Jonathan Kellerman's Malice: An Alex Delaware Novel is the forty-second installment in one of the longest-running and most recognizable series in modern American crime fiction. The novel brings psychologist Alex Delaware and Los Angeles homicide detective Milo Sturgis back together for another complicated murder investigation, combining police procedure, psychological insight, character development, and the author's trademark exploration of human behavior.
Malice is scheduled for publication on February 2, 2027, by Ballantine Books. The hardcover edition is listed at 320 pages, with an ISBN of 9780593497739. It is the latest entry in the Alex Delaware series, following Jigsaw.
For longtime readers, Malice represents another opportunity to spend time with two familiar characters who have developed considerably over the course of the series. For readers discovering the series for the first time, it offers a mystery built around an unusual murder pattern, a collection of victims who initially appear unrelated, and an investigation that gradually exposes the connections hidden beneath the surface.
About Jonathan Kellerman
Jonathan Kellerman occupies an unusual position in crime fiction because his professional background directly informs the type of stories he writes. He is a clinical psychologist as well as a bestselling crime novelist, and his understanding of psychology has become one of the defining characteristics of the Alex Delaware novels.
Kellerman has written more than fifty crime novels and has received major recognition for his work, including the Edgar and Anthony awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association. His professional experience gives his fictional investigations a particular emphasis on motives, personality, trauma, behavior, relationships, and the psychological consequences of violence.
That background is especially important in the Alex Delaware books. Delaware is not simply another detective character. His psychological expertise gives the series a different investigative perspective, allowing Kellerman to examine crimes from both a traditional investigative standpoint and a psychological one.
The Alex Delaware Series
Malice is identified as Book 42 in the Alex Delaware series. The series began with When the Bough Breaks and has continued for decades, following Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis through an enormous variety of criminal investigations.
The longevity of the series is one of its most impressive accomplishments. Many long-running mystery series eventually become repetitive, but Kellerman has continued to find different ways to place his characters in situations involving murder, deception, psychological manipulation, family conflict, obsession, and hidden histories.
The partnership between Delaware and Sturgis remains central to the appeal.
Milo Sturgis represents the practical side of homicide investigation. He is an experienced detective who understands police work, suspects, evidence, interviews, and investigative procedure. Delaware approaches problems differently, looking closely at personality and behavior and considering what psychological forces might explain seemingly irrational actions.
The combination creates a classic investigative partnership in which neither character completely replaces the other.
The Story and Premise
Malice begins with an especially disturbing murder.
According to advance reader information, the investigation starts with the discovery of a young man who has been shot with remarkable precision in the brainstem. The body has also been stabbed after death and abandoned in a secluded location on a college campus. The crime initially appears to offer investigators very little to work with.
Then another victim is discovered.
Eventually, four victims are connected by a remarkably specific method of killing. The difficulty is that there does not appear to be an obvious relationship between the victims. Their backgrounds do not immediately provide investigators with a straightforward explanation for why they were targeted.
This is an excellent setup for an Alex Delaware mystery because the central question is not simply who committed the murders.
It is why.
The distinction is important.
A conventional mystery may concentrate primarily on identifying the killer. Kellerman's approach is frequently more interested in understanding the psychological and personal circumstances that produced the crime. Once investigators discover that apparently unrelated victims share a common characteristic, the investigation becomes a search through their histories, relationships, experiences, and secrets.
That gives Malice a strong investigative foundation.
The Mystery
One of the strengths of the premise is the gradual development of the connection between the victims.
Four people being murdered in a similar manner establishes a pattern. But recognizing a pattern and explaining it are two very different things.
That distinction provides the investigators with a difficult puzzle.
Who selected these people?
Why these particular victims?
What did they have in common?
Was the killer motivated by revenge?
Was there a psychological connection?
Were the victims deliberately selected because of something they had done in the past?
Or is the connection something considerably more complicated?
These questions provide much of the novel's tension.
Kellerman understands that a mystery becomes more interesting when every answer creates another question. Instead of immediately explaining the connection between the victims, the investigation gradually works backward through their histories.
This allows the reader to participate in the investigation rather than simply waiting for the solution.
Alex Delaware
Alex Delaware remains one of the most interesting protagonists in contemporary crime fiction because his profession makes him fundamentally different from the typical fictional investigator.
He is a psychologist rather than a police detective.
That means he is often interested in details that other investigators might overlook. A person's emotional responses, relationships, childhood experiences, personality characteristics, fears, obsessions, and coping mechanisms can become important pieces of evidence.
The psychological dimension also allows Kellerman to explore the idea that criminal behavior does not necessarily make sense on the surface.
People lie.
People hide information.
People rationalize their behavior.
People remember events differently.
People can become obsessed with events that other people have forgotten.
And sometimes people construct elaborate explanations for actions that have much deeper origins.
These themes are perfectly suited to Delaware's character.
Milo Sturgis
Milo Sturgis provides the necessary counterbalance.
Where Delaware tends to analyze, Sturgis investigates.
Where Delaware can spend considerable time considering psychological possibilities, Sturgis is concerned with evidence, suspects, interviews, police procedure, and establishing what actually happened.
Their relationship has developed into one of the defining features of the series.
Their partnership works because they are not identical characters. They approach problems differently, and that difference creates opportunities for disagreement, discovery, and humor.
The presence of Sturgis also prevents Malice from becoming purely psychological fiction. The book remains firmly rooted in crime investigation.
The Psychological Element
The psychological component is arguably the most important reason to read a Jonathan Kellerman novel.
Kellerman's professional background allows him to explore criminal behavior with greater attention to psychological detail than many traditional mystery writers.
Malice appears particularly well suited to this approach because the murder pattern raises questions about motivation.
A killer who repeatedly uses a very specific method of murder is communicating something, whether consciously or unconsciously.
The method may be practical.
It may be symbolic.
It may reflect an obsession.
It may be connected to the killer's history.
Or it may simply represent a preferred method of control.
Determining which possibility is correct becomes part of the investigation.
The title Malice is also appropriate because the murders are not presented simply as random acts of violence. The title suggests deliberate hostility, harmful intent, or deeply rooted resentment, themes that fit naturally with Kellerman's interest in psychological motivation.
Pacing
One of the most appealing aspects of Malice is its relatively compact length.
At 320 pages, the hardcover is substantial enough to provide a developed mystery without becoming unnecessarily enormous.
Advance readers have described the book as fast-paced and easy to move through, with a sequence of questions and discoveries that keeps the investigation progressing. One early reader reported finishing the novel in a single day, while another praised the way the story moves through potential suspects and motives before bringing the pieces together.
That is an important strength for a modern mystery.
A crime novel needs enough room to develop its characters and clues, but excessive length can weaken suspense. Malice appears to strike a useful balance between investigation and momentum.
Writing Style
Kellerman's writing style is generally straightforward but highly observant.
He is interested in the physical environment, the behavior of his characters, and the subtle details that reveal personality.
The Los Angeles setting is also an important part of the Alex Delaware identity. Kellerman has spent much of his life in California, and his familiarity with the region contributes to the sense of place throughout the series.
His writing is not dependent on constant action.
Instead, suspense often comes from conversations, discoveries, contradictions, interviews, and the gradual realization that something is not what it initially appeared to be.
That style will appeal particularly to readers who enjoy investigative mysteries rather than nonstop action thrillers.
The Characters
The strongest character element of Malice is undoubtedly the continuing relationship between Delaware and Sturgis.
Long-running series succeed when readers become invested in the characters beyond the individual mysteries.
The murder case is what brings the characters together, but their personalities and relationships are what keep readers returning.
Kellerman has had decades to develop Delaware and Sturgis, which gives their interactions a depth that would be difficult to reproduce in a standalone novel.
For longtime readers, their familiarity is comforting.
For new readers, their established personalities provide an immediate sense that these investigators have history.
The Supporting Cast
The supporting characters are important because the mystery depends on the investigation moving through different people connected to the victims.
A good detective novel needs suspects who are believable enough to remain possible without making the solution obvious.
That balance is difficult.
If everyone looks suspicious, the mystery becomes artificial.
If nobody looks suspicious, there is no tension.
Kellerman's approach generally emphasizes complicated human relationships, which allows suspects to have believable reasons for hiding information without necessarily being guilty of murder.
That makes the investigation more interesting.
The Four Victims
The decision to center the mystery around four victims is particularly effective.
One murder can be explained away as an isolated incident.
Two murders establish a possible connection.
Three suggest a pattern.
Four make coincidence increasingly difficult to accept.
Yet the victims in Malice initially appear to have little obvious relationship.
That creates the central investigative challenge.
The detectives know there is a connection.
The reader knows there is a connection.
But neither immediately knows what it is.
That structure gives the book a natural progression.
The investigation begins with almost no useful information and gradually becomes more focused as hidden relationships emerge.
Suspense Without Excessive Violence
Malice deals with multiple murders, but the appeal of the novel is not simply the brutality of the crimes.
Kellerman's approach is more interested in the consequences and motivations surrounding violence.
The murders are disturbing because of their precision and apparent deliberateness.
That can be more psychologically unsettling than pages of graphic description.
Readers who prefer mysteries that emphasize investigation, psychology, and character rather than excessive gore will likely find the approach appealing.
What Works Best
The greatest strength of Malice is its central mystery.
Four victims.
A distinctive method.
No obvious relationship.
A killer who appears to have selected the victims deliberately.
That is an effective foundation for a detective novel.
The second major strength is the Delaware-Sturgis partnership.
The third is Kellerman's ability to use psychology as part of the investigation rather than treating it as an unrelated subplot.
The fourth is the pacing.
The available advance reader responses suggest that the novel maintains momentum while still providing the detailed investigative work expected from the series.
What May Not Work for Everyone
The very qualities that make Malice attractive to longtime Kellerman readers may make it less appealing to readers who want a purely action-oriented thriller.
This is an investigation-driven novel.
Readers should expect conversations, psychological analysis, police work, background investigation, and gradual discovery.
Someone looking for constant action, spectacular set pieces, or a relentless chase may find the book slower than some modern thriller novels.
The series' long history may also be a consideration.
Although advance readers indicate that Malice can be approached by newcomers, readers who already know Delaware and Sturgis will naturally get more from their established personalities and history.
That does not mean newcomers cannot enjoy the book. It simply means longtime readers have an additional layer of familiarity to appreciate.
Is Malice a Good Entry Point?
For readers who are already fans of Jonathan Kellerman, Malice is an obvious recommendation.
For newcomers, it is somewhat more complicated.
Because this is the forty-second Alex Delaware novel, readers who enjoy following characters chronologically may prefer to begin with the earlier books.
However, readers primarily interested in the individual mystery should be able to understand the central investigation without having read every previous installment.
The fact that the book has received positive early reactions from readers who describe themselves as both longtime series followers and newcomers suggests that it has enough standalone appeal to work for different audiences.
Hardcover Edition
The hardcover edition is listed at 320 pages and carries a $32 list price from the publisher. It is being published by Ballantine Books.
For collectors of the Alex Delaware series, hardcover editions have an obvious advantage. Readers who have followed the series for years may appreciate having another matching physical volume for their shelves.
Hardcover is also an appropriate format for a book that is part of such a long-running series because it has the durability necessary for repeated reading and long-term collection.
Who Should Read Malice?
Malice is particularly well suited for readers who enjoy psychological crime fiction, police procedurals, character-driven mysteries, serial detective series, and mysteries involving complicated motives.
It should appeal to fans of Jonathan Kellerman's earlier Alex Delaware novels as well as readers who enjoy authors who emphasize psychological investigation.
Readers who enjoy solving mysteries themselves should also appreciate the premise.
The investigation provides enough uncertainty to encourage speculation about the relationship between the victims and the identity and motivation of the killer.
Overall Assessment
Malice appears to be another strong addition to the Alex Delaware series.
Its greatest asset is the combination of a compelling murder mystery with Kellerman's psychological perspective. The unusual method of killing, the apparently unrelated victims, and the gradual discovery of a larger connection create an effective investigative puzzle.
Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis remain the heart of the story.
Their contrasting investigative approaches give the novel personality, while Kellerman's experience as a psychologist provides the series with its distinctive identity.
The novel also benefits from being relatively compact. At 320 pages, it has enough space to develop the mystery while maintaining a pace that early readers have described as fast and engaging.
For longtime Alex Delaware fans, Malice should be an easy recommendation.
For readers who enjoy psychological mysteries but have never tried Kellerman, it offers a good example of what makes the series endure: intelligent investigation, complicated characters, psychological insight, and crimes that cannot be solved simply by finding the most obvious suspect.
Final Verdict
Malice is a compelling psychological crime novel built around an intriguing mystery and one of crime fiction's most enduring investigative partnerships.
Jonathan Kellerman's experience as a clinical psychologist continues to distinguish his work from conventional police procedurals. Rather than concentrating solely on evidence and forensic clues, the novel explores the people behind the crime and the psychological forces that can turn personal histories into deadly consequences.
The combination of Alex Delaware's psychological expertise and Milo Sturgis's police instincts remains effective after more than four decades of the series.
For fans of the Alex Delaware novels, Malice looks like another worthwhile installment.
For readers who enjoy intelligent mysteries, psychological suspense, and character-driven crime fiction, it deserves serious consideration.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Malice is a strong choice for readers who prefer their thrillers with brains as well as suspense. It offers an intriguing central mystery, experienced investigators, psychological depth, and the familiar appeal of returning to two characters who have become fixtures of American crime fiction.
