Jonathan Kellerman — Time Bomb

Bantam Books 1991 Paperback, 468pp. Edgar Award winner Jonathan Kellerman once more  explores the corruption of California's golden  coast and produces a novel of complex  characterizations and nonstop suspense.  By the time psychologist Dr. Alex  Delaware reached the school the damage was done:  A sniper had opened fire on a crowded playground,  but was gunned down before any children were  hurt.  While  the TV news crews feasted on the scene an Alex  began his therapy sessions with the traumatized  children, he couldn't escape the image of a slight  teenager clutching an oversized rifle. What was the  identity behind the name and face: a would-be  assassin, or just another victim beneath an  indifferent California sky? Intrigued by a request from the sniper's father  to conduct a 'psychological autopsy' of  his child, Alex begins to uncover a strange  pattern of innocence, neglect, and loss. Then suddenly  it is more than a pattern -- it is a trail of  blood. In the dead sniper's past was a dark and  vicious plot. And in Alex Delaware's future is the  stuff of grown-up nightmares: the face of real  human evil. Also available on BDD Audio Cassette. (ISBN: 9780553291704). Good.