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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Usually enjoyed Decker's series but lost track for awhile and this book just showed me how long it's been since I last read this series. Kids all grown up and moved away and had kids themselves. New foster son and whatever case he was involved in in previous book which spilled over to this one. Will need to backtrack.
It has been awhile since I read a book in this series, and I think I missed a few. I need to go back and find them, because this is one of the better series I've read. with that said, I did not learn as much from this book as from many earlier installments. I never bought the involvement of the wife in police business (I was a lieutenant's wife once, myself), but I did miss seeing Rina in this one. I didn't much care about this Gabe character and his whiney teenagery-ness. Apparently I missed the books that introduced him. Also, cops don't really work 24/7 unless the action is ongoing, but all detective fiction uses that device.
Still, it was fun to hang out with Decker and his crew again, and the murder was twisted in an interesting way. I actually liked that the family was not endangered or involved (really tired of that device.)
And I like that characters age and move on. I wish that had been explored instead of just plunked into a couple of scenes, but perhaps that was foreshadowing the next book.
Still, it was fun to hang out with Decker and his crew again, and the murder was twisted in an interesting way. I actually liked that the family was not endangered or involved (really tired of that device.)
And I like that characters age and move on. I wish that had been explored instead of just plunked into a couple of scenes, but perhaps that was foreshadowing the next book.
What can I say about the Decker/Rini series written by Faye Kellerman? They have been and continue to be excellent. I enjoy reading about her characters, catching up on what they are doing and I even like the new character that was introduced a couple of books ago, Gabe, and his being "adopted" into the family. He makes an interesting addition. This story as you can read from the synopsis and other reviews is about a twisting and turning mystery involving the murder of rich recluse who decided to live in a low rent apartment complex with tiger. Quite a little twist on the plot I think. This story does set up for a big move for the LT. and his band and with the preview of Murder 101 in the back of the last three books I read on Kindle it seems to be farewell to L.A. and hello, to Upstate New York. I like reading Ms. Kellerman's stories a little better than her husbands and I am on the fence with her son's writing still. But all in all I enjoyed this story and look forward to her new ones in the future.
Decker's team gets called to the inexpensive apartment of a reclusive old millionaire, whose neighbors are complaining of the strange roars. The animal control team manages to subdue the Bengal tiger inside the apartment, but despite the wild animal therein, the man's dead body shows no bites or claw marks. Instead, his head is cracked open and there's a bullet hole in his back. The old man was despised by his family, but they didn't live nearby or have any need of his money. The animal sanctuary wanted his money, but he had to be alive to keep doling it out. So who killed the old man? I've liked this series from the beginning, but I miss the earlier adventures where Decker's wife Rina did more than cook and offer wisdom.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved this! It’s a great murder mystery that only raises more and more questions as it progresses. It’s hard to do correctly, but in the end I felt that everything was wrapped up in a nice little bow. I felt like I was playing clue reading this, and I loved it! Really a great murder mystery!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder
I fear Decker & Lazarus are running out of steam. The main story of the book was fine, but it should have been taut and disturbing instead of pedestrian (or maybe I'm jaded). I think the "Gabe and Yasmine" subplot drags, and is a distraction from the rest of the story.
I also feel that publishers should hire humans with good judgment to proofread. The grammar mistakes are frequent and, to me, jarring, though some are obviously spell-check approved ("rapping the solid chain around the gate" "[t]he decent seemed faster than the ascent").
The bottom line: this is not Faye's best.
I also feel that publishers should hire humans with good judgment to proofread. The grammar mistakes are frequent and, to me, jarring, though some are obviously spell-check approved ("rapping the solid chain around the gate" "[t]he decent seemed faster than the ascent").
The bottom line: this is not Faye's best.
I don't know whether this one is a substitute writer, or a serious editing failure, but it's quite bad. Punctuation errors and word misusage (affective instead of effective, for example) are obvious, but the bad writing is the real sin. The dialogue is pretty unbelievable in many places, too - since when would a teenager refer to himself as a "dreadful actor"? He'd use 'awful' or 'terrible' but I don't think teenagers have used 'dreadful' in that sense anytime this past 70 years or so.
And 'manikin'? And 'plum nuts' instead of 'plumb'? Didn't anybody copy edit this at ALL?
The bad writing. Some egregious examples:
"'He told me his father's brothels patronized all sorts of men.'" Um, I suspect the men patronized the brothels, not the other way around.
And "The web site for the Cervical Dystonia Center was founded twenty-five years ago by Baroness Graciela Johannesbourgh.' I suspect this one should be that the web site /says/ that the /Center/ was founded twenty-five years ago. We didn't have a web 25 years ago, we had an internet with bulletin boards and email and forums and a few specialized portals, but we didn't have a web and web sites - HTML and things like URLs were invented in 1990, and even once we did have the web, I doubt the founder of the center created her own web site...
And the list of snakes, done in a random odd font, bold and enlarged, totally unnecessarily. And the gratuitous call to Dr. Delaware, Kellerman's husband's series character - not only unnecessary, but unbelievable, since it's a question not even faintly in his area of expertise, and the answers he gives are in totally unprofessional terms.
I could go on, but you get the idea.
And 'manikin'? And 'plum nuts' instead of 'plumb'? Didn't anybody copy edit this at ALL?
The bad writing. Some egregious examples:
"'He told me his father's brothels patronized all sorts of men.'" Um, I suspect the men patronized the brothels, not the other way around.
And "The web site for the Cervical Dystonia Center was founded twenty-five years ago by Baroness Graciela Johannesbourgh.' I suspect this one should be that the web site /says/ that the /Center/ was founded twenty-five years ago. We didn't have a web 25 years ago, we had an internet with bulletin boards and email and forums and a few specialized portals, but we didn't have a web and web sites - HTML and things like URLs were invented in 1990, and even once we did have the web, I doubt the founder of the center created her own web site...
And the list of snakes, done in a random odd font, bold and enlarged, totally unnecessarily. And the gratuitous call to Dr. Delaware, Kellerman's husband's series character - not only unnecessary, but unbelievable, since it's a question not even faintly in his area of expertise, and the answers he gives are in totally unprofessional terms.
I could go on, but you get the idea.
Enjoyable read (or in my case, listen). Nice continuation of the series, no real surprises.
I have loved the Decker/Lazarus series, and my main complaint is that in the last several there is less and less of Lazarus. The victim is a recluse with some very kinky tastes. I found it highly improbable that he could have 4 different apartments connected in secret ways, with wild animals, even with the connivence of the building manager, without more notice from other tenants. It still works as a police procedural and there is the added interest of the family dynamic.
I have read every book in the series over the many, many years.
These characters are like family. It's the police characters that are the most interesting for me ...
I can't wait until the next one!
These characters are like family. It's the police characters that are the most interesting for me ...
I can't wait until the next one!