The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman
Alex and Milo are back. In The Museum of Desire (Ballantine Books) — prolific author Jonathan Kellerman’s 35th book of the series — psychologist Alex Delaware and his best friend, Detective Milo Sturgis, investigate a complex murder scene that appears more like a theatrical production.
There is no shortage of luxury parties in swanky Beverly Hills, but this one ends in horror. Behind the huge shell of a house rented out for parties and events, a white stretch limo sits in the quiet morning. Eno Walters of the cleaning crew isn’t sure what to expect when he opens the door, but it certainly isn’t what he finds.
Four bloody bodies, posed for maximum effect.
It’s strange — the people inside couldn’t be more different. Identifying them is only the first problem Alex and Milo face. Is there a primary victim, with the others just “supporting players, like casting a movie?” What links them together? The one thing they have in common is that they don’t have close family or friends living nearby. Why did the murderer pick them?
A PSYCHOPATHIC KILLER
Milo calls on Alex, the LAPD’s psychological consultant, to help figure out the psychology behind the murderer’s intentions. As their investigation continues and the body count rises, they realize that maybe the victims weren’t random after all.
The murder scene was posed. It is personal and demeaning and looks like a stage production, reminding Milo of a museum diorama. It displays “cruelty and power lust. Literally manipulating human beings.” Is it “art imitating life,” violent performance art, a human collage?
Alex and Milo have few clues, but create a hypothesis for the crime one brick at a time. Alex is once again amazed that while he drives, Milo is busy doing spur-of-the-moment Googling and accessing department databases on his cell phone — research on wheels. Only one of the reasons Milo has a near-perfect solve rate for his 350 investigations.
As they collect more information, they realize that art seems to be at the center of everything — priceless paintings, an art gallery and a grisly tableau. Can they find the psychopathic killer before he creates his next masterpiece?
A PAIR OF ODD-COUPLE INVESTIGATORS
What makes Kellerman’s books unique is that Milo is the first openly gay character featured in a police procedural series, beginning in the early 1980s when such a thing was taboo.
According to Alex, “Milo was a gay soldier when gay soldiers didn’t exist, a gay cop when LAPD was still raiding gay bars.”
Not only does this create a unique storyline for a detective series, but The Museum of Desire is told from the first-person perspective of Alex — not an official law enforcement employee.
Easy-going Milo is not your conventional hard-boiled homicide detective but a kind, compassionate, respectful investigator. He loves to mentor his junior detectives — referring to them as “the kids” — and fills them with baked goodies every chance he gets. Add the fact that he’s a “Diamond-Jim tipper,” and people love him.
Although so different — Alex, fit and nutrition-conscious, and Milo, a full-faced foodie with the large features of a grizzly but the heart of a teddy bear (a man you just want to hug) — they work together like a well-oiled machine that never runs out of gas. Readers can’t help but cheer the pair on in their pursuit of justice.
The Museum of Desire is now available for purchase.
Buy this Book!
Amazon
