That’s at the Manchester Public Library in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.
Natives call it MBTS or mostly just “Manchester.”
[This page updated 11/3/24]
Next Meeting: Friday November 22, 10:30 am NOTE: This is the Friday BEFORE Thanksgiving, NOT the typical last Friday of the month.
Meeting Location: Inside the library AND via Zoom (Hybrid Meeting)
Zoom details will be provided via email. Be sure to subscribe to our meeting notices so that you can be updated with any last minute changes in location – and other club news.
Read Night Moves by Jonathan Kellerman (2018) for the November 22 Meeting. This is book #33 out of 40 books in this series featuring Alex Delaware, a Los Angeles based child psychologist who often assists police with their investigations.
Blurb for This Month’s Book
Even with all his years of experience, LAPD homicide detective Milo Sturgis knows there are crimes his skill and savvy cannot solve alone. That’s when he calls on brilliant psychologist Alex Delaware to read between the lines, where the darkest motives lurk. And if ever the good doctor’s insight is needed, it’s at the scene of a murder as baffling as it is brutal.
There’s no spilled blood, no evidence of a struggle, and, thanks to the victim’s missing face and hands, no immediate means of identification. And no telling why the disfigured corpse of a stranger has appeared in an upscale L.A. family’s home. Chet Corvin, his wife, and their two teenage children are certain the John Doe is unknown to them. Despite that, their cooperation seems guarded. And that’s more than Milo and Alex can elicit from the Corvins’ creepy next-door neighbor—a notorious cartoonist with a warped sense of humor and a seriously antisocial attitude.
As the investigation ensues, it becomes clear that this well-to-do suburban enclave has its share of curious eyes, suspicious minds, and loose lips. And as Milo tightens the screws on potential persons of interest—and Alex tries to breach the barriers that guard their deepest secrets—a strangling web of corrupted love, cold-blooded greed, and shattered trust is exposed. Though the grass may be greener on these privileged streets, there’s enough dirt below the surface to bury a multitude of sins. Including the deadliest.
This Book Fits Within These Types [Sub-Genres] of Crime Fiction:
Suspenseful Mystery; Police Procedural; Psychological Thriller
Praise for Night Moves
“Exceptionally well-plotted . . . Newcomers will find this an easy entry point into this long-running series.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A taut, procedural thriller . . . One of the most tightly plotted, tightly written of the Alex Delaware series . . . a real puzzler . . . Fans of the long-running Delaware series will be thrilled with this one, and because each book functions just fine as a stand-alone, there’s nothing keeping new readers from diving in.” —Booklist
“Jonathan Kellerman continues to amaze, dazzle, delight and entertain. . . . Night Moves is simply the best.” —Bookreporter
Setting of the Book
Pacific Palisades, a “Neighborhood” within the City of Los Angeles limits.
Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside region of Los Angeles, California, situated about 20 miles (32 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles.
Pacific Palisades was formally founded in 1921 by a Methodist organization, and in the years that followed became a refuge for Jewish artists and intellectuals fleeing the Holocaust. The Palisades would later be sought after by celebrities and other high-profile individuals seeking privacy. It is known for its seclusion, being a close-knit community with a small-town feel, Mediterranean climate, hilly topography, natural environment, abundance of parkland and hiking trails, a 3-mile (4.8 km) strip of coastline, and for being home to several architecturally significant homes. As of 2021, the community’s population was 23,156.
Pacific Palisades is a largely residential community and does not attract many tourists other than day visitors to Gladstones Malibu, the local beaches, the Getty Villa or the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine.
Nicknamed “the Palisades” and “Pali” by surfers and locals, the Palisades coast spans from after Sorrento Beach in Santa Monica to the south, and ends at Sunset Point Beach and Malibu to the north. Beaches along the Pacific Palisades coast include: Will Rogers State Beach, Sunset Point Beach, and one of the few unofficially gay beaches in Los Angeles, Ginger Rogers Beach. The many parks within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area lie along the ridges above the community, along with local parks that include Will Rogers State Historic Park. —> This description from the Wikipedia page.
We invite you to read the book and join us to discuss it on Friday, November 22!
About the Author!
Jonathan was born in New York City in 1949 and grew up in Los Angeles. He helped work his way through UCLA as an editorial cartoonist, columnist, editor and freelance musician. As a senior, at the age of 22, he won a Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award for fiction.
Like his fictional protagonist, Alex Delaware, Jonathan received a Ph.D. in psychology at the age of 24, with a specialty in the treatment of children. He served internships in clinical psychology and pediatric psychology at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles and was a post-doctoral HEW Fellow in Psychology and Human Development at CHLA.
IN 1975, Jonathan was asked by the hospital to conduct research into the psychological effects of extreme isolation (plastic bubble units) on children with cancer, and to coordinate care for these kids and their families. The success of that venture led to the establishment, in 1977 of the Psychosocial Program, Division of Oncology, the first comprehensive approach to the emotional aspects of pediatric cancer anywhere in the world. Jonathan was asked to be founding director and, along with his team, published extensively in the area of behavioral medicine. Decades later, the program, under the tutelage of one of Jonathan’s former students, continues to break ground.
Jonathan’s first published book was a medical text, PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER, 1980. One year later, came a book for parents, HELPING THE FEARFUL CHILD.
In 1985, Jonathan’s first novel, WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS, was published to enormous critical and commercial success and became a New York Times bestseller. BOUGH was also produced as a TV movie and won the Edgar Allan Poe and Anthony Boucher Awards for Best First Novel. Since then, Jonathan has published a best-selling crime novel every year, and occasionally, two a year. In addition, he has written and illustrated two books for children and a nonfiction volume on childhood violence, SAVAGE SPAWN (1999), as well as the illustrated art book, WITH STRINGS ATTACHED: THE ART AND BEAUTY OF VINTAGE GUITARS. Though no longer active as a psychotherapist, he is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Psychology at University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.
Jonathan is married to bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman and they have four children.
–– The above copied from the About Page on Kellerman’s website.
More You Can Explore!
LIST OF ALL OF HIS BOOKS WITH LINKS TO BLURBS ON AMAZON
Go to his page on, Stop You’re Killing Me for all of his books.
KELLERMAN ANSWERS FREQUENT QUESTIONS HERE, LIKE:
- What led you to switch from psychology to fiction?
- Why crime fiction?
- How similar is Alex Delaware to you?
- Where did Milo come from and why is he gay?
- Who are your literary influences?
- What’s it like having two writers in one household?
- Do your children write?
- What do you do in your spare time?
- Have any of your books been made into movies and are there any film projects in the future?
HOW TO FIND OTHER BOOKS WHERE THE PROTAGONIST IS A PSYCHOLOGIST.
Again, Stop You’re Killing Me is helpful. They have a page of all occupations to choose from. They call it “The Job Index.” Click here for their Job Index and look for “Psychiatrists & Psychologists” (listed alphabetically).
About Our Mystery Book Group
DO YOU LIKE MYSTERY BOOKS? We welcome your participation with us. Our monthly Friday meetings focus on the mystery book of the month. The group helps to create the annual reading list each June. (Click to see this year’s book list.) When we gather, we enjoy each other and the varying views that each person shares, recognizing that there are many genres and tastes in mystery books, crime books, thrillers, etc. It’s just fun!
WANT MORE TO READ AND DISCUSS, MORE THAN ONE BOOK A MONTH? In addition to our regular end of the month meeting, we often have one or more “sub-groups” that are ongoing, reading through a series of books by one author.
AND THERE’S MORE! As we like to say, “We are more than a book club.” For example:
- Authors as a guest for Q&A, most recently– Bruce Robert Coffin in June of 2023 and Daniel Palmer in November 2022,
- A recent Gloucester Harbor cruise on the Ardelle. An annual June backyard picnic,
- Field trip to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (it started with a book we read in which the museum’s famous heist was featured),
- Two Spenser Tours of Boston based on the Robert Parker books,
- Outings to movies like – Mr Holmes, Murder on the Orient Express, and Knives Out.
- Field trip to the Poe Statue in Boston,
- Lunch at the Agawam Diner,
- A Transcendental Murder mystery book field trip to Concord, MA.
- Frequent local restaurant luncheons following the regular book club meeting
- No agenda Zoom Lunch hour socials – a fill-in idea during the Pandemic
Click here for ongoing Mystery Book Club resources and helps. Quick link to current list of books for the year (September through August).
A few pictures from a recent meeting (8/30/24) during “announcements” part of the meeting. Thanks to Audrey Carmen (Library Staff)….
A few pictures from an early summer meeting (6/26/24) during “announcements” part of the meeting. Thanks to Carol McKenna….
Our special speaker for Nov 18, 2022: D.J. Palmer – author of various kinds of thrillers (5th from left)
Our club outing on Gloucester Harbor Tours’ Lighthouse Cruise – Saturday August 20, 2022: below – Selena and Mike seated (picture by Leslie)
Our club outing on Gloucester Harbor on the Schooner Ardelle charter – August 25, 2021: below
