I’ve been reading Faye’s husband, Jonathan Kellerman, for years, and I’ve just gotten around to picking up one of Faye Kellerman’s Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus series. I love the idea of a mystery-writing couple!
Burnt House is a relatively recent entry in the series (2007; #16), so characters and relationships are quite established by this point. LAPD Lieutenant Peter Decker presides over a baffling case: after a commuter plane crashes into an apartment building in L.A., questions arise about a flight attendant who was listed among the victims. Her parents are certain their daughter was not on the plane, but they’re equally certain that she is dead nonetheless– at the hands of her greedy, philandering husband. Though it sounds like a crackpot theory, Decker has a feeling about it, and when Roseanne Dresden’s body fails to turn up in the wreckage he becomes more convinced that her parents are right and sets his team of detectives to work. The case becomes even more convoluted when an extra body shows up at the crash site. Roseanne is the only person unaccounted for, but the body is not hers. Now Decker has two corpses and two unsolved cases.
Faye’s writing style is quite different from her husband’s– not quite as dark or nuanced; less introspection and character development; but very strong on police procedural. Kellerman takes the reader into the inner workings of a police case– examining forensic evidence, sifting through phone records and bank statements, interviewing witnesses, following up leads. Characters’ inner lives and personal issues take a back seat to the details of the police investigation. This, plus fast-paced suspense, are the main appeal factors.
Peter and his wife Rina are Jewish with a blended family, and Jewish culture and family anecdotes are woven throughout the story, though the plot always takes center stage. Since this is the 16th entry in the series, I suspect that earlier books in the series will provide quite a bit of back story here in terms of their faith and family relationships. I’m looking forward to going back to #1 in the series, The Ritual Bath (1987), in which Peter and Rina meet and Peter rediscovers his faith.
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Great review! I haven’t read all of the Peter/Rina books, but I really enjoy the Jewish culture Kellerman blends into them. The Ritual Bath is probably my favorite for that reason. The main characters are fun to follow in order also.
I should update this, as I’ve finished the first in the series and am well into the second. I can now more deeply appreciate the character development which has gone into Peter Decker over the years, leading him to the character he is in Burnt House. It is no accident that he seems satisfied and at peace with himself – he has really had to work on his relationship with himself over the years. Peter and his wife, Rina Lazarus, seem very comfortable in their marriage now, but having gone back to the beginning of the series, I see how hard they had to work for it. I definitely recommend starting at the beginning of the series. I guarantee you’ll be hooked!