I'm a sucker for a new Kellerman, he's one of those authors that I actively search for when the next book will be out, and thanks to Netgalley I got this one before release. In City of the Dead, Milo catches a new case; a naked man found dead in the street after getting run over by a moving truck and following leads from the neighbors, finding another victim, a woman found dead in her home with her throat slashed. Milo and Alex begin to weave their way through scant clues and dead ends to find a ruthless killer.

As with all the Kellerman books I've read, I found the characters fascinating, there's always an eclectic slice of life to the peripheral characters in this series, especially Cordi's mother, whose disassociation from her daughter and Cordi's self-imposed estrangement along with the pain of her murder was probably to protect her own fragility. It adds a gritty realism and also a poignant human element that makes for a memorable read.

A salaciously sinuous plot, it kept me guessing with each chapter, with a pace that kept moving and grinding from clue to clue. One thing that really stood out in my mind was the interactions between Alex and Milo. After decades of this series, I never get tired of the two of them working together. In this one, Alex had met the victim in a custody case he had worked and was put in a tight spot a few times when his professional ethics and integrity prevented him from giving information to Milo and it's a real testament to Alex and Milo's friendship how they resolve their differences without rancor or hard feelings.

Finally, just a short note. I received an advanced copy and although it's requested not to share details in case they're changed or edited out in the final release, I do want to say that I found the discussion about one of the Beatles' songs interesting and amusing and I'm now wondering if I'm an outlier because it's one of my favorite songs and I could live in that song's vibe happily ever after, picking up the rice... (less)