When the Bough Breaks

An Alex Delaware Novel

By: Jonathan Kellerman

Narrated by: Alexander Adams

In the first Alex Delaware novel, Dr. Morton Handler practiced a strange brand of psychiatry. Among his specialties were fraud, extortion, and sexual manipulation. Handler paid for his sins when he was brutally murdered in his luxurious Pacific Palisades apartment. The police have no leads, but they do have one possible witness: seven-year-old Melody Quinn.

It's psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware's job to try to unlock the terrible secret buried in Melody's memory. But as the sinister shadows in the girl's mind begin to take shape, Alex discovers that the mystery touches a shocking incident in his own past.

This connection is only the beginning, a single link in a forty-year-old conspiracy. And behind it lies an unspeakable evil that Alex Delaware must expose before it claims another innocent victim: Melody Quinn.

Critic reviews

"An engrossing thriller... this knockout of an entertainment is the kind of book which establishes a career in one stroke." -- New York Newsday

"Suspenseful, neatly spun, fascinating." -- Philadelphia Daily News

"Grab yourself a copy soon." -- Los Angeles Times

"An exceptionally exciting thriller!" -- The New York Times

When the bough breaks

Wonderful start to this series and now I can't wait for the next book in the series.

very disturbing

the profanity was difficult to hear and the details of the violation against children was very disturbing. the story line and plot was excellent but a lot of the details of the child molestation could have been left out. also some of the detailed descriptions could have been abbreviated.

my favorite author!

So happy to have all of these books to hear! I love the twists and turns so you can try to guess the ending... but you will probably be wrong!!

Characters’ attitudes are dated

It was a decent mystery but a little hard to swallow due to the 80’s-era sexism and racism. Will try something by him written more recently.

great listen

twists and turns at every chapter. I can't wait for the next book to listen to.