Lost Souls

Well written, slick in fact but absolutely no edge,no emotion, dull really, the younger Kellerman’s input seems all in the wrong direction.

My thanks to Random House U.K. Cornerstone/Century for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Lost Souls’ by Jonathan & Jesse Kellerman, in exchange for an honest review. Its title in the USA is ‘Half Moon Bay’.This is the third in their series featuring Deputy Coroner Clay Edison set in Alameda County, California. I hadn’t read either of these earlier novels though did read one of Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware police procedurals last year. Still, enough background on characters and setting was provided to allow it to work fine as a stand-alone.Clay is currently working the graveyard shift while helping his wife, Amy, cope with their new baby, who isn’t sleeping. When the remains of an infant are found by developers demolishing a local park it causes all kinds of problems for the project. The development is already being targeted by protesters and identifying the body and how it came to be buried there becomes important to a number of invested parties.Clay has only started his investigation when he receives a call from a man who believes the remains could belong to his sister - who went missing fifty years ago. Clay becomes deeply involved with a search to unearth the truth and comes up against all kinds of obstacles, including the sheer length of time since these events.This quickly turns into a complex double investigation for Clay including his coming up against a dangerous group of White Supremacists, who threaten Clay and his family.I appreciated that rather than the usual type of police procedural here the focus was upon the investigative work associated with the office of the County Coroner. Also, the pacing was refreshing. In so many crime novels the time frame is very short, whereas here realistic periods of time passed between Clay making significant breaks in the cases. Other cases were mentioned along the way as well as how Baby Charlotte was developing.I found Clay an extremely likeable lead and narrator. His determination to uncover the truth and his down-to-earth nature was very compelling.However, I did feel that there was rather too much going on in this novel with new characters and side plots being introduced. At times, I felt it all was overly complicated and this made it difficult for me to focus. Yet as the novel continued I did feel increasingly engaged in the storyline and characters.Overall, I found this a solid read that explored the lesser known investigative work associated with coroners in the USA. While I am not overly familiar with the work of the Kellermans it appeared to be well researched in terms of the scope of the work of the County Coroners Bureau.

Lost Souls by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman.Rating 4.4/5An absorbing thriller, part of the Clay Edison series. Lost Souls is the first I’ve read in series and it can be read as a stand-alone. However, as I loved this gripping novel and the character of Clay Edison I will be looking at the other novels in this series.A child’s bones are found and as Clay, the duty coroner is on night call he has to attend the scene. Thus the start of a complicated search to find the baby’s identity and arrange a funeral. Intertwined with the search is another, a brother’s searching for his long lost sister, last seen as a baby.Whilst I loved Clay’s character, a conscientious member of the law enforcement, his life as a husband and father to the adorable Charlotte is beautiful. Unfortunately, she’s a wee insomniac but oh so enchanting.There are quite a number of characters, some who I wouldn’t want to encounter in broad daylight never mind in the dark of the night. Others, I will remember for a long time: a mother’s love who had me in tears, heart rendering memories. The underside of Social Media also features strongly and it’s terrifying affects.Lost Souls will take you on journeys, at times complicated but always gripping. The Messrs Kellerman are without doubt greatly talented novelists at the top of their game.I would like to thank them, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this superb novel.

Deputy Coroner Clay Edison is called to a construction site at Berkley university, a baby’s remains have been found. No sooner than he brings the remains to the morgue, he gets call from a wealthy tech millionaire who believes they might the sister he never knew. So begins another slow burning, fascinating hunt to identify who buried their baby in the park. Fairly early on Clay discovered the bones were male and could not be those of the missing sister. Despite having a new born and sharing childcare duties with his wife Amy, Clay is determined to discover who the bones belong to and find the missing sister, even though no one seems to be sharing any information.Lost souls is yet another wonderful novel by Jonathan Kellerman. I have not read any of the Clay Edison books before but this did not impact my enjoyment. Jonathan writes in a very open and inviting way, the characters all feel like friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the way the story unfolded, piece by piece as Clay delves deeper and deeper. I will definitely be reading the previous novels of this series as it is as excellent as the Alex Delaware novels.

Lost Souls by Jonathan Kellerman and Jessie Kellerman is a contemporary crime novel that had me guessing from the start. It is the third book in the Clay Edison series but can be read as a stand-alone.Following a discovery of small bones, the hunt is on to find the identity and the truth. The reader joins the characters in the search for two babies of the 1960’s. The cases are similar and run parallel. The one search is for the child, the other for the parents.Long buried secrets need to rise to the surface.Families are complicated affairs – we view both discord from within and also harmony.The plotline was complex and well thought out and executed, with realistic characters eliciting a variety of emotional responses.Lost Souls would make a marvellous movie. I enjoyed the book and was entertained whilst trying to solve the crimes.I received a free copy. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.