Gun Games: A Decker/Lazarus Novel (Decker/Lazarus Novels) [Hardcover]

Faye Kellerman (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 3, 2012 | Series: Decker/Lazarus Novels

“[Kellerman] does for the American cop what P. D. James has done for the British mystery, lifting it beyond its genre.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch

“No one working in the crime genre is better.”
—Baltimore Sun

In Gun Games, the sensational Faye Kellerman once again showcases Peter Decker of the LAPD and Rina Lazarus, arguably the most popular husband and wife team in contemporary crime fiction. A rash of shocking adolescent suicides at an elite Los Angeles private school is at the heart of this gripping thriller that also focuses on the troubled teen Decker and Lazarus have brought into their home: Gabriel Whitman, the son of a psychopath. Herself one-half of one of noir fiction’s true “power couples”—along with her husband, acclaimed mystery writer Jonathan Kellerman—Faye Kellerman once again demonstrates how American police procedural writing is done to perfection with Gun Games.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The nearly identical suicides of two students at a prestigious private school, both involving stolen handguns, pique the interest of LAPD Lieutenant Detective Pete Decker and his squad. But the focus here is less on Decker and his wife, Rina Lazarus, than on Gabe Whitman, the son of a friend who’s living with them temporarily. Gabe, a 15-year-old musical prodigy, also has street smarts learned from his mobster father, Chris Donatti, that stand him in good stead when he’s “crowded” and threatened by the clique called the B&W Mafia. Home-schooled Gabe also falls head-over-heels in love with 14-year-old Yasmine Nourmand. While the reciprocal relationship is grounded in love of music (plus raging hormones), it appears doomed by cultural and religious differences. Plot threads intertwine head-on in a violent confrontation, eventually tying up most loose ends extremely satisfactorily. The twentieth Decker/Lazarus novel shows Kellerman in fine form, taking on the au courant issue of bullying, in a slick, fast-moving mystery that should entice even those new to the series. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: After a slight misstep with Hangman, Kellerman returns to fine form here, and fans of the long-running series will return as well. --Michele Leber

From the Back Cover

Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus are back in this gripping mystery involving a secret cabal of some of Los Angeles’ most wealthy—and vicious—teens

LAPD lieutenant detective Decker and his wife, Rina, have willingly welcomed fifteen-year-old Gabriel Whitman, the son of a troubled former friend, into their home. While the enigmatic teen seems to be adapting easily, Decker knows only too well the secrets adolescents keep—witnessed by the tragic suicide of another teen, Gregory Hesse, a student at Bell and Wakefield, one of the city’s most exclusive prep schools.

Gregory’s mother, Wendy, refuses to believe her son shot himself and convinces Decker to look deeper. What he finds disturbs him. The gun used in the tragedy was stolen—evidence that propels him to launch a full investigation with his trusted team, Sergeant Marge Dunn and Detective Scott Oliver. But the case becomes darkly complicated by the suicide of another Bell and Wakefield student—a death that leads them to uncover an especially nasty group of rich and privileged students with a predilection for guns and violence. Decker thought he understood kids, yet the closer he and his team get to the truth, the clearer it becomes that he knows very little about them, including his own charge, Gabe. The son of a gangster and an absent parent, the boy has had a life filled with too much free time, too many unexplained absences, and too little adult supervision.

Before it’s over, the case and all its terrifying ramifications will take Decker and his detectives down a dark alley of twisted allegiances and unholy alliances, culminating at a heart-stopping point of no return.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (January 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062064320
• ISBN-13: 978-0062064325
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (125 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #514,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed January 18, 2012

By Avidreader

Format:Hardcover

I have to agree with the other readers comments on this latest Rina Lazarus/Peter Decker mystery. It was a mystery to me as to where Rina was. She had little or nothing to do with this story. She appeared mouthing a platitude here and there, seemingly just to justify the title of a Rina Lazarus/Peter Decker mystery. Gabe Whitman was an interesting character, but his thoughts and actions were far too advanced for a boy of his age. The puppy love story line was silly and contrived, and the introduction of characters and their relationship to each other became very muddled at times.
It seemed to me that Ms. Kellerman tried using shock value with the use of fowl language sprinkled liberally throughout the book. It was overdone, as was a lot of the dialogue.

Where oh where are the likes of "Ritual Bath" and the several others that followed? I will think twice or three times before I buy another Rina/Peter book.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best in this series... January 16, 2012

By Happy Scherer

Format:Hardcover

I'm a big fan of this series but this book didn't really do it for me. While I find Gabe to be an interesting character, his thoughts and "voice" didn't really resonate with me as really authentic to a boy his age.
I had read the previous book when Gabe came to live with the Deckers, but hadn't remembered all the details and it took awhile for Kellerman to put them together for me this time.
Mostly, I missed the characters that I have truly come to enjoy in these novels. While I like the fact that the author moves the characters along in time in each book, this really was Gabe's story, and I guess I'm just not ready to embrace him.
Finally, the coincidences in the book - Gabe's involvement with the kids who Decker is investigating - just seems a little much.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another sleepless night January 3, 2012

By S. E. Westfall

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I pre-ordered "Gun Games" for my Kindle so it downloaded very early this morning. I finished the book around 11:00 a.m. so please forgive any typos.

As a fan of the Decker/Lazurus series, I've read each book more than once so I feel like I know the recurring characters. In Gun Games, Decker seems detached from home, family, and young Gabe who has been entrusted to his and Rina's care. When Gabe's life is threatened, Decker responds quickly but still seems distant from the hospitalized teen, leaving Rina alone to sit with Gabe until Chris arrives.

Chris waits pensively for Gabe to wake up. His usually domineering persona seems diminished by the hospital setting. He's done things for Gabe in the past, such as providing food, clothing, shelter, and other essentials. Now he is giving Gabe something he's never had - a father sitting beside his bed talking and listening to his son. When the nurse tells Chris that he raised Gabe right, I laughed with them.

Marge seems ready for a promotion. Oliver shows little growth. Overall, the team handles the complexity of the minors/adults, multiple suspects, and getting the best possible charges against the teens.

It is interesting to watch how the various parents react when drawn into the situation. Why is it that the children who seem to fear their parents the most (they'll kill me) are usually the ones whose parents know how to turn a mistake into a learning experience?

The focus on high school students seems to point to everything that is bad about today's high schools, even those which are considered the best. The faculty and administration seem clueless.

Not wanting to write a spoiler, I won't recap the plot.... The graphic description of sexual activity might make me hesitant to recommend this book to some friends who might be offended or to teens.

I liked Gabe when I first met him in Kellerman's previous book so I was concerned about him in Gun Games. I didn't want to see him hurt or in trouble. Like they say, you can't always get what you want, Gabe gets hurt and is in trouble. Oy vey!

Rina and Peter are now empty-nesters. How long will that last? If Peter continues to work as he does, Rina will need something else to fill her time or keep her out of trouble.

I hope Faye Kellerman is hard at work on the next book in this series. I'll be waiting. Read more ›

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars awful February 19, 2012

By westex

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The book could almost be considered child pornography. If thats not bad enough there are pages of text messages between teenagers which are almost unreadable. To be perfectly honest this book should have been given zero stars but Amazon wouldn't let me give that low of a review . Don't bother reading this book unless you are into teenage suicide and underage sex.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Another disappointed (now former) fan..... February 17, 2012

By Clix Pix

Format:Hardcover

Like many others here, I have read all of Faye Kellerman's novels. The earlier ones were compelling reading, beautifully written, with interesting characters and intriguing side details along with strong plots. I don't know what has gone wrong but something sure has, and maybe it is time for Faye to put away the idea of writing any further novels in the so-called detective story arena and perhaps just turn her attention to young adult novels with teenaged protagonists, since that seems to be where her interests now lie. I was a bit disappointed in her last book, the one before GUN GAMES, but when I learned there was this new one on the way, I went ahead and put my name on the reserve list for it at the library. I am not going to bother doing that for her next book, as clearly she has gone into characters and subject matter in which I am absolutely not interested. GUN GAMES is more filled with teenagers' angst and too many samples of texting messages between the very unrealistic 14-year-old and 15-year-old main characters (neither of whom seems remotely like anyone who might exist in real life) than it is with any genuinely interesting plot. I am probably not going to finish reading the book (I am about half of the way through it now), but instead will just skip to the end to see who lives and who dies and whether or not what I think happened as far as the very thin plot around the police investigations of two teens' suicides is the way she worked things out. I'm very glad that I did not waste money purchasing this book and that instead I borrowed it from the library.

After doing some poking around I was reminded that Faye has co-written one book, a young adult title, with her daughter, Aliza Kellerman.... Now I can't help but wonder if this current novel, too, is more reflective of Aliza than it is Faye? That would account for some of the jarring changes many of us long-time devoted readers have noted. Whatever the reason, I really am keenly disappointed all the way around. If I wanted to read YA fiction, I would go to that section of the library for it. Finding a YA theme thinly disguised in what is being promoted as an adult detective/crime fiction novel is inappropriate and deceptive, not to mention pulling a fast one..... Read more ›