The Murderer's Daughter by Jonathan Kellerman

Grace Blades was a super intelligent unloved child.  She went through several foster homes after her parents died.  She was aloof, worked ahead in her schoolwork, and touched no one and no one touched her.  After another dramatic death in her life, she's taken in by the woman's brother in law.  He and his wife are kind and love her in their own way.  Intelligence speaks to intelligence.  She studies hard and is going far.  Until one night the past comes back to touch her again...

Ballantine Books and Edelweiss allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published August 18th, so you can grab a copy then.

Mr. Kellerman was a clinical psychologist and his books always have a touch of that in them.  That makes a good suspense novel and gives you insight into characters you might not have seen without his help.  He never disappoints me with his work even if I might be shaking my head in some spots.  I've read about Alex  Delaware several times but this is a new character for him.  She's very interesting.

Grace is still not touchy-feely and she's still a loner.  She has become a master psychologist and helps people deal with traumatic circumstances.  She has a secret, though.  She does crazy things at night or on her days off.  Like driving at excessive speed and then closing her eyes for moments while she hopes her memory will hold her on the road.  Or picking some guy up at the bar for a random sexual encounter.  She likes the rush it brings her.

When one of those random couplings shows up in her therapy room, it's difficult.  They're both embarrassed, he doesn't want to share his problems with her and leaves.  He has her business card with him, so when he shows up dead the next day, the cops are asking her questions.  When she finds out his name was a lie (so was the one he gave her when they had their brief encounter), she begins to wonder just who he is.  When she finds out, her life is in danger.  The past is coming after her...

It's hard to feel sorry for Grace.  She's independent, self-sufficient and functioning well despite her daredevil side.  Her early years were awful and she's still compensating for that.  This may be Mr. Kellerman's new character.  We'll just have to see what comes next.