Deputy coroner Clay Edison goes to extreme lengths for a forgotten Jane Doe in the new thriller from a father-son team of bestselling authors who write “brilliant, page-turning fiction” (Stephen King).“As for the keen sense of drama, it must be a genetic trait. . . . The Kellermans show compassion for the survivors, including conscientious officials like Edison.”—The New York Times Book Review… York Times Book Review
Former star basketball player Clay Edison is busy. He’s solved a decades-old crime and redeemed an innocent man, earning himself a suspension in the process. Things are getting serious with his girlfriend. Plus his brother’s fresh out of prison, bringing with him a whole new set of complications.
Then the phone rings in the dead of night.
A wild party in a gentrifying East Bay neighborhood. A heated argument that spills into the street. Gunshots. Chaos.
For Clay and his fellow coroners, it’s the start of a long night and the first of many to come. The victims keep piling up. What begins as a community tragedy soon becomes lurid fodder for social media.
Then the smoke clears and the real mystery emerges—one victim’s death doesn’t match the others. Brutalized and abandoned, stripped of ID, and left to die: She is Jane Doe, a human question mark. And it falls to Clay to give her a name and a voice.
Haunted by the cruelty of her death, he embarks upon a journey into the bizarre, entering a hidden world where innocence and perversity meet and mingle. There, his relentless pursuit of the truth opens the gateway to a dark and baffling past—and brings him right into the line of fire.
Praise for A Measure of Darkness
“Edison is an interesting protagonist, a good man for whom finding the truth is more important than anything else, including his own safety. He’s gentle and strong, compassionate and ruthless, methodical and impulsive. A strong sequel to Crime Scene that will leave readers wanting to see more of Edison.”—Booklist
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This police procedural is kind of a slow burn mystery that came up a bit short on the burn. Clay and those around him make up an interesting group of characters, but there are quite a lot of them to keep up with. Then we have several storylines going on at once, which I think was the main reason this one fell flat on the mystery for me. The suspense of Jane Doe’s identity and what happened to her gets lost in the many other things going on in Clay’s professional and personal life. So, while each part of this one is interesting in its own right, it becomes a bit convoluted when everything is crammed together. Sometimes less is more and I felt like we could’ve done with some of that here.
Jonathan Kellerman is one of my favorite authors and it looks like his son Jesse is following in his footsteps. This one is definitely worth reading!
disappointing
It was interesting with great characters!
One of the Kellerman family’s best.
I prefer Jonathan Kellerman writing alone. I also enjoy Jesse Kellerman alone as well. Together – not so much.
I liked the book but it was kind of unusual I never read a book where it told about the men and women who picked up the corpses
Better than some of the recent AlexDelaware books. The father son team delivers.
I was very disappointed. I found the plot muddled, the characters uninteresting and the book tedious. This was not the novel I expected from an author I enjoy.
I didn’t like it as much as his others.
I have been a fan of Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series for many years. I can appreciate his efforts in helping his son, Jesse, with his writing. The authors did a good job of developing the characters and creating the various relationships throughout the book.
This was an okay book that had moments of intrigue, but it was a rather disjointed read for me. I doubt I will read any more books in this series.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
As many other reviews have said, interesting, but not exciting.
I thought it was boring.
I read this book out of order but I am not sure that it mattered. I haven’t read the first one yet.
In this one, Clay has to investigate a shooting at a mansion where multiple people have died and as he is doing that he comes across another dead body to add to the pile. Now he has to figure out who she is and why she was there as well as what killed her.
He is also dragged into a new drama with his brother who, fresh out of prison, wants Clay to go in with him on a business venture.
I’ve always enjoyed Kellerman’s writing. This book was especially good. I try to read all his books. Great escapism
Another good solid read from Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman. This is the 2nd book in this series and so far it’s adding up to be a great series. Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to read this ARC book and give my own personal opinion.
I didn’t enjoy this book. It seemed very scattered and I was glad when it was over..I did finish. I always have loved his books but not this one.
The characters and storyline are great.
Wonderful book
Easily read, but not a page turner.