Serpent's Tooth: A Peter Decker/rina Lazarus Novel (Peter Decker & Rina Lazarus Novels) - Hardcover

Kellerman, Faye

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688143687 ISBN 13: 9780688143688

Publisher: William Morrow, 1997

Synopsis

In the aftermath of a horrific mass-murder at a trendy L.A. restaurant, Lieutenant Peter Decker, with the support of Rina Lazarus, risks his career and his reputation to investigate the alleged mad triggerman, ex-bartender and would-be actor Harlan Manz.

About this title

About the Author

Faye Kellerman lives with her husband, New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman, in Los Angeles, California, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Reviews

Why would somebody walk into trendy Estelle's and spray the diners with gunfire, killing 13 of them and wounding 32? Even when the shooter's identified as Harlan Manz, disgruntled former Estelle's bartender, Lt. Peter Decker's not satisfied--especially when forensics start to paint a picture of a second gunman. And that means a plan; it probably means murder for hire, with the first gunman recast as the last victim. But when Decker's team, investigating the dead diners' links to Manz's former employer, the Greenvale Country Club, strike gold--Manz's sometime tennis partner, charity fund-raiser Jeanine Garrison, inherited millions when her parents were killed at Estelle's--the case blows up in their face: Manipulative Jeanine blows hot and cold when Decker questions her, then trumps up a harassment suit against him and succeeds in getting him lifted from the case. Doubly determined to nail her, Decker pulls out all the stops running down possible links between her and the second shooter. Meantime, his loyal wife Rina Lazarus and his daughter Cindy (who's already antagonized her father by announcing that she's been accepted at the Police Academy) huddle with their own freelance operatives to back up his hunch. Anybody care to place a bet on the battle between the Decker family and the oh-so-charming psychopath Jeanine? Nail-biting detective work, though the results rather undermine the suspicions that put Decker on the culprit's scent in the first place. Midlevel Kellerman, not up to Prayers for the Dead (1996), but well ahead of her soapier Decker-Lazarus domestic dramas. (First printing of 175,000) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

LAPD detective Pete Decker's latest case is a shocker. Estelle's, the watering hole favored by L.A.'s rich and famous, is the scene of a mass shooting that leaves a dozen dead and scores wounded. There is no need to look for the murderer, who shot himself following his killing spree, but Pete does have to figure out the killer's motive, wrap up loose ends, and make the LAPD come out looking good. Then Pete and his team turn up evidence to suggest that the killer may not have acted alone. But Pete has other troubles: a key witness has filed a sexual harassment suit against him, his wife is balking at his inattention, his kids want to move closer to town, and his grown daughter has decided to become a cop. It's no surprise that the phenomenally popular Kellerman has produced another sure winner. As did the earlier Pete Decker novels, this one offers a bang-up whodunit with gentle humor, a clever and convincing plot, well-drawn characters, and a warm portrait of family life. Buy plenty! Emily Melton

Kellerman's (Prayers for the Dead, LJ 8/96) popular L.A. detective duo here investigate a Southern California-style mass murder in a trendy restaurant.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688143687
• ISBN 13: 9780688143688
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416