F.Y.I: The book page says the author is someone other than who it is. I'm working to change this.

Middle England won the Costa Book Award and I’ve always really enjoyed their picks in the past. Considering this was as much a family drama as it was a critique of Brexit, I couldn’t wait to start.

Middle England is the third book in the Rotter’s club series, but I haven’t read the other two and I can’t see any need to. I wasn’t confused at any point and found that everything that had happened to the characters previously was well explained.

This worked in alternate chapters, with the main focus being on Colin, a middle-aged author and Sophie, his niece. There were quite a few chapters from the perspective of Colin’s friend, Doug, a left-wing political commentator. In saying this, the novel didn’t really lean towards the left or right, but instead used these perspectives to focus on the problems of Brexit.

The novel takes place over a number of years and the largest focus concerning Brexit was from Doug’s perspective. He has a contact in David Cameron’s (the Prime Minister who called the vote on EU membership) and he meets up with him over the course of several years while he’s immersed in the government. This was quite a humorous relationship and showcased the downfall of Cameron in light of the referendum result.

Sophie, Colin’s niece, meets a man at the beginning of the novel and their relationship is charted throughout. Difficulty arises between them which again highlighted the issues concerning Brexit and how these differences in political opinion can infect relationships.

The novel didn’t have one particular focus, but many threads that ran through it, such as Colin’s relationship with his past love. What held it all together, though, and appeared throughout was Brexit. It was handled gently and wasn’t overstated.

While I enjoyed spending time with the characters, there was no-one I loved. I enjoyed it and its simple exploration of Brexit. A novel that was very timely.

I really enjoyed this critique of Brexit U.K. A worthy winner of the Costa novel award. I'm a confirmed fan of Mr. Coe now.

A saints and sinners themed wedding at a former strip club. What could possibly go wrong? Well the body of a young woman found by one of the bridesmaids throws a spanner in the works. Detective Milo Sturgis gets the feeling this will be a weird one and so calls in the help of his friend Alex Delaware. Soon Milo and Alex are on the hunt for a vicious killer.

When you get to the 34th book in a series there is always the chance that the writing will become staid or the characters boring. There is the possibility of predictability. It may be the case that all those issues are present in The Wedding Guest but this reader managed to overlook them to the point of not really registering them.

It says much about the characters, and the author, that a series is still a best seller some 34 years after the first book was published. Books are many things to many people, and to me they are escapism. There is something wonderfully welcoming about a book where the characters and writing style are so familiar. Reading the first few pages it really does feel like old friends are greeting you warmly after a lengthy absence.

I was thinking before I started this novel that there was little character development given the age of the series. That said, there was a little more insight into Milo, albeit briefly, which helps round him out and an even briefer look at the relationship between Alex and Robin.

I find it easy to envisage Robin, Milo and the other detectives, Mo, Alicia and Sean. I can even imagine Blanche the dog and what can only be described as possibly hideous glass and unnaturally coloured leather sofas in living rooms depicted along the way. I can’t imagine Alex Delaware. It may have happened in the earlier books but I can’t recall any description of Alex, bar his clothing. For me, he looks like Jonathan Kellerman as that is the only image I can conjure.

Jonathan Kellerman is adept at creating characters who annoy and who therefore, the reader can sort of understand are bumped off. Here the families of the bride and groom are either annoying, creepy or too good to be true. Or so it would seem.

It is always a pleasure to be back with Alex, Milo, Robin and co and The Wedding Guest was no different. The storyline was engaging. A vicious killer is on the loose and Alex and Milo have to track him or her down before they strike again. There are false leads to follow and blind alleys to go down before the truth is revealed. It is of course always difficult to discuss the actual story without giving too much away. It is safe to say though that the storyline is well paced, with just the right balance so that disbelief doesn’t have to be completely be completely suspended.

It is also a little surprising that this series hasn’t been adapted for TV. I could easily see the characters being transported to a small screen. The cast of characters is varied enough to enliven a series, either TV or written, and the setting of LA lends itself to a wide variety of locations, and more importantly, a variety of people, each with their own unique secrets to hide and motives for murder.

A welcome return of one of my favourite literary detectives. Now I just have to wait a year for the next murder to occur.

A family come home from an evening out to find a body in the study, the man’s face destroyed and his hands removed. Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis must figure out who the man is and how he came to be in the house of people who deny knowing him. Are the family hiding something or does the “creepy” neighbour next door have anything to do with the murder?

As always, I find it difficult to review the latest book in a favourite series. There are flaws, as in any novel, but I tend to be blind to them, intent as I am on enjoying the brief, welcome return of old friends. But that in itself says something. The fact is that I’m still eager, some 33 books later, to read more of the investigative adventures of Alex and Milo, despite any issues I may have if I looked more closely at the book.

There is perhaps the staccato, sparse way of narrating that Alex has that could grate. It is, possibly, one that grows on you. Coming back to the series a year after the last novel this style is more obvious to begin with, but becomes the norm as the story develops.

Alex Delaware has his quirks, including the said narrative style. Almost surreptitiously, the reader learns more about the characters around Alex than the man himself. We know his girlfriend Robin has red hair and penchant for dungarees, his sidekick and best friend Lieutenant Milo Sturgis strains the buttons of his often clashing shirts and will, invariably at some point be referred to by Alex as ‘Big Guy’. What we don’t find out is what Alex looks like, or even what he wears.

The story itself was clever and pulls the reader along. There are a limited number of suspects and crime scenes and as such the story feels more contained and has that ‘locked-room’ feel to it. As with most of the books in the series there are a few clues here and there but not all of the information is revealed so  the reader finds out who the culprit is around the same time as the characters. The suspects and characters involved are not particularly likeable. The Corvins have issues that go back further than the odd dead body in the library and the neighbour is at first portrayed as someone who could potentially be on a watch list. The story is well-paced, with few big action scenes, though those aren’t required. I was soon wrapped up in the book and eager to find out who had done it and why.

The Alex Delaware series is one I can always rely on to entertain me. I relish diving into the latest installment and have remained a consistent favourite for many years. It was with a resigned sigh that I turned the last page, knowing I have to wait until next year for the next novel. An enjoyable, entertaining read. Recommended.

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I enjoyed this book! I have always wanted to try Jonathan Kellerman's work so I decided to give this book a try. Unfortunately, life got a little busy when I had originally planned to read this book and my review is about two and a half years late. I really wish that I had read this book when I first got my hands on it because it was really good. 

This really is Grace's story. Grace was a wonderful character and incredibly complex. She had a less than ideal childhood but as adult, she is a highly respected psychologist. I loved the fact that we get to know Grace both as a child and as an adult. I thought the contrast between the two periods was really well done. I wouldn't really say that I ever liked Grace but I really did enjoy trying to figure her out and was very curious about her past.

Grace does have a bit of a secret life and that life intersects with her professional life early in this book. As she tries to figure out what really happened, she finds that things may be connected to her past. I thought that the mystery side of this book was really just okay. It was rather complex and I never had everything quite figured out but it wasn't the most enjoyable part of the book for me.

I thought that the first parts of the book were the strongest. I really enjoyed all of the book that focused on Grace as a child. Adult Grace was really more interesting to me during the first part of the book as well. The book continued to bounce back and forth from past to present but as the story progressed the two timelines grew much closer to each other. As the focus of the book moved towards bringing the mystery to a conclusion, it seemed to fizzle out just a bit. 

I would recommend this book to others. I really enjoyed the writing style and found this to be the kind of book that was easy to keep reading. I do hope to read from this author in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine via NetGalley.

Initial Thoughts
I enjoyed this book and am kind of mad at myself for leaving it unread for as long as I did. The book did lose some momentum for me during the last third of the book. I really liked learning about Grace both in current life and in the past. The contrast between Grace as a child and as a mature adult was very well done and eye opening. The book did seem to focus more on the mystery aspect as it moved towards the finale which was somewhat less interesting for me. This was my first time reading Jonathan Kellerman and I really enjoyed his writing style.