When the Bough Breaks (Alex Delaware series, Book 1): A tensely suspenseful psychological crime novel

I have read most of the books in the series over a long period of time and decided to go back to the beginning and read this first effort. I read it maybe 30 years ago and as part of getting old could not recall a thing about it...LOL

In the beginning the reader learns about the early years of Doctor Delaware, a driven man of achievement, compulsive and a burnout at thirty three who retires financially set after investing wisely in real estate. Unfortunately he finds himself sinking into boredom and depression when a LAPD detective named Milo Sturgis contacts him about the murder of a doctor and his girlfriend, the only witness being a seven year old girl who may remember what she thought she saw in the dark of night.

Alex is hooked and comes out of his funk engrossing himself in the mystery despite Milos warning to back off when the young girl cannot recall anything. Despite this Alex takes on his own investigation into what leads to a horrible tale of pedophilia at the highest levels of society at a ranch in Malibu for troubled children. We also meet Robin, his girlfriend who abhors his getting involved in the case and to me is a very dislikable character from the start and this carries through the series for this reader.

The author has written a very complex first novel that has many facets and I found it fascinating despite being hard to read at times because of the horrors of the subject matter at hand. This is a great book that sets the foundation for who Alex is and just may be one of the best despite being a debut entry in a very long running series. This old guy plans of going on to book two which I am sure I have also read but will not remember!

I've read later books in the series and loved the characters Alex, Milo, Robin, and others. It's great to finally read the first book and to find out how Alex and Milo, Alex and Robin, and Milo and his doctor met each other along with other things referenced in later books that were introduced in this book. This is a great book for those who are reading Jonathan Kellerman's books and a good place to start for those who are new to Jonathan Kellerman. I strongly recommend this great book!

I read my first Jonathan Kellerman book awhile ago now, and I've had When the Bough Breaks sitting in my TBR pile for nearly as long. After finding a good chunk of the series at various book sales, it was finally time for me to dig in and read my way through it!

The good news is that I enjoyed the book. It'd be rather unfortunate if I had quite a few books In the series and ended up hating the first one. As someone who, obviously, enjoys mysteries and thrillers but is also a psychology nerd, this series appears to be a wonderful blend of those two interests. For those unfamiliar with the Alex Delaware series - Alex was a child psychologist. After being retired for a few, he becomes a consultant to the police.

All of this was great and intriguing. What I wasn't expecting was just how graphic and vulgar some of the language was - especially since this novel deals with sexual abuse of children - another thing I was not prepared for. I usually keep my reviews as spoiler-free as possible. But, I feel like that needed to be mentioned. Because it was rough.

There are also some things about the writing that make it obvious this series was started in the 80's. It's not specific to the 80's, per se, but some of the racial words and phrases used to describe people are now very out of date. I had to keep reminding myself that this was written decades ago as I was reading it. I can only hope that as the series goes along, the vocabulary becomes more modern.

Sidenote - as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I absolutely love that Milos is gay. That warmed my little heart.

4/5 Stars. I've already started the 2nd book, and I look forward to seeing how the series progresses.

Memorable Quote: “It was shaping up as a beautiful morning. The last thing I wanted to hear about was murder.”

Jonathan Kellerman brings plenty of suspense to the first book in the Alex Delaware series, When the Bough Breaks. Psychiatrist Dr. Morton Handler is found brutally murdered. The police have no leads, but they have a possible witness: seven-year-old Melody Quinn. Los Angeles Homicide Detective Milo Sturgis turns to psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware for help in unlocking Melody’s memories.

Alex and Milo have known each other a few months. Readers learn how they met and some background information on them. Their investigative and cognitive techniques gel as well as their dispositions. However, they don’t yet have the rapport that they gain as the series progresses. This novel is less cerebral in nature and more investigation and is very action-oriented.

Kellerman’s writing style is appealing and he did a good job of transporting me to the Los Angeles area. Whether characters were talking about or experiencing the traffic or food or the people, I was living the events with Milo and Alex. Food shows up frequently in this series. Both Alex and Milo want to achieve justice and hold bad people accountable for their actions.

Overall, this was a suspenseful novel with great world-building and several plot twists. I’ve read 20 of the books in the series and I’m looking forward to reading those I’ve missed.

I purchased a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date was March 1, 1985.

When the Bough Breaks is Jonathon Kellerman’s first book of many in the Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis series. It is not his best, but then again, it is his first, and it is good enough to set in motion a multi-book series. It was a very good read IMHO. Police procedurals can be an acquired taste. Alex Delaware is a young retired psychologist. Alex decided that he wanted to enjoy life while he could at a young age. (Can’t blame him) Alex worked with several clinics and hospitals and specialized in child psychology. Alex is thoroughly enjoying retirement. Milo Sturgis is a San Franciso police detective who inherits a case where a man and a woman are murdered in an apartment complex. A little girl has supposedly witnessed the murders from her mother’s apartment. The only complication is that she does not know if she saw two men or one man and a shadow. Milo calls on Alex for help on the case. Maybe he can hypnotize the girl and force the hidden memories to the surface. The girl already has a psychologist, Dr. Morton Handler. Alex meets Dr, Handler and realizes that he is a narcissistic pill pusher, a sexual manipulator, and is not beyond fraud and extortion. Dr. Handler is a disgrace to his profession. Alex stumbles across a connection that leads him to a home for mentally fragile youths of various problems. Is this just a cover for sexual predators who prefer children? Alex follows the thread and so does Milo. Alex uncovers a forbidden secret cover-up that has remained buried for 30 years. I believe that readers into police procedurals and crime thrillers alike will be very pleased reading this book. I am glad that I read When the Bough Breaks. But now I have about 37 other Kellerman books that I may need to read. This one hits 4-stars for me.

Interesting police procedural: told from the point of view of a psychologist. The author must know a lot about psychology and/or psychologists because it felt quite authentic. The book was written in the 80’s, but seems to have an old-school feel almost as if it had been written in the 50’s.

The gay supporting character’s involvement in the plot line felt a strained, since gay characters were so far out of the mainstream at that time. Perhaps a psychologist would be open to be best friends with a gay man in the 80’s but having lived during that era it would have seem unlikely to me. Did straight and gay couples really double-date back then?

Some of the psychological plot issues were not so interesting. Would detailed work-related discussions of an insurance salesman, truck driver or construction be worth a reader's time? A lot of the talk about his work burn-out and background were not exciting. It contributed to slow plot development, at times.

It’s good writing, but if you are looking for an exciting read you might want to look elsewhere.