A Decker/Lazarus Novel (Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Series Book 8)

Like many detective stories, the lives of the leading characters have taken center stage, while the plot is merely a background upon which to tell their story. Readers who have been following the series since its early days will be pleased. Those picking it up for the first time will be disappointed.

Just finished listening to the audiobook and it was terrible. Almost didn't finish it but I have trouble doing that so I did and it was a waste of time. I have read both Kellerman's for years and did start to tire of both them but did not actually dislike the books.This book was just plain awful...poorly written, really inane plot, totally ridiculous characters. It didn't help that the reader for the audiobook was also bad...he should not try to read teenage girls. Don't waste your time.

One can always count on Faye Kellerman to come up with a good story line. She also blends in family and professional life of the Decker's which makes one feel for Decker not only as a detective but also as a family man. I found the story quite believable and interesting that the main character can be a totally selfish and amoral person and at the same time feel love for another humasn being. I enjoyed it.

We learned "who dunnit" very soon into the story. However, the whys and hows were unraveled very slowly as the complexities of the characters was revealed. I found it hard to put the book down and came to respect Decker. In this book, the family angle was downplayed and the detective story progressed on its own with the majority of the focus on the actual solution of the "crimes." I recommend it.

A mob boss's son who drew some disturbing pictures and was at the scene of a disturbing murder was put away for it. Now the woman who was the subject of those drawings wants justice for him as she does not believe him guilty and the more Decker digs the more he comes to believe her.

[...]
She died of breast cancer. She had it for a long time, but was afraid to go to the doctors. She was afraid of losing her breast, disfiguring the body he loved so much. She just let it go until it was way too late. Stupid. He later told me the sexiest thing about her chest wasn’t her breasts but her heartbeat.
---Faye Kellerman (Justice p 48)