Confronted with the damaged and distorted face of what had
previously been scant hours before a lively and pretty
twenty-two
year old art student at Littleton, Captain Michael Radar
of
the Greenbury Police Department feels he is way out of his
element. He knows how to competently run a homicide
investigation, but his small police force in rural upstate
New York usually only dealt with small crimes or rescuing
cats of out trees and they have not had a murder in years,
so he is quick to call in Peter Decker, his relatively
new,
but well-experienced detective, off from an art theft
investigation to the scene.
With hundreds of homicide investigations under his belt
while with the Los Angeles Police Department, Peter Decker
has been enjoying semi-retirement and the quiet life as a
police officer/detective with the Greenbury police in this
bucolic college town. Now, after taking charge with the
captain's permission, he is glad to be back in the
saddle
again and using all of his old investigation skills.
With
Decker's sharp intellect and extensive knowledge, he soon
realizes this death may be connected to other things and
begins the process of investigation.
As the art theft and murder case becomes more complex,
Decker misses the resources he had at LAPD and the skills
of
his old partners. Despite their initial rough start, he
mentors and bounces ideas off of "Harvard", his smart, but
sarcastic and full of attitude young detective Tyler
McAdams.
Despite their efforts, another murder happens. While
seemingly not connected, they both sense there has to be a
connection. Will they be able to figure out who is the
murderer before more, including themselves, are harmed?
Faced with an evil and brutal assailant, can they manage
on
their own or do they need to call in the Feds?
MURDER 101 is the twenty-third book in New York Times
best-selling
author Faye Kellerman's delightful series involving Peter
Decker, the intelligent Orthodox Jewish detective and his
sharp thinking and family oriented wife, Rina Lazarus.
Right
from the first page, Kellerman instantly immerses the
reader
into the story with her vivid descriptions of place and
characters. MURDER 101 is my first introduction to the
series and I found it very, very hard to put down as I
just
had to keep reading and reading. Right from the get go, I
found Decker to be a highly captivating character and
enjoyed his bantering and occasional badgering of McAdams
as
they got to learn more about each other and their stories
while being intent on solving this perplexing case.
A master storyteller, Kellerman sets out a multi-layered
plot in MURDER 101 that flows well; yet, is filled with
hidden depths as the plot and the ongoing investigation
widens and lets the reader see more deeply into the
various
characters and their motivations. The story moves from the
small New England town to New York City, to Boston and
then
back and forth as needs arise. While needed as part of
the
story and to introduce some new and interesting facts,
from
my knowledge of the area, there seemed to be some small
errors in distance and timing. A trifle distracting but
not
sufficient to interfere with the overarching strong pull
of
the police investigation story and the diverse ways of
seeking out information.
I really like Decker and how with his police experience
he
uses varying ways of interacting with people, shifting
easily from compassion to the victim's mother to almost
sneaky and harsh ways of getting past others to the
information he seeks. Kellerman also nicely interweaves
into the crime solving story the private life of the
Decker/Lazarus family and their observance of Jewish
customs
and beliefs. "Harvard" is a great character as well and I
do hope that I can read more about him in the future. For
myself, the interactions and humourous dialogue between
McAdams (aka Harvard) and Decker are worth the price of
book
alone and that is just the tip of the iceberg!
Having the characters slowly reveal their backgrounds as
they interact with others is a great writing device used
by
Kellerman. It makes sure MURDER 101 can easily and
enjoyably
be read as a standalone book or by readers new to the
series, while Kellerman's many existing and longstanding
fans can savour this latest story in the series and re-
connect with some of the previous characters. For myself,
I
am thrilled to find a whole new series I can look forward
to
enjoying. This is a powerful and compelling police
procedural book and series not to be missed. I can't
wait
to read more! So, sign up for MURDER 101 today and get
your
copy! You will be glad you did!
As a detective lieutenant with the LAPD, Peter Decker witnessed enough ugliness and chaos for a lifetime. Now, he and his wife Rena are ready to enjoy the quiet beauty of upstate New York, where they can be closer to their family. But working for the Greenbury Police Department isn't as fulfilling as Decker hoped. Yet just when he thinks he's made a mistake, Decker is called to an actual crime—a possible break-in at the local cemetery. At first, it seems like a false alarm but soon escalates into murder when a co-ed at an exclusive consortium of liberal-arts colleges is brutally slaughtered. Poking into the hallowed halls of academia to find a killer, Decker is drawn deep into a web of nasty secrets, cold-case crimes, international intrigue, and ruthless people who kill for sport. Decker will need to use every bit of his keen mind and his thirty years of experience as a homicide cop to stop a callous killer and uncover a cabal so bizarre that it defies logic.
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