Stalker: A Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus Novel

Kellerman, Faye

ISBN 10: 0671577603 ISBN 13: 9780671577605

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2000

Synopsis

Determined to hide the truth about her being stalked from her overprotective lieutenant father, rookie cop Cynthia Decker is forced to reconsider when things heat up and she realizes their two cases may be related. By the author of Jupiter's Bones. Simultaneous.

About this title

Review

Faye Kellerman's latest thriller features Cynthia Decker, daughter of Peter Decker, familiar to readers of the author's previous novels featuring the L.A. detective and his Orthodox Jewish wife Rina Lazarus. In Kellerman's earlier books, we've met Cynthia briefly as a difficult adolescent upset by her parents' divorce and later as an Ivy League college student with an interest in following her overly protective father into the family business: solving crimes. Now Cynthia's a young L.A. cop who's the subject of what at first seems like innocent-enough teasing from her colleagues. They think she's snooty and standoffish and riding on her father's reputation. Actually, she's all of those things, which makes for a somewhat less than sympathetic heroine:

Beaudry said, "Every time we start shooting the bull, talking about the day, you say things like, 'Yeah, my father once had a case like that.'"

"I'm trying to relate."

"It pisses people off. It makes them think that their experiences are nothin' special. Everyone wants to feel special. You already feel special because you've got all this college. You gotta remember that the average Joe on the force is a high school graduate, maybe a couple of years at a junior college like me. If you're real smart, okay, you do a four-year state, then enter the academy with the idea of doing the gold."

"Like my dad--"

"Stop mentioning your dad. He isn't a legend, Decker, he's a pencil pusher."

As the teasing escalates, Cindy's stalked, threatened, and finally frightened, although it pains her to admit it. There's a killer on the loose, and even if she's not the best cop on the force, she knows enough to turn to her father for help. But first, she has a brief affair with one of the men under his command. It seems a little too obvious a ploy for Daddy's attention and hardly adds to her character--we already know she's immature and a bit of a bitch. But at least this maneuver brings Peter back on the scene, allowing Kellerman to hit her stride as she gets back to a character who holds the reader's interest because he's more than two-dimensional. Sadly, Cindy's not quite ready for prime time; perhaps she'll grow up in her next outing. Or better yet, Kellerman will bring us more adventures by Peter and Rina. --Jane Adams

About the Author

Jay O. Sanders, one of Audiofile Magazine's Golden Voices, has narrated over 60 audiobooks. He has been seen on Broadway in Pygmalion and Off-Broadway in Stuff Happens (Drama Desk Award) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Bayfield Award). His films include Half Nelson, The Day After Tomorrow, Kiss the Girls, Daylight, Angels in the Outfield, and JFK.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0671577603
• ISBN 13: 9780671577605
• Binding: Audio Cassette