''When the Bough Breaks'' is a

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reas ...

Jonathan Kellerman Jonathan Seth Kellerman (born August 9, 1949) is an American novelist, psychologist, and Edgar- and Anthony Award–winning author best known for his popular mystery novels featuring the character Alex Delaware, a child psychologist who consult ...

. It is the first novel in the

Alex Delaware Alex Delaware is a literary character created by American writer Jonathan Kellerman. The Alex Delaware detective series begins with ''When the Bough Breaks'', published in 1985. Delaware appears in 32 of Kellerman's popular murder mysteries. Kel ...

series.

Plot introduction

Dr. Morton Hander practiced a strange brand of psychiatry. Among his specialties were fraud, extortion and sexual manipulation. Hander paid for his sins when he was brutally murdered in his luxurious Pacific Palisades apartment. The police have no leads, but they do have one possible witness: seven-year-old Melody Quinn. It's

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

Dr.

's job to try to unlock the terrible secret buried in Melody's memory. But as the sinister shadows in the girl's mind begin to take shape, Alex discovers that the mystery touches a shocking incident in his own past. And behind it lies an unspeakable evil that Alex Delaware must expose before it claims another innocent victim.

Characters

- Psychologist *Milo Sturgis - Police detective *Dr. Morton Hander - Psychiatrist and murder victim *Melody Quinn - Delaware's patient and murder witness

Awards

1986 Anthony award Bouchercon is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher; also the inspiration for the Anthony Awards, which have been issued at the conve ...

, Best First novel * 1986 Edgar Award, Best First novel by An American Author

Adaptations

The novel was adapted for a 1986

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

, also titled '' When the Bough Breaks'', co-produced by and starring

Ted Danson Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'', for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. He ...

as Alex Delaware and

Richard Masur Richard Masur is an American character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films. From 1995 to 1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is best known for Nick Lobo on ''Rhoda'' (1974-1977), Stanley Uris in th ...

as Milo Sturgis.

References

1985 American novels Novels by Jonathan Kellerman Anthony Award-winning works American novels adapted into films 1985 debut novels {{1980s-mystery-novel-stub