Family business can be deadly, as Peter Decker discovers in Kellerman's latest thriller starring the L.A. police lieutenant and his wife, Rina Lazarus. Decker's half-brother Jonathan, a New York rabbi, asks for help when his wife's brother Ephraim Leiber is slain execution-style in a seedy New York hotel room, and the victim's teenage niece Shayndie, who may have witnessed her uncle's murder, disappears. But it soon becomes apparent that not everyone is as eager for Decker's assistance as Jonathan--not the New York City cops, not the missing girl's parents, and not the police chief in the upstate town of Quinton, where the Liebers live in a tightly knit Orthodox Jewish enclave. Despite these roadblocks, the ever resourceful Decker manages to locate Shayndie in the last place one might expect to find a devout, gently raised 15-year old girl--the heavily guarded Manhattan apartment of Chris Donatti, a Mob-connected criminal with whom Peter has a complicated history. But when Shayndie runs away from Donatti's loft and turns up dead a few days later, Decker's search for her killer uncovers a deadly family secret that puts his life--and Rina's--in jeopardy. As usual in this outstanding series, Kellerman's pacing is flawless, her plotting ingenious, and her deep understanding of human nature reconfirmed. --Jane Adams
From Publishers Weekly
Raw. Brutal. Ugly. And, of course, riveting. L.A. homicide detective Peter Decker, an orthodox Jew, answers a call for help from his half-brother, Jonathan, in this 14th tale (after 2001's The Forgotten) from bestseller Kellerman. Ephraim Lieber, Jonathan's brother-in-law, has been found murdered in a seedy Manhattan hotel. Ephraim's 15-year-old niece, Shaynda, who was supposed to be with him, is missing. Reluctantly, Peter agrees to fly to New York to assess the situation, advise the family and perhaps consult with the police investigating the crime. Wife Rina and daughter Hannah accompany him to make the trip something of a vacation as well. The bare questions of the case are difficult and delicate enough (had Ephraim, a recovering drug addict, backslid? was his relationship with Shaynda abusive? what part did other family relationships play?). Peter is quickly caught up in a desperate attempt to find and save the girl while battling an intransigent family, unfamiliar territory and reckless killers. Worse, his best ally in this impossible situation is Chris Donatti, first encountered in Justice (1995), a psychotic, mob-connected killer and maker of pornographic films. Whether Kellerman is depicting the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community or a pornographer's studio, she is utterly convincing. Amid the wreckage of lives taken or thrown away, Kellerman's heroes find glimmers of hope and enough moral ambiguity to make even her most evil villain look less than totally black. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Rina Lazarus and LAPD lieutenant Peter Decker are back, and have they got a problem: the brother-in-law of Decker's half-brother, Rabbi Jonathan Levin, has been found dead in a real dump of a hotel, and the man's young niece is missing. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
When Peter Decker's half-brother, Jonathan, calls with the news that his brother-in-law has been murdered and his niece is missing, everything starts to go wrong. Rina and Peter Decker travel to New York City to solve these mysteries. Dennis Boutsikaris twists and weaves through a world of religious Jews and not-so-honest New Yorkers, never skipping a beat. With a practiced air, he nimbly switches between credible accents and recognizable pronunciations of Hebrew and Yiddish words. As the action heats up, the Deckers capably deal with murder, psychopaths, and angry family. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
From Booklist
If Kellerman faltered slightly in her last Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus thriller, The Forgotten [BKL Jl 01], she more than makes up for it in this one, even though the calm, inquisitive Rina is mostly absent from the action. Responding to his half-brother Jonathan's plea for help in solving the murder of Jonathan's brother-in-law and the disappearance of his niece, LAPD detective Drecker finds himself in the middle of a cultural disconnect: on one side is the New York Orthodox Jewish community where the victims' family lives; on the other is Manhattan mobster and porn photographer Chris Donatti, whom Decker once put behind bars, then freed. Decker knows Donatti may hold the key to the crime, but he also knows the vengeful young man isn't going to give it up easily. The amoral Chris steals the show here; a great foil for the righteous Decker, he's viscous yet vulnerable, calculating, vengeful, and selfish, but with a skewed code of ethics that makes him pitiable, almost sympathetic. There's some steamy sex, and Kellerman ratchets up the action as Decker and Donatti alternately try to outsmart one another and punch each other out. High-voltage stuff about family ties and righting old wrongs. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Stone Kiss FROM OUR EDITORS
In this absorbing Decker-Lazarus mystery, there's murder in the family; or at least, the extended family. Rabbi Jonathan Levin, the half brother of Peter Decker, contacts the L.A. police lieutenant after an in-law is found dead in a seedy Manhattan hotel and the victim's 15-year-old niece goes missing. Decker, accompanied by wife Rina Lazarus, flies to New York to aid the investigation, but the pair quickly discover that nobody, not even the niece's parents, really wants their help. Once again Kellerman has crafted a tightly calibrated mystery about the Orthodox Jewish community that appeals to a diverse audience.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Rina Lazarus has some shocking news for her husband, LAPD Lieutenant Peter Decker. A horrible murder has occurred in the family of his half-brother, Rabbi Jonathan Levin. The rabbi's brother-in-law was found slain in a seedy hotel room in upper Manhattan, and the victim's 15-year-old niece, with whom he was spending the day, is missing. Decker, with Rina at his side, immediately heads out to New York to assist in the investigation. But what starts out as simple inquiries soon evolves into a twisted and perilous journey-from the darkened slums of New Jersey and the deserted industrial streets of New York to the recesses of sexual perversity and the hidden meeting places of Hasidic outcasts. Thrust into a deadly maze of deceit, lies, and danger, the couple can no longer trust anyone-friend or family. And when salvation is finally within Decker's grasp, it can only be delivered by a depraved lone wolf, hell-bent on his own personal vengeance.
SYNOPSIS
Bestselling author Faye Kellerman makes her Warner debut with an edge-of-your-seat novel featuring popular husband and wife team Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Raw. Brutal. Ugly. And, of course, riveting. L.A. homicide detective Peter Decker, an orthodox Jew, answers a call for help from his half-brother, Jonathan, in this 14th tale (after 2001's The Forgotten) from bestseller Kellerman. Ephraim Lieber, Jonathan's brother-in-law, has been found murdered in a seedy Manhattan hotel. Ephraim's 15-year-old niece, Shaynda, who was supposed to be with him, is missing. Reluctantly, Peter agrees to fly to New York to assess the situation, advise the family and perhaps consult with the police investigating the crime. Wife Rina and daughter Hannah accompany him to make the trip something of a vacation as well. The bare questions of the case are difficult and delicate enough (had Ephraim, a recovering drug addict, backslid? was his relationship with Shaynda abusive? what part did other family relationships play?). Peter is quickly caught up in a desperate attempt to find and save the girl while battling an intransigent family, unfamiliar territory and reckless killers. Worse, his best ally in this impossible situation is Chris Donatti, first encountered in Justice, a psychotic, mob-connected killer and maker of pornographic films. Whether Kellerman is depicting the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community or a pornographer's studio, she is utterly convincing. Amid the wreckage of lives taken or thrown away, Kellerman's heroes find glimmers of hope and enough moral ambiguity to make even her most evil villain look less than totally black. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Rina Lazarus and LAPD lieutenant Peter Decker are back, and have they got a problem: the brother-in-law of Decker's half-brother, Rabbi Jonathan Levin, has been found dead in a real dump of a hotel, and the man's young niece is missing. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
AudioFile
When Peter Decker's half-brother, Jonathan, calls with the news that his brother-in-law has been murdered and his niece is missing, everything starts to go wrong. Rina and Peter Decker travel to New York City to solve these mysteries. Dennis Boutsikaris twists and weaves through a world of religious Jews and not-so-honest New Yorkers, never skipping a beat. With a practiced air, he nimbly switches between credible accents and recognizable pronunciations of Hebrew and Yiddish words. As the action heats up, the Deckers capably deal with murder, psychopaths, and angry family. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
If their immediate family isn't igniting heartburn in LAPD's Peter Decker and his Orthodox Jewish wife, Rina Lazarus, their extended family is. But that's normal for a series that thrives on emotional acidity (The Forgotten). A frantic phone call from Peter's half-brother, Rabbi Jonathan Levine, in upstate New York kick-starts their 16th case. Rabbi Levine's brother-in-law, Ephraim, has been found murdered in a shabby New York City hotel, and his 16-year-old niece has vanished. Can Peter come to Quinton and help the stricken family? Peter's reluctant. He knows how enthusiastic the local cops will be about offers of help from a visiting policeman. And he knows that Quinton is home to a "black hat" community of super-religious Chasids whose view of any other kind of Jew is dim indeed. But of course he goes, taking Rina with him, only to arrive inexplicably persona non grata. "Why are you here?" demands the mother of the missing girl. In the days that follow, that becomes an increasingly difficult question to answer, as Peter's unpopularity is underscored by people taking potshots at him. Inevitably, he begins to wonder: Was Ephraim up to something reprehensible? Do the black hats hide dark secrets? Despite threats from enemies, pleas from Rina, and warnings from his own better judgment, Peter elects to stay the course, acknowledging ruefully that he has "this pathological need for closure." Humdrum prose, bravura storytelling: vintage Kellerman.
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