Prayers for The Dead: A Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus Novel (Peter Decker / Rina Lazarus) [Kindle Edition]

Faye Kellerman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Dr. Azor Moses Sparks is an extremely esteemed heart surgeon, a devout fundamentalist Christian, a cyclist, a friend of biker gangs; a friend to all. Until he is found dead in an alley with his chest ripped open, that is. Where does one go to begin in the investigation of a man who had no enemies? Lt. Peter Decker starts with the man's family, which he discovers is large and filled with strife and unstable characters. He also finds some problems in his own affairs, mostly involving religious beliefs--his own, those of his Orthodox Jewish wife and those of a Roman Catholic priest who plays a prominent role in the multilayered thriller.

From Publishers Weekly

Powerful, assured and absorbing, Kellerman's ninth Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus (Sanctuary; Justice) mystery begins with the brutal murder and mutilation of renowned heart surgeon, researcher and fundamentalist Christian Azor Sparks. LAPD Lieutenant Decker gets the call. He also gets an abundance of suspects. First there is Sparks's large family: his wife, Dolores, and six adult children, including triplets (Paul, Luke and Abram, a Catholic priest), and their assorted spouses. Then there are the victim's surgical and research colleagues and his unlikely biking buddies. Religion and morality are integral to Kellerman's mysteries?built on the bedrock of the Deckers' orthodox Judaism. Here she deftly casts her net around the commanding victim, whose shadow lay equally over family and colleagues, and his son, the theologian Father Abram, whose past connection with Rina may force Decker off the case. Human strengths and frailties, decisions made or not made and mistakes overcome or yet to be reckoned with provide the material that Decker must sift through to find the murderer. As his competent staff (Marge Dunn among them) launch their probes in all directions, they uncover a catalogue of motives that may relate to Sparks's murder and to another that follows. Kellerman succeeds brilliantly in making the search for understanding as compelling as the search for the murderer. 100,000 first printing; audio rights to Brilliance.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 354 KB
• Publisher: HarperCollins e-books (October 13, 2009)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000W94F1O
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,522 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Faye Kellerman is the author of twenty-six novels, including nineteen New York Times bestselling mysteries that feature the husband-and-wife team of Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus. She has also penned two best selling short novels with her husband, New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman, and recently has teamed up with her daughter, Aliza, to co-write a teen novel, entitled PRISM. She lives in Los Angeles, California, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hang in there..., June 24, 2002

By 

D. Campbell "theaterd" (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prayers for the Dead (a Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the first Faye Kellerman novel that I have read. I enjoy her husband's books very much, so I gave her a try. The story seemed to take quite awhile to get going. At first the character development was not the pace I enjoy, but I'm very glad I continued the book. I wound up enjoying her characters, the plot twists, pretty much everything about it. It even piqued my curiosity about Judaism more so than I have ever been. Thumbs up, my dear. I am definitely buying more of this series.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The weakest link so far in the Decker/Lazarus series, August 3, 2006

By 

JHM "jensays" (Flushing, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prayers for the Dead (a Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

The book starts off well, as a mystery should, with the events of the murder of Dr. Sparks. But then it spends the next 300 or so pages batting back and forth, and not really going anywhere. Plus the relationship between Rita Lazarus' deceased husband and the priest are totally incongruious, as I'm sure Kellerman realized when she threw in this rather burdensome plot twist.
However, the end of the book really does pull some surprises. You just have to plod through the middle to get there. Not her best work.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing Read and Series, December 17, 2005

By 

M. Levitt - classical music buff (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prayers for the Dead (a Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

This was my first Faye Kellerman novel involving Dectective Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus. I thoroughly enjoyed it, read the sequel, and then the first novel in the Peter Decker/ Rina Lazarus series, Ritual Bath, piqued by how these two characters met, and how their relationship evolves.

The best novels in this series employ gripping, page turning mysteries, the human aspect of the evolving relationship between Peter and Rina, and explanations of Judaism in somewhat the same way as Harry Kemelman's Rabbi David Small mysteries, or the older G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown mysteries, the latter combining great mysteries with interesting explications of Catholicism.

Warning: You might get hooked to the series!