Can LAPD officer Cindy Decker and her father Pete Decker put personal issues aside to trap a criminal who preys on the innocent in the disturbing and enthralling fifteenth thriller in Faye Kellerman's bestselling series
Faye Kellerman was born in St Louis, Missouri. She began her career as a dentist but turned to writing after the birth of her eldest child in 1978. As well as the highly popular Peter Decker series she has also written one historical mystery. In between writing, she tries to find the time to enjoy her two favourite hobbies, gardening and music. She has four children and lives with them and her husband, novelist and psychologist Jonathan Kellerman, in Los Angeles.
Bestseller Kellerman's latest Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus novel (after 2002's Stone Kiss) will please her fans, but is unlikely to make new converts. When Cindy Decker, Peter's LAPD officer daughter (who had a big role in 2000's Stalker), finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster, she sets out to track down the developmentally disabled mother, suspecting that the child may have been the product of a rape. Her fellow officers discourage her efforts, while an attempt on her life sparks conflict with an alarmed Peter. Romance occupies Cindy, an observant Jew, as much as her professional career. Conveniently, the sexy and caring black pediatric nurse who cares for the baby turns out to be an observant Ethiopian Jew who is instantly smitten with her. Other coincidences abound, including Cindy's witnessing of a fatal hit-and-run that may be connected with the sexual assault she alone believes occurred. A minor subplot concerning the murder of stepmother Rina's grandmother in 1920s Munich simply peters out. Details of Jewish religious observance amount to superficial trappings. Cindy mentions dealing with an earlier trauma through therapy, but the author never lets the reader in on any of her sessions. The solution to the crime comes almost as an afterthought in this overlong book. Others, and Kellerman herself, have done a better job of melding a mystery plot with the challenges of maintaining Jewish identity in the modern world. 3-city author tour. (Aug. 1) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
When 28-year-old LAPD officer Cindy Decker rescues a newborn from an alley dumpster, she embarks on an investigation that will bring both romance and danger into her life. While visiting the baby girl in the hospital, Cindy, an observant Jew, meets and is immediately attracted to Koby, a hard-working pediatric nurse and Ethopian-born Jew. While on their first date, Koby reveals the results of genetic testing on the newborn-she has one black and one white parent and at least one of them is developmentally disabled. Armed with this information, Cindy tracks down the mother, only to learn that she was the victim of a gang rape. Decker/Lazarus series fans will enjoy seeing Cindy again in the spotlight and may want to revisit Stalker, the 2000 novel featuring the novice police officer in a leading role. While the abridged version retains all the vital details of Kellerman's latest police procedural, narrator Nancy McKeon sometimes struggles with the diverse set of characters-although she is excellent as the voice of Cindy. The unabridged program offers a solid performance by Laura Hicks, as well as all the domestic detail fans require; recommended to libraries with series followers. The abridged audio is an optional purchase.-Beth Farrell, Portage Cty. Dist. Lib., OH Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
