Few know the city of Los Angeles the way #1 bestselling author and acclaimed suspense master Jonathan Kellerman does. His thrilling novels of psychological drama and criminal detection make the capital of dreams a living, breathing character in all its glamour and infamy. That storied history of fame, seduction, scandal, and murder looms large in "Mystery," as Alex Delaware finds himself drawn into a twisting, shadowy whodunit that s pure L.A. noir and vintage Kellerman. The closing of their favorite romantic rendezvous, the Fauborg Hotel in Beverly Hills, is a sad occasion for longtime patrons Alex Delaware and Robin Castagna. And gathering one last time with their fellow faithful habitues for cocktails in the gracious old venue makes for a bittersweet evening. But even more poignant is a striking young woman alone and enigmatic among the revelers waiting in vain in elegant attire and dark glasses that do nothing to conceal her melancholy. Alex can t help wondering what her story is, and whether she s connected to the silent, black-suited bodyguard lingering outside the hotel. Two days later, Alex has even more to contemplate when police detective Milo Sturgis comes seeking his psychologist comrade s insights about a grisly homicide. To Alex s shock, the brutalized victim is the same beautiful woman whose lonely hours sipping champagne at the Fauborg may have been her last. But with a mutilated body and no DNA match, she remains as mysterious in death as she seemed in life. And even when a tipster s sordid revelation finally cracks the case open, the dark secrets that spill out could make Alex and Milo s best efforts to close this horrific crime not just impossible but fatal. "From the Hardcover edition.""