Survival of the Fittest: An Alex Delaware Novel

By Jonathan Kellerman

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
 
The daughter of a diplomat disappears on a school field trip—lured into the Santa Monica Mountains and killed in cold blood. Her father denies the possibility of a political motive. There are no signs of struggle and no evidence of sexual assault, leaving psychologist Alex Delaware and his friend LAPD homicide detective Milo Sturgis to pose the essential question: Why?
 
“Feverish in pace and rich in characters . . . a chilling and irresistible thriller.”—People
 
Working with Daniel Sharavi, a brilliant Israeli police inspector, Delaware and Sturgis soon find themselves ensnared in one of the darkest, most menacing cases of their careers. And when death strikes again, it is Alex who must go undercover, alone, to expose an unthinkable conspiracy of self-righteous brutality and total contempt for human life.

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Jonathan Kellerman's Guilt.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Apr 1, 2003
• ISBN: 9780345463715

Jonathan Kellerman

Jonathan Kellerman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty bestselling crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher’s Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, and True Detectives. With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he coauthored Double Homicide and Capital Crimes. He is also the author of two children’s books and numerous nonfiction works, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children and With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and has been nominated for a Shamus Award. 

Reviews for Survival of the Fittest

[lesliehurd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Kellerman's Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis are at it again. The book begins with the suicide of a Los Angeles policeman, and the murder of the retarded daughter of an Israeli diplomat. Things get really interesting when other handicapped people are found dead, and an old murder seems to have a similar MO. Alex puts himself in harm's way in an attempt to ferret out the truth and the pages turn quickly as the suspense mounts. I admit I'm not likely to remember the plot of this book in 6 months time, but it was a perfect read for a stormy Sunday.

[rockhead515-580421 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rare characters from novels in this series and non-series books was a cool touch.
Though kinda disappointing as we know there aren't many more stories with them, at least not as of now.
I really enjoy the growth of Alex and Milo.
And as of know, the rarest of all things, not 1 mention of bougainvillea.

[anniemod · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First a young policeman kills himself in a diner and Alex is asked to talk to the young man's sister. Then Milo gets handed a cold case - a disabled Israeli teenager had been killed. Both cases do not seem to have anything in common - except knowing how Kellerman tends to build his novels, a reader of the series knows that the stories will connect. But before that happens, another teenager dies - and before long it seems like a very unusual serial killer had been praying on the disabled of the city. The book is written in 1997 and its language shows it - the term retarded is almost impossible to be heard now while back then that was the preferred term, clinically and otherwise. And Alex and Milo are off trying to find out who is killing some of the most vulnerable people in LA. Before long they get unexpected help - the now retired Gene and his Israeli friend Detective David Shadravi (both from "The Butcher's Theater" - there are also a lot of spoilers and an update about some of the people in Israel so if you had not read this one yet and plan to, you may want to do that before you continue with the current book), the young Petra Connor (who is about to get her own series which will often weave through the main series) and a few more experienced detectives; even Rick and Robin get bigger roles than usual. And Milo mentions Decker - Faye Kellerman's series detective thus making it clear that the two series exist in the same LA. It should be an overcrowded book but it is not - everyone fits and everyone seems to contribute in a way that noone can. When the truth start emerging, it appears to be almost unbelievable. And yet - humans can be cruel and that's exactly what happens here. The very end keeps you reading - just when you think that everything is sorted out and all remaining is to catch the bad guy, things get complicated - not everyone had been dealing honestly and that leads to Alex getting in real trouble. Despite the dated language, it is a good addition to the series. It won't be for everyone - it is as bloody and gory as most of the books in the series but if one likes the series, it should work.

[claudia.anderson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

narrator sounds very much like Grover Gardner who does David Rosenfelt's books; good story, believable

[dianaleez · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Got really preachy. I agree with Kellerman's outlook, but I was looking for entertainment, not a heavy-handed lecture.

[darrol_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Good read alright. But 1) Too much unlikely intrigue. 2) Ending very unsatisfactory. Too one sided about the historical motivations surrounding eugenics. And in the end the killings were not about that anyway. Too one sided period. Interesting vignettes--Delaware about to be seduced by a supposed perp (that in turn becomes a victim). Almost too many themes--intelligence, Jewish themes, cop suicide, killing for fun. This installment again strays from the strength of this series: clear psychological themes coupled with LA noir.