The Forgotten, a new entry in Faye Kellerman's popular series. Kellerman can be counted on to deliver emotional complexity along with suspense, and it comes from the relationship between Peter and Jacob, Rina's troubled teenage son. Jacob has a personal connection to the event that sets off this intricately plotted novel, the defacing of Rina's synagogue by one of his classmates. Ernesto Golding can't explain why he vandalised the synagogue, but when he and his therapists are murdered months after the incident, Peter realises that something the teenager told him when admitting his guilt may hold the key to the killings: Ernesto's belief that his grandfather may have been a Nazi who posed as a Jew to escape to South America after the war. Investigating Ernesto's story gives Rina a strand of the plot to tease out; meanwhile, Peter concentrates on another motive for the therapist murders that involves computer fraud, the College Board exams and the high cost exacted by parents who pressure their teenagers to succeed. Kellerman skilfully keeps the dramatic tension going as she pulls all the pieces of her complex plot together, but what makes this novel her best yet is her acutely revealing portrait of Jacob, struggling with the existential angst of adolescence as he attempts to reconcile his devotion to Judaism with the temptations of contemporary life, from drugs to sex. She brilliantly describes his search for identity, intimacy and independence even as he redefines his relationship to Peter and Rina, in a scenario that resounds with psychological truth. The Forgotten is a memorable addition to the Kellerman oeuvre. --Jane Adams, Amazon.com
Stalker - Faye Kellerman
Faye Kellerman's latest thriller Stalker features Cynthia Decker, daughter of Peter
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Decker, familiar to readers of the author's previous novels featuring the LA 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 LA 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 manoeuvre 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
Advantages: Fast Moving, Suspense thriller! Disadvantages: None
...Having not read anything by FayeKellerman before, I had no idea what to expect. Before I share with you my thoughts, I would like to tell you a little about the author.
FayeKellerman has been voted New York Times best seller of popular thrillers about Peter Decker & Rina Lazurus. She has also written a historical novel called "The Quality of Mercy" and a non series thriller called "Moon Music". She is married to best selling writer and psychologist Jonathon Kellerman and lives in Los Angeles with their children.
Street Dreams is based on a LAPD officer Cynthia Decker, daughter of Lieutenant Peter Decker. Officer Decker finds a baby dumped in a rubbish heap, using contacts of her own and the help of her father Cynthia has to try and locate the baby's mother. You also learn and appreciate that Cynthia has had to overcome many obstacles...
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Advantages: Great characters, excellent formula, holds your attention as you try to follow the clues Disadvantages: If you already know the characters the background section can drag a bit
...which eventually becomes clear in the books climax. In 'When the Bough Breaks' Kellerman achieves this with great success giving the reader a thoroughly enjoyable if slightly stomach-churning read.
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The Author
Jonathan Kellerman is an American author brought up in Los Angeles where he bases his Delaware novels. A former child psychologist himself, he draws successfully on his own experiences to create his main character Alex Delaware. Married to the author FayeKellerman he has been publishing approximately one book a year since 1985 the majority of which feature Alex Delaware.
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Publication details
When the Bough Breaks is published in the UK by Time Warner...
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Advantages: Kellerman keeps increasing the suspense throughout - plus Isaac Gomez Disadvantages: Petra Connor is not as fully developed a s Kellerman's other recurring characters
..., as a character I still feel Petra has some way to go to be up there with Delaware and Sturgis, but a further novel starring Isaac would have me heading for the bookshop in a hurry. In addition Eric Stahl certainly holds an interest for me. I have said I wouldn't read it again that is because with these type of books if you know the ending I see know point in re-reading as the suspense is gone.
** About the Author **
Jonathan Kellerman is an American author brought up in Los Angeles where he bases the majority of his novels. Married to the author FayeKellerman he has been publishing approximately one book a year since 1985 the majority of which feature Alex Delaware. Twisted is the Second Petra Connor Novel and the third Kellerman novel in which she has featured.
** Publisher Details **
Published in Paperback by Headline
ISBN 0 7553 0739 9...
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