Kellerman and son's Deputy Coroner Clay Edison series

Some Jonathan Kellerman background📃

You'll know how much I love Jonathan Kellerman if you've read my posts on the Alex and Milo series. Kellerman, a former psychologist and researcher, is an author who has been part of my reading life for as long as I can remember. The approach in his novels to exploring the human psyche in the context of both homicide and child custody cases is interesting, perceptive, and heartfelt.

Kellerman's main series features child psychologist, Dr Alex Delaware, who consults for long-time friend, Detective Milo Sturgis. Alex is brought into cases to help Milo solve crimes that have a 'psychological' angle. The books are set in LA and Kellerman has done a bang up job of world-building over the series lifetime. Alex and Milo, their enduring friendship, the cast of supporting players, and their LA haunts are like old friends to me now.

Kellerman has written six standalone novels, but I've only read one of them, The murderer's daughter, published in 2016 (not yet properly reviewed on my blog). That book is one of my all-time favourite reads. I have been hoping, as I have seen other reviewers comment, that Kellerman would make it into a series. Grace Blades, the main character, is a psychologist and wicked smart. Grace was raised by her loving adoptive parents after witnessing her biological parents' death in a murder-suicide. Grace has built a successful career, but she has a dark side that is exposed when the murder of an associate brings the police to her door. The book is dark and twisted and Kellerman is completely unapologetic is his characterisation of Grace. She's a total bad ass and I loved reading her backstory. Highly recommended!

Kellerman has now also penned two series with his son, Jesse, who writes crime novels in his own right. The first short-lived series consists of two books published in 2013 and 2015, The golem of Hollywood and The golem of Paris, featuring Detective Jacob Lev. I've read both novels but haven't reviewed them on my blog. The books are interesting if not weird and I couldn't really come to grips with the supernatural element. Kellerman is Jewish and I liked learning about Jewish customs, but the whole paranormal thing isn't for me. I get that it is a tough ask to pair a police procedural with a fantasy story with biblical elements, but the two genres are an odd mix. I haven't read any of Jesse Kellerman's solo outings, so perhaps these books are more his thing than his father's. The books have not been generally well received and that's probably why father and son stopped at two.

The Clay Edison series

The second series written by father and son has Alameda County Deputy Coroner, Clay Edison, as the main character. There are five books in the series as I write this post. I rather like Clay - he's a good guy who is meticulous and persistent in his work, showing a huge amount of care and attention to the victims of crime. He does tend to stick his nose into criminal investigations and pushes boundaries, though! The coroner stuff is super interesting, and I've learnt a lot about this aspect of homicide investigations.

There's plenty of character development in the first five books as lots happens in Clay's personal and professional lives. The books more closely align with Jonathan Kellerman's Alex and Milo series although the writing is different, tending more towards short, staccato sentences and lots of dialogue to fill up the pages. The first three books have plenty of depth to the them, but Book 4 isn't great. I have some issues with the writing in Book 5, although it's a fascinating story in a unique setting.

I'm going to re-read Books 1 to 3 and I will update this post with my reviews of those books when I'm done. I know I enjoyed reading the first three in the series. The below review is of Books 4, 5 and 6.

Rating for Clay Edison Books 1-3: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The burning | Clay Edison Book 4 | Published September 2021 | Re-read December 2024

The story📖

We find Clay in the middle of a California wildfire in The burning. His pregnant wife and young daughter have evacuated to another part of California leaving Clay on his own in a blackout. He is called to the murder of a wealthy man in his hilltop mansion and while working the scene, Clay discovers a link to his troubled brother, Luke, who goes missing shortly afterwards. Clay then goes completely off script as he searches for Luke, trying to sort through what part his brother may have played in the crime.

My thoughts on the book💭

I didn't mind Clay pushing the boundaries in the first three books as the stories were intriguing, inventive and had interesting cases at their heart. I especially liked Book 3, Lost souls, and the discovery of a decades-old child's skeleton. There wasn't much that worked for me in Book 4, though.

Of course what Clay does in pushing boundaries is unrealistic, but so is Alex's consultancy in the Alex and Milo books, and I take no issue with that. In The burning, Clay is way past boundary-pushing, though. He is doing The Wrong Thing so he can find his brother. Clay's behaviour risks his career and his life. He also seems more intent on making sure Luke wasn't doing something wrong - Luke having been a drug addict and in prison and all that - than using his head. He also comes across as kind of judgy. Clay makes a bunch of both stupid and unethical decisions along the way and the book didn't make a whole lot of sense in terms of Luke's involvement in the murder. It was all just a bridge too far for me with the character I'd grown to like over the past three books.

In sum📝

I can see now that I have read the next book, The lost coast, that The burning creates the set up for that book. If you don't want to read any spoilers for Book 5, hold off reading my review below of The lost coast until you have read The burning.

Rating: ⭐⭐

The lost coast | Clay Edison Book 5 | Published August 2024 | Read December 2024

The story📖

The lost coast is set 12 months after Book 4, and we now find Clay working as a private detective. Book 4 will tell you all you need to know about why Clay is no longer with the coroner's bureau.

The story kicks off when a client alerts Clay to a potential fraud, after examining his grandmother's will as its executor. Clay's client discovers a recurring charge that doesn't make sense. This discovery leads Clay to investigate a decades-old scheme targeting vulnerable people in a small town, Swann's Flat, on the Lost Coast. Clay does not receive a friendly reception when he goes to the town to follow up. It's an odd place, where the residents don't care much for outsiders. They certainly don't like Clay asking questions. about the scheme and another related case that Clay stumbles upon during the course of his investigation.

My thoughts on the book💭

First off, I googled the Lost Coast and discovered that it's an actual place. Cool! The town in the story is fictional but the natural and undeveloped area of the northern coast of California in the Humboldt and Mendocino areas does exist. The area experienced depopulation in the 1930s, hence the lost coast moniker. It is still isolated and without major highways due to geotechnical challenges that mean only a rough, steep and winding road joins communities to the rest of California. Also cool. The location of The lost coast is one of the highlights of the book, actually. The authors made this landscape completely come to life in the book. They built a world that I was easily immersed in, with closed-off local residents who clearly had things to hide.

Book 5 felt like Clay had matured and returned to being Sensible Clay, not the guy who made poor decisions and threw his ethics out the door in Book 4. I've always liked the way the Kellermans have written Clay's relationship with his psychologist wife, Amy, as it has developed nicely and authentically over the five books. I like the way that Alex and his partner, Robin, are written in Jonathan's books as their relationship feels authentic, too, and Robin isn't needy. Clay and Amy are similarly written, showing how to craft a supportive spouse with some depth of character who is realistically concerned for their partner's safety.

On the surface, the story may not have seemed complex, but the Kellermans made something clever and intricate out of a basic premise - a fraudulent real estate scheme. They did this by delving into the town's secretive, corrupt and a-bit-bonkers locals and weaving a second mystery into the main event. The other highlight of the book for me was the introduction of Regina Klein, a PI who assists Clay on the case. She is an absolute hoot, and I hope she returns in future novels.

My one niggle is the writing. I realise that the Clay books are written by Jonathan Kellerman and his son, Jesse. I can tell the difference between these books and Kellerman Senior's works as the the writing isn't as polished. There is also way too much dialogue in this book for me, sometimes pages of it to depict a conversation. It feels like lazy writing to have slabs of dialogue to advance the story, especially when it feel a bit corny as a reading experience. There's also a lack of connection between Books 4 and 5 for longtime readers of the series.

In sum📝

I look forward to Book 6 (hoping for some more of Regina!) as the series seems to be gaining its footing again after losing it in Book 4. I was relieved to see Clay being more Clay-like as well, and I hope this continues in the next story.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Coyote Hills | Published October 2025 | Read January 2026

The story📖

Coyote Hills sees Clay teaming up with Regina again, this time after the body of Adam Valois washes up on the shores of San Francisco bay. Valois has head injuries and drugs in his system, yet the police declare an accidental death. Understandably, his parents do not accept this finding, so Regina is hired to investigate. Regina ropes in Clay to assist.

My thoughts on the book💭

This one is a complex story and it was hard to keep up with it at times. I do appreciate, though, that the Kellermans bring an interesting element into each story, so there's more for the reader than just the investigative part. This time, it's tidal movements and cutting edge technology.

I've always warmed to Clay as a character and I like the way his personal life is woven into the stories. I didn't like Clay in Book 4, when he throws common sense and his usually-reliable moral compass out the window, but he feels redeemed in my eyes since Kellerman and Kellerman introduced Regina into the mix. I love Regina! She's an absolute hoot. The witty banter between Clay and Regina is enough to keep me invested. That said, the Kellermans could ease up on the pages of dialogue to advance the story.

In sum📝

Even though it's only been six books, I like the way that Kellerman and Kellerman have developed Clay's character, moving him on from his coroner role to private detective work, also fleshing out his personal life. The injection of Regina and the progress of her professional partnership with Clay is fun to read. The Clay books don't demand too much of the reader, but I admit I learn something each time, so props to the Kellermans for peppering the stories with something intriguing to lift them above your standard procedural. I'll be back for more, especially if Regina sticks around.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐