Bones in the Backyard

Holly Ruche is renovating her backyard in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood when workers unearth a box. Inside: the skeleton of an infant, buried approximately sixty years ago. Old bones, old secrets - a tragedy from another era that should have stayed buried.

Then a second discovery, far more disturbing. In a nearby park, fresh infant remains are found - bones stripped clean and covered with beeswax in what looks disturbingly ritualistic. Near them lies the body of Adriana Betts, a straitlaced, religious nanny, shot in the head. Two babies, six decades apart. One murdered woman. And Detective Milo Sturgis needs his friend Alex Delaware's help.

Jonathan Kellerman's Guilt is the twenty-eighth Alex Delaware novel, and it proves that even deep into a series, the partnership between psychologist and detective can still deliver fresh horrors.

Two Timelines, One Investigation

The sixty-year-old bones lead Delaware and Sturgis backward in time - to a beautiful nurse with a mystery lover, a handsome wealthy doctor who seemed too good to be true, and a hospital with a notorious reputation. The past conceals scandals that someone buried along with that infant, secrets people assumed would stay hidden forever.

The present-day murder of Adriana Betts takes the investigation in unexpected directions. The nanny had impeccable references from previous employers, but she'd recently left her position to help a friend who worked for a famous movie star couple - Donny Rader and Prema Moon. The specter of celebrity privilege enters the case, and with it, access to a world where money buys silence and reputation matters more than truth.

The Celebrity Connection

Kellerman has always written Los Angeles as a city of contrasts, and Guilt exploits that fully. The investigation moves from modest homes where sixty-year-old crimes went unnoticed to the gated estates of the rich and famous. Donny Rader and Prema Moon represent Hollywood at its most insulated - people accustomed to having problems disappear, to staff who know better than to ask questions.

What Alex discovers beneath the glamorous surface is darker than expected. The case twists toward unholy rituals, grisly sacrifice, and a decadence that the celebrities' careful public image conceals. The beeswax-covered bones weren't random - they were deliberate, meaningful, part of something organized and disturbing.

Delaware's Psychology

Alex Delaware's expertise becomes essential as the investigation deepens. Understanding why people kill infants, why they cover bones in beeswax, why a religious nanny died near such a scene - these require more than procedural investigation. Delaware reads the psychology of the case, recognizing patterns of behavior that Sturgis alone might miss.

Kellerman, himself a psychologist, writes these elements with authority. Delaware doesn't perform magic; he observes, questions, and synthesizes. His insights feel earned through expertise rather than convenient for the plot.

Reliable Excellence

Twenty-eight books in, Kellerman has refined his formula to precision. The Delaware-Sturgis partnership remains one of crime fiction's best - complementary skills, genuine friendship, dry humor that leavens genuinely dark material. The mystery unfolds with patience, each revelation building toward a resolution that makes sense of the bizarre discoveries.

For series fans, Guilt delivers exactly what you expect while adding genuinely unsettling elements. For newcomers, it's accessible enough to enjoy standalone, though you'll miss some character history.

Rating: 4.0/5 ⭐

Perfect for: Fans of the Alex Delaware series, readers who enjoy psychological mysteries with procedural elements, those interested in LA's contrasts between ordinary and celebrity worlds.

Skip if: Crimes against infants are too disturbing, or you prefer series read in order from the beginning.