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The Kellerman Whose Books I Am Still Reading

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Faithful readers of this blog know that I have broken up with my long-time mystery/thriller favorite, Jonathan Kellerman.  You can read my Dear John (pun intended) letter here.  Lucky for the Kellerman family, they will not lose all of their income from my corner of the world.  Faye Kellerman, wife of Jonathan, is still writing fresh stories with all of the characters I love.

In Hangman, Kellerman brings us another story starting Rina (Lazarus) Decker and Pete Decker, Orthodox Jews and crime fighting team.  Well, not really a team, exactly-Rina is more logistical support than boots on the ground.  But together they have a chemistry that humanizes Decker and keeps him from being the stereotypical hard-boiled detective.  There's a lot going on in Hangman.  The main crime is the murder of one girl, and disappearance of another.  There is a second story line, which I found the more intriguing of the two, about Decker and hit man Chris Donnati.  Donnati and his wife are having marital problems, which rarely works out well for the non-homicidal maniac in the relationship.  When Donnati's wife disappears, Decker is sure that he killed her, and takes in Donnati's 15 year old son while he investigates.  During the investigation they stumble upon a serial killer-like a twofer deal.  Eventually Decker and his team solve all of the mysteries, but justice is not done-one of the killers flees and can't be tracked.  But it is a satisfying story nonetheless.

Kellerman's characters are interesting, the story is well-paced, and while the crimes and situations are not exactly believable, I didn't really care, because they were entertaining.  All in all a good popcorn book!

3 comments:

  1. I've always wanted to give the Kellermans a try. I haven't read either one of them. My "K' choice is still open on my mystery challenge. Perhaps it's time to give them a go. :)

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  2. Johnathan Kellerman's first books are great! It's only the last few that were disappointing.

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  3. I read tons of early Kellerman(Jonathan) and then stopped because I just couldn't face yet another return of Robin. No thanks.

    Have you read BILLY STRAIGHT? It's one of Kellerman's best non-Alex books.

    I posted a comment on your earlier Kellerman post as well. :)

    I did read THE RITUAL BATH by Faye K. and a couple of others, but for whatever reason, I never continued the series.

    Enjoyed reading your post.

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