It has been sometime since I have read a book by Jonathan Kellerman, which happens to be the same time that I have read an Alex Delaware novel. So, meeting the author and a beloved character again is like meeting old friends. It was familiar, it was cherished, and it felt like coming home.
Those who have read an Alex Delaware story before already know that Breakdown 
From the initial consultation with the Chases, several years passed when Alex Delaware met Zelda again in the most bizarre circumstances. What followed was quintessential Alex Delaware at work, solving a mystery with the help of his longtime friend Milo Sturgis of LAPD.
As always, readers were engaged from beginning to end. And to someone like me who had been a longtime fan of Jonathan Kellerman and the Alex Delaware series, I just cannot put the book down. If not for the need to sleep and of course I have to go to work, I would probably have finished the book in one sitting. It is that good!
That said, what amazed me the most is that even after 30 years, Alex Delaware has remained relevant. Looking back, it was in 1985 when the first book in what would be a very successful series was first printed.
In the past three decades so many things have changed. Way back in 1985, there were no cell phones and there was no internet. In 2015, we have smartphones and the mobile web, i.e. the internet on our mobile devices.
So, here I am reading about Alex Delaware surfing the internet and using his cellphone. And, though this can only happen in books, Alex Delaware is perhaps only a few years older than his 1985 self!
Actually, that is where the genius of the book lies! Only a master storyteller like Jonathan Kellerman can keep a 30-year old character relevant while staying true to whatever has been written before about the character.
A great read! If you are going to read only one book this spring, then it should be “Breakdown
Breakdown: An Alex Delaware Novel
Bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman has been universally hailed as the master of psychological suspense, and the blockbuster new thriller featuring Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis confirms his status as today’s preeminent practitioner of saber-sharp storytelling.
Psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware meets beautiful and emotionally fragile TV actress Zelda Chase when called upon to evaluate her five-year-old son, Ovid. Years later, Alex is unexpectedly reunited with Zelda when she is involuntarily committed after a bizarre psychotic episode. Shortly after Zelda’s release, an already sad situation turns tragic when she is discovered dead on the grounds of a palatial Bel Air estate. Having experienced more than enough of L.A.’s dark side to recognize the scent of evil, Alex turns to his friend LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis for help in finding out who ended Zelda’s broken life.
At the same time, Alex is caught up in another quest: the search for Zelda’s missing son. And when other victims vanish from the same upscale neighborhood, worry turns to terror.
As Alex struggles to piece together the brief rise and steep fall of a gorgeous, talented actress, he and Milo unveil shattered dreams, the corruption of a family, and a grotesque betrayal of innocence. With each devastating revelation and damning clue, Alex’s brilliant mind is challenged as never before—and his determination grows to see a killer caged and the truth set free.
