Prayers for the Dead [Library Binding]

Faye Kellerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1997

A stunning new page-turner by the best-selling author of Justice

For over a decade Faye Kellerman has been mesmerizing the reading public with her star duo, LAPD homicide detective Peter Decker and his brilliant, beautiful wife, Rina Lazarus. Now in Prayers for the Dead, Peter and Rina become enmeshed in a web of greed, passion, and terrible truths.

The brutal murder of celebrated heart surgeon Azor Sparks brings with it shock, public outrage, and a demand for answers. Immediately, Lieutenant Peter Decker and his crack team of homicide detectives begin working overtime to unravel the mystery. But the deeper they probe the more murky the case grows. Sparks's wife and six adult children stand to inherit a sizable fortune. Vicious backbiting among jealous colleagues raises questions about the dead surgeon's pharmaceutical research. Outlaw bikers with their own agenda suddenly show up at Sparks's funeral. And Decker's investigation is further complicated by the resurrection of secrets from his wife's past.

A compelling, breakneck-paced thriller, Prayers for the Dead is a masterfully executed novel that will keep the reader turning pages to its heart-stopping conclusion.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 424 pages
• Publisher: San Val (July 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417709987
• ISBN-13: 978-1417709984
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

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!