Cover image of "The Museum of Desire," a novel about a bizarre multiple murder case

High up on an isolated lane near the border of Beverly Hills a maintenance man encounters four dead bodies in a limousine. It’s parked outside a crumbling old mansion often used for exclusive parties. His call to the police brings homicide Detective Lieutenant Milo Sturgis to the scene. He boasts the department’s highest close rate. But he knows he’s out of his depth once he views the bodies. “Three dead people occupied the rear seat, pressed close to one another, knees touching.” One of the three, a relatively young man, sits with his “limp penis [resting] in the upturned left palm of his nearest seat-mate. Older woman. Sixties, maybe even seventies.” And the chauffeur’s dead of a gunshot. Milo knows this case calls for his friend and occasional partner, psychologist Alex Delaware. And so begins another complex and demanding investigation in The Museum of Desire, the 35th Alex Delaware mystery.

A connection among the victims lies deeply hidden

Milo and Alex’s investigation revolves around the identification of the victims. As Alex sees it, they turn out to be “A mentally slow forty-four-year-old, a narcissistic hotshot, a woman who looks like everyone’s straitlaced aunt, and their chauffeur.” And the chauffeur turns out to be a mere bystander who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. As Alex delves more deeply into what can be learned of the life stories of the three back-seat victims, the link among them only gradually comes into focus. But it’s still a long way to prove who murdered them, even if the circumstances suggest a motive. Meanwhile, however, the case has captured the attention of the public, as the press runs wild with speculation. And LAPD brass is coming down hard on Milo. Solving the case becomes a do-or-die proposition for Alex’s best friend.

The Museum of Desire (Alex Delaware #35) by Jonathan Kellerman (2020) 368 pages ★★★★★

Photo of a Los Angeles party house, like the scene in this novel of a bizarre multiple murder case
The Hollywood Reporter dubbed this LA mansion “The most notorious Party House.” One like it features in this novel. Image: Hollywood Reporter

Psychology proves to be central to this baffling case

Milo, a lieutenant whose high close rate insulates him from his bosses, commands a team that includes three able younger detectives. The Museum of Desire is, properly speaking a police procedural. But it’s Milo, and Alex, who spearhead the investigation.

Early on, the scene of the murder begins to loom large in the investigation. The mansion where the limousine was parked is a notorious party house, hosting exclusive gatherings of moneyed party-goers and well-to-do, drug-seeking youngsters. Soon, the owners of the house come under suspicion. And as Milo and Alex learn more about the history of the place, a number of other suspects emerge as well. And an obscure Renaissance-era painting enters the case as well: “‘The Museum of Desire,’ painted sometime around 1510, probably in Venice by one Antonio Domenico Carascelli.” Hence, the novel’s title. In the end, it’s unmistakably clear that Milo and his squad alone could not have solved this case. The psychological aspects of the murder are key to its resolution.

About the author

Photo of Jonathan Kellerman, author of this novel about a bizarre multiple murder case
Jonathan Kellerman. Image: Joan Allen – Alta Journal

Like his protagonist, Alex Delaware, Jonathan Kellerman is a practicing child psychologist in Los Angeles. As a sideline, he has been publishing the novels in this highly successful mystery series since 1985. As of this writing, there are 41 in the series.

You’ll find this novel in good company at Top Los Angeles mysteries and thrillers.

Among the many Alex Delaware novels I’ve reviewed are the first three as well as three more recent books:

You’ll find other great reading at:

And you can always find the most popular of my 2,400 reviews, and the most recent ones, on the Home Page.