Nightstrike's Reviews: When The Bough Breaks

Let me start this off by saying this: I am not a huge fan of Jonathan Kellerman's novels. There's quite a laundry list of things that irk me about them, but I try to keep an open mind when it comes to them. That being said, this was frankly one of the worst I've read. When The Bough Breaks follows the aftermath of the presumed suicide of a doctor, as Alex Delaware, the series' main character, tries to enjoy his early retirement. That soon ends, however, when Detective Milo Sturgis reaches out to him with the suspicion that it was deliberate. Now what exactly made me dislike this book?

Perverted antagonists? Check.

Child abuse? Check.

Morally questionable protagonist who isn't loyal in his relationship and "fails" to mention it? Checkity check check.

I won't spoil the ending for you, if you are a fan of Kellerman's novels, but it was surprising, and a bit out of character for both Delaware and Sturgis. The main thing that I disliked, though, was how it drifted away from the murders themselves to the disturbing "habits" of several of the characters. What came close second, but is somewhat expected given the age of this novel, is the referencing towards the Autism Spectrum as some sort of illness. As a lot of you are probably aware, I already have strongly advocated in that regard, so I'll spare you the rant.

I wanted to keep this review short, because there really wasn't anything positive to say about this novel. Overall, it was hard to follow, both because of the aforementioned things, and the repeated flashbacks that are ever-present in Kellerman's books.

Overall rating: 3/10