caitlinxmartin's review against another edition
3.0
I've written before about books as comfort food and Faye Kellerman is on that list for me. She writes smart, complicated crime fiction and I just love her primary series characters, Pete Decker and Rina Lazarus. If she's got a new book on the shelf, I'm reading it.
As with any series some books are better than others. I found Blindman's Bluff to be quite satisfying with just enough of the elements needed to make it an entertaining escapist read.
I'm back and forth on the aging of this series' characters. On the one hand it's natural and seems much more real than books where the next one is a week later. Everyone's sort of perpetually 25 and too many things happen every week. It stretches credulity. On the other hand, I'm kind of sad to see Pete and Rina aging. They should, but something about it feels as if it's going to be harder and harder to get stories out of them. In some ways I'd almost like Ms. Kellerman to let them go and start working on one of her other characters. It's not that older people can't be in thrillers, but at some point the body wears down and you can't go dashing around the city on coffee and cigarettes. Realistically at some point people go behind a desk or retire and move on to gardening or opening their second business or consulting or traveling the world.
As always a great read, but I'm beginning to wonder if Kellerman is writing herself into a corner. It'll be interesting to find out.
As with any series some books are better than others. I found Blindman's Bluff to be quite satisfying with just enough of the elements needed to make it an entertaining escapist read.
I'm back and forth on the aging of this series' characters. On the one hand it's natural and seems much more real than books where the next one is a week later. Everyone's sort of perpetually 25 and too many things happen every week. It stretches credulity. On the other hand, I'm kind of sad to see Pete and Rina aging. They should, but something about it feels as if it's going to be harder and harder to get stories out of them. In some ways I'd almost like Ms. Kellerman to let them go and start working on one of her other characters. It's not that older people can't be in thrillers, but at some point the body wears down and you can't go dashing around the city on coffee and cigarettes. Realistically at some point people go behind a desk or retire and move on to gardening or opening their second business or consulting or traveling the world.
As always a great read, but I'm beginning to wonder if Kellerman is writing herself into a corner. It'll be interesting to find out.
caitlinxmartin's review against another edition
3.0
I've written before about books as comfort food and Faye Kellerman is on that list for me. She writes smart, complicated crime fiction and I just love her primary series characters, Pete Decker and Rina Lazarus. If she's got a new book on the shelf, I'm reading it.
As with any series some books are better than others. I found Blindman's Bluff to be quite satisfying with just enough of the elements needed to make it an entertaining escapist read.
Los Angeles skyline and San Gabriel mountains.Los Angeles skyline - Image via Wikipedia
I'm back and forth on the aging of this series' characters. On the one hand it's natural and seems much more real than books where the next one is a week later. Everyone's sort of perpetually 25 and too many things happen every week. It stretches credulity.
On the other hand, I'm kind of sad to see Pete and Rina aging. They should, but something about it feels as if it's going to be harder and harder to get stories out of them. In some ways I'd almost like Ms. Kellerman to let them go and start working on one of her other characters. It's not that older people can't be in thrillers, but at some point the body wears down and you can't go dashing around the city on coffee and cigarettes. Realistically at some point people go behind a desk or retire and move on to gardening or opening their second business or consulting or traveling the world.
As always a great read, but I'm beginning to wonder if Kellerman is writing herself into a corner. It'll be interesting to find out.
As with any series some books are better than others. I found Blindman's Bluff to be quite satisfying with just enough of the elements needed to make it an entertaining escapist read.
Los Angeles skyline and San Gabriel mountains.Los Angeles skyline - Image via Wikipedia
I'm back and forth on the aging of this series' characters. On the one hand it's natural and seems much more real than books where the next one is a week later. Everyone's sort of perpetually 25 and too many things happen every week. It stretches credulity.
On the other hand, I'm kind of sad to see Pete and Rina aging. They should, but something about it feels as if it's going to be harder and harder to get stories out of them. In some ways I'd almost like Ms. Kellerman to let them go and start working on one of her other characters. It's not that older people can't be in thrillers, but at some point the body wears down and you can't go dashing around the city on coffee and cigarettes. Realistically at some point people go behind a desk or retire and move on to gardening or opening their second business or consulting or traveling the world.
As always a great read, but I'm beginning to wonder if Kellerman is writing herself into a corner. It'll be interesting to find out.
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
roaratrenee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
andrewcox's review against another edition
2.0
I found this very disappointing,slow and uninteresting, it took all my effort to finish it!
ellis_p's review against another edition
3.0
I’m not quite sure what to make of this Kellerman book, I found the storyline easy to follow for the most part, but the characters easy to lose track of - referred to by first name in one sentence then second in the other, and quite a lot of jumping around different locations. My local library has this marked as a Thriller but I would definitely say it is simply a crime novel - I didn’t find any major twists or shocks, just Decker working through the case. Perhaps that skewed my perception going into the novel, however I did still enjoy the read.
aspygirlsmom_1995's review
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
caprichosbooks's review against another edition
4.0
loved this. seriously, this is a talented family. I love Jonathan and just checked out Jesse. Really like them all.
celiaedf12's review
1.0
Dullsville - as you can see from the title, this is Decker & Lazarus's 18th novel, and their comfortable marriage with teenage daughter is not the most exciting backdrop to a murder mystery. To make matters worse, the murder mystery is not terribly thrilling either, with the culprit turning out to be the person you would suspect it to be at the beginning. Odd subplots threading through the main story felt like an irritating attempt to jazz up the novel, and they didn't succeed.
northstar's review
4.0
I've read this entire series and while some books are better than others, Kellerman keeps the pages turning and her characters age in real time, which makes it fun to follow their lives and adventures. Peter Decker is a homicide lieutenant with the LAPD and solves murders--he and his wife, Rina, are religious Jews and their culture and family life often figure in the stories. The basics of this one are familiar to anyone who reads crime fiction: someone murders a wealthy man, his wife and several of his staff members. Was it an inside job? Who is responsible? Kellerman stays above the average mystery writer by keeping the suspense tight and the story twisted but not convoluted. She also throws in bits of humor, like an elderly woman who keeps a Jackson Pollock original amid her family photos, a gift from the painter when he was young and not yet famous.
"And you're not worried about theft?" Marge said.
Gladys shook her head. "The people around here who see it think it was done by one of my grandchildren." She stared at the painting. "I don't bother to correct them."
One quibble--the copyediting in this book is awful. A character named Paco is called Pablo, a woman's drink is wine...or is it coffee? Etc.
"And you're not worried about theft?" Marge said.
Gladys shook her head. "The people around here who see it think it was done by one of my grandchildren." She stared at the painting. "I don't bother to correct them."
One quibble--the copyediting in this book is awful. A character named Paco is called Pablo, a woman's drink is wine...or is it coffee? Etc.