Unnatural History

by Jonathan Kellerman

Dr. Alex Delaware is a psychologist with great insight into the workings of the human mind. He freelances working with the courts as an expert witness, often in family court when there is a custody conflict. In his spare time, he goes to crime scenes when his friend Milo, a homicide lieutenant requests his input which he only does when he sees that a case is going to be “different.”

The case in Unnatural History is indeed very different. A rich young man working out of a bare bones photography studio is found murdered. He has been giving homeless people a makeover according to their fantasy dream career. He pays each one $500 cash, and everything is on the up and up. Everyone has only kind words to say about the deceased, but his family background is sad and he had learning difficulties. Milo, Alex, and several younger detectives try to make sense out of the case, interviewing multiple, often foggy, homeless people. They are also trying to locate the victim’s extremely rich, reclusive father who seems to make a hobby of marrying, siring a child, and divorcing, leaving a trail of wealthy half brothers and sisters who barely know each other. Things get even crazier when some of the victim’s photographic subjects become victims themselves. There are lots of suspects and possible motivations, and Alex and Milo have to bring their A game to this case.

One of the things I like about this book is the way the author treats the rampant homelessness in Los Angeles. So many people take the extreme view of “these poor people are just victims” or at the other end of the spectrum that the fault is all their own, a result of their sinful nature or lack of self-discipline. In fact, homelessness has many causes and manifestations from drug and alcohol use to mental problems. Via Alex, the author takes the reader through a brief history of changes in government policies without funding to support the necessary programs. I remember these changes in the 1970’s, and the discussion of it in the book is accurate.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery and Thriller, General Fiction

Notes: 1. #38 in the Alex Delaware series, but absolutely could be read as a standalone. The mystery depends on the case, not on character development.
2. As a crime novel, there are, of course, victims, but there is no play by play depiction of the violence.
3. Psychological issues are present, but the book does not drop into the realm of creepy.
4. Contains a lot of swearing, but no sex.

Publication: February 7, 2023—Ballantine (Random House)

Memorable Lines:

When you’re all strung up, there’s nothing less helpful than being told to calm down. But cops aren’t therapists and confronting anxiety kicks in their own fears of madness and impulse. So they keep saying it and getting nowhere and the beat goes on.

I did ask him what it was like working with the unhomed community in general. He said they were prisoners of circumstances and that created unnatural histories for them.

“Something with money, I assume?” “Why would you assume that?” “Because money is like dirt, Lieutenant. When it is skimpy dust, no one cares. When it collects into a mountain, people do crazy things to climb it.”