Night Moves

Detective Milo Sturgis of the LAPD has solved plenty of killings, but some cases need a different kind of eye. For those he turns to his friend Alex Delaware, a psychologist who has a knack for spotting the motives that hide beneath the surface. This time the call comes over a body that makes little sense.

The dead man was found inside the home of a wealthy Los Angeles family. There is no spilled blood and no sign of a struggle. His face and hands are missing, so nobody can say who he was, and nobody can explain why a stranger's mutilated corpse ended up there. Chet Corvin, his wife and their two teenage children all insist they have never seen him, yet they seem oddly guarded when questioned. The neighbor next door is no easier to read. He is a notorious cartoonist with a twisted sense of humor and little interest in dealing with anyone.

As Milo presses the people who might know something and Alex works at the walls they have put up around their private lives, the quiet enclave begins to give up its secrets. Watchful neighbors, nagging suspicions and careless talk all point toward something ugly: warped affection, cold greed and betrayed trust tangled together. The lawns may be greener here, but plenty is buried beneath them.

Night Moves is part of Jonathan Kellerman's long-running Alex Delaware series, which pairs a detective's persistence with a psychologist's insight into what drives people to kill.