Survival of the Fittest is the thirteenth novel by Jonathan Kellerman

Jonathan Kellerman

Jonathan Kellerman is an American psychologist, and Edgar and Anthony Award winning author of numerous bestselling suspense novels....

 and is told through the first person point of view of Kellerman's main character, Dr. Alex Delaware

Alex Delaware

Alex Delaware is a literary character created by Jonathan Kellerman. The Alex Delaware detective series begins with When the Bough Breaks, published in 1985. Delaware appears in 23 of Kellerman's popular murder mysteries. Kellerman sets the series in Los Angeles...

. LAPD Detective Milo Sturgis has asked Alex to help him with another whodunit. It reached number two in the New York Times Best Seller list

New York Times Best Seller list

The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...

for paperbacks.

Plot introduction

The plot centers around the murder of the daughter of an Israeli diplomat. The murder seems exceptionally cruel, since the girl was developmentally disabled. From the positioning of the body and location, motive for the killing is not clear, until other people with other disabilities--being blind, having a very low IQ, etc.--and strange symbols are showing up at the scenes. It is only when they learn of a very cruel, self-righteous conspiracy to practice eugenics that Milo and Alex start unravelling this very dark case.