened to go missing and their car turned up north of LA, somewhere in the Camarillo area. The couple had been interested in acting, too.

Suspicions are all well and good but there is no evidence of any wrongdoing, other than Michaela's body, at first. Milo and Alex cover a lot of ground, from Malibu to Carpenteria and beyond.

Meanwhile, Alex is wondering how his ex-gf, Robin, is doing. And let's not forget Allison, she of the expensive taste in clothing, hair, and makeup.

The mystery gets stranger and the truth almost gets derailed from time to time. Only to end in...well, I'll leave that to you.
( )

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/10527271

Enough murders, too many suspects, twists and turns to keep you up all night--reading. What has Dr. Delaware got himself into? One of Jonathan Kellerman's best. ( )

This novel opens with a young, naked girl running out of a forest in front of an old farmer's truck claiming she was kidnapped. When it turns out to be a hoax perpetrated by two wanna be actors/actresses, Alex is asked to evaluate Michaela to see if she is mentally stable. Shortly after meeting with her, he is told the case has been settled. Shortly after that, it all come to an ugly head when she is found murdered and left in a vacant lot. Milo is on the case and immediately calls Alex. The two fo them take on the case. Alex is a psychologist, but he is more like a detective the way he works with Milo to solve this case. One question leads to another and another. One suspect leads to another and another. Lots of suspects, more victims, missing persons, questionable property owners and a helpful neighbour all populate this story. Once again Milo plays the big yet unassuming detective that people talk to and Alex plays his role as sidekick and shrink to the tee. This is not a novel full of action, it is a slow, dramatic story that relies a lot on dialogue between Alex, Milo and those they are interviewing. It was not the best Alex Delaware novel I have read, but it was still enjoyable. ( )

I found this to be a disappointing story. It is slow and plods along. I've read better Kellerman books. ( )

In Gone, acting students Dylan and Michaela go missing. When they are appear again, they are bruised after claiming to have been kidnapped. This kidnapping claims turns out to be a hoax. The duo of Milo Sturgis and Alex Delaware come into the picture, Milo investigating and Delaware performing an evaluation of Michaela. Later Michaela turns up murdered, and the police immediately suspect Dylan. Naturally, Delaware gets involved in the search and aftermath as he often does.

Gone is one of the weaker efforts from Jonathan Kellerman in this series. The plot was implausible. The side characters weren’t especially likeable. The story tends to meander a bit. The main characters of Delaware and Sturgis are generally well drawn, which makes the story easier to sit through. All the same, unless you are hooked into this series, this is a novel that I would skip. There are far better novels out there to occupy your time.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street ( )

No one conducts a more chilling, suspenseful, thoroughly engrossing tour through the winding corridors of criminal behavior and the secret chambers of psychopathology than Jonathan Kellerman, the bestselling “master of the psychological thriller” (People). Now the incomparable team of psychologist Alex Delaware and homicide cop Milo Sturgis embark on their most dangerous excursion yet, into the dark places where risk runs high and blood runs cold. It's a story tailor-made for the nightly news: Dylan Meserve and Michaela Brand, young lovers and fellow acting students, vanish on the way home from a rehearsal. Three days later, the two of them are found in the remote mountains of Malibu -battered and terrified after a harrowing ordeal at the hands of a sadistic abductor. The details of the nightmarish event are shocking and brutal: The couple was carjacked at gunpoint by a masked assailant and subjected to a horrific regimen of confinement, starvation and assault. But before long, doubts arise about the couple's story, and as forensic details unfold, the abduction is exposed as a hoax. Charged as criminals themselves, the aspiring actors claim emotional problems, and the court orders psychological evaluation for both. Michaela is examined by Alex Delaware, who finds that her claims of depression and stress ring true enough. But they don't explain her lies, and Alex is certain that there are hidden layers in this sordid psychodrama that even he hasn't been able to penetrate. Nevertheless, the case is closed – only to be violently reopened when Michaela is savagely murdered. When the police look for Dylan, they find that he's gone. Is he the killer or a victim himself? Casting their dragnet into the murkiest corners of L.A., Delaware and Sturgis unearth more questions than answers – including a host of eerily identical killings. What really happened to the couple who cried wolf? And what bizarre and brutal epidemic is infecting the city with terror, madness, and sudden, twisted death?

Man, Kellerman caught the Dan Brown syndrome. That just pissed me off. 3 pages doesn't make a chapter. Do not presume that your readers have the attention span of a gerbil. By page 50, we were at chapter 8! 8! I persisted because I know Kellerman is good storyteller or used to be anyway. This one is better than the last one, Rage, but not by much and I didn't like the last one. I long for the older ones where the story had depth and Alex was more than this caricature of himself. I won't even go into what Milo is like now or that Robin is just, grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!! If you are a completist, like me, you'll feel the need to read anyway but don't buy it, get it from your library, much better for your wallet. ( )

The first half drags ridiculously. I'm not going to encourage him by buying any more of these books.
( )

My review can be found here: http://marny-h96.dreamwidth.org/6697.html ( )

Always a good read!
I could put it down and then go back to it later. I could take my time to finish it, which is what I like! ( )

Mildly interesting, twisted story of a seriously dysfunctional family. I think it gets to the point that it is impossible to invent worse horror. We are told that Alex is really spooked, but I do not feel it. The bomb shelter was not described in enough detail to gross me out. Actually, the best action scene was the sub-plot where Alex blows out the knees of a deranged psychologist. ( )

Although I would still recommend this book for mystery enthusiasts, especially those who are fans of gritty detective novels, I do it with a bit of caution.

Read the full review at: http://tipsyreader.com/books/reviews/book-review-gone/ ( )

Delaware and Sturgis team up to investigate the murder of a Hollywood hopeful and stumble into a series of linked murders of would-be stars.
The writing and style are definitely Kellerman-quick and to the point. This book does a better job of keeping the plot interesting with all new twists and turns. No boring moments. Kellerman seem seems to be "softening" Sturgis but not sure if this is going to really develop into anything. Delaware gets beat up some in this one which is unusual for an analytical bystander. There is one entirely hilarious, laugh out loud chapter with a heavily sedated Alex Delaware in the hospital bed-I could use more chapters like that. All in all this book is better than some of Kellerman's other works but the antagonists are gory and deeply disturbed. ( )

Dylan Meserve and Michaela Brand, young lovers and fellow acting students, vanish on the way home from a rehearsal. Three days later, the two of them are found in the remote mountains of Malibu. They were carjacked at gunpoint by a masked assailant and subjected to a horrific regimen of confinement, starvation, and assault. Before long, the abduction is exposed as a hoax and the aspiring actors are exposed as criminals themselves. Michaela is examined by Alex Delaware, the case is closed, but reopened when Michaela is found savagely murdered. Dylan has disappeared and Delaware and Sturgis start their search. ( )

Several murders are committed over a several years. All are related to an acting school in LA. The culperate is a family leader who is manipulating some of the family members to rape and kill the people because they remind him of his mother and father. ( )

Really bad, couldn't get past the first five chapters. Slow, irrelevant intro failed to grab me. I didn't even get to the girl character's murder (as promised on the book jacket.) DNF. ( )

Another Delaware, ho hum. Fot those that like this sort of thing they'll like this sort of thing. It's better than a wet Thursday in Ballybunion in February - or at least it'll pass the day. ( )

This novel follows the lengthy murder investigation of aspiring actors who are connected to the same acting school.

This is my first time reading one of Kellerman's mysteries. This novel is not action-packed. It depicts the long, complicated investigation process of solving a murder.

The writing was well-crafted and straightforward. I will read more in the future. ( )

I haven't enjoyed the last few books the tone was down with Alex and Robin seperated. I really enjoyed this one and loved the ending, I'm looking forward to the next one. 365 pages, library book. ( )

NIL

VERY GOOD

Typical Kellerman. Never fails to entertain. ( )