In Jonathan Kellerman's Survival of the Fittest, child psychologist Alex Delaware is pulled into a murder case by his longtime friend, L. A. police detective Milo Sturgis. Was the 15-year-old victim killed for political reasons -- her father is an Israeli diplomat -- or because she was deaf and mildly retarded?

And was the apparently insoluble case assigned to Sturgis because of his outstanding closure record -- or because the department wants to make a scapegoat out of the outspoken, openly gay homicide investigator?

In his search for the answers, Delaware comes to suspect the existence of a secret organization with extremist views on euthanasia and genetic superiority. This organization's members appear to believe they are improving society by eliminating those they define as physically, mentally or racially inferior.

Kellerman often uses Delaware as a lens to focus readers' attention on issues he feels important. For example, The Devil's Waltz (1993) provides an incisive look at a specific type of child abuse known as Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome. Self-Defense (1995) gives a realistic picture of a psychologist using hypnotism to reach repressed memories of childhood trauma.

In Survival of the Fittest, Delaware's involvement in the case leads him to discover the existence of a very real modern subculture of genetic theorists and bioethicists who use pseudoscience to justify prescriptions for mankind's future that differ little from Hitler's "Final Solution." Unfortunately, Kellerman's slightly strident presentation and heavier-than-usual hand with his research weakens the book's punch.

This is especially noticeable in the book's middle section, but Kellerman makes a great recovery in the final third. And while Survival of the Fittest is not as seamless as most of the previous 11 Alex Delaware mysteries, it still justifies Kellerman's reputation as the reigning master of the psychological thriller.

Just don't pick this one up at bedtime on a work night. Sadly, most bosses still don't understand that "I had to finish the latest Kellerman" is a perfectly valid reason for falling asleep at your desk.

Donna Andrews

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