Gone (Alex Delaware #20) by Jonathan Kellerman

'ONE SURE WAY TO GET FAMOUS IS TO DIE THE WRONG WAY'

Los Angeles is full of performers. For psychologist Alex Delaware, finding out what's real and what's not is about to become a matter of life and horrific death.

Called in to evaluate an aspiring actress accused - along with her boyfriend - of staging her own abduction, Alex is indifferent when the case seems to go nowhere. But then the girl is savagely murdered, and suddenly a straightforward script takes a decidedly unexpected turn. Dylan Meserve, the victim's boyfriend, has also disappeared and the caretaker at the couple's acting school has a disturbing history.

Is Dylan a deranged killer, or another victim?
Alex and homicide detective Milo Sturgis begin auditioning suspects and trawling the depths of LA's seedy underbelly. Then more dead wannabes start turning up . . .