Stalker [Paperback]

Faye Kellerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 2001

Cindy Decker's decision to follow in the footsteps of her police lieutenant father was never an easy one. For Pete Decker is, to say the least, overprotective of his only daughter. So when Cindy begins to wonder if she is being followed - maybe even stalked - her father is the last person she can confide in. Frantically trying to contend with her own raw, gnawing fear whilst balancing her work and a clandestine relationship with one of Decker's colleagues, she allows her father access to the horrific facts only when their cases seem to be on a collision course. Together they find themselves in uncharted criminal territory, where snap-second decisions can make the difference between the life and death of those you love...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Faye Kellerman's latest thriller features Cynthia Decker, daughter of Peter Decker, familiar to readers of the author's previous novels featuring the L.A. detective and his Orthodox Jewish wife Rina Lazarus. In Kellerman's earlier books, we've met Cynthia briefly as a difficult adolescent upset by her parents' divorce and later as an Ivy League college student with an interest in following her overly protective father into the family business: solving crimes. Now Cynthia's a young L.A. cop who's the subject of what at first seems like innocent-enough teasing from her colleagues. They think she's snooty and standoffish and riding on her father's reputation. Actually, she's all of those things, which makes for a somewhat less than sympathetic heroine:

Beaudry said, "Every time we start shooting the bull, talking about the day, you say things like, 'Yeah, my father once had a case like that.'"

"I'm trying to relate."

"It pisses people off. It makes them think that their experiences are nothin' special. Everyone wants to feel special. You already feel special because you've got all this college. You gotta remember that the average Joe on the force is a high school graduate, maybe a couple of years at a junior college like me. If you're real smart, okay, you do a four-year state, then enter the academy with the idea of doing the gold."

"Like my dad--"

"Stop mentioning your dad. He isn't a legend, Decker, he's a pencil pusher."

As the teasing escalates, Cindy's stalked, threatened, and finally frightened, although it pains her to admit it. There's a killer on the loose, and even if she's not the best cop on the force, she knows enough to turn to her father for help. But first, she has a brief affair with one of the men under his command. It seems a little too obvious a ploy for Daddy's attention and hardly adds to her character--we already know she's immature and a bit of a bitch. But at least this maneuver brings Peter back on the scene, allowing Kellerman to hit her stride as she gets back to a character who holds the reader's interest because he's more than two-dimensional. Sadly, Cindy's not quite ready for prime time; perhaps she'll grow up in her next outing. Or better yet, Kellerman will bring us more adventures by Peter and Rina. --Jane Adams --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

LAPD detective Peter Decker, promoted to lieutenant after his heroics in Jupiter's Bones (1999), is overloaded with troubles in this outstanding, suspense-packed mystery, the 12th in Kellerman's acclaimed series. As usual, a challenging case distracts Decker from his family, but this time there is one difference. Cindy, his smart, outspoken daughter from his first marriage, is now a cop, to the overprotective Decker's dismay. Meanwhile, Decker is faced with two different series of car-jackings. In one string, the thief targets young women carrying babies. The cops tie the other jackings to Armand Crayton, a sleazy real estate developer who had supposedly died in a car crash a year earlier, after being kidnapped. Several women Crayton knew have been threatened, their cars stolen. When Drecker discovers that an anonymous stalker has been harassing Cindy, he hits the roof. Is it one of her colleagues, or does trouble stem from her casual acquaintance with Crayton? Kellerman is a fine writer, beautifully evoking the feel of Los Angeles and creating scenes that would please Chandler and MacDonald. She deals realistically with the problems women face in a male police world. Her development of the tense father-daughter relationship is wise and honest: Decker is torn between his inability to accept Cindy as an independent adult and his pride in her accomplishments; meanwhile, Cindy respects and loves her father but is distraught by his interference in her personal and professional life. The complex Cindy is a most welcome addition to Kellerman's cast. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Feature; New Ed edition (April 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747259232
• ISBN-13: 978-0747259237
• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 1.5 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,752,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent police procedural and character study, September 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Stalker: A Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus Novel (Peter Decker & Rina Lazarus Novels) (Hardcover)

Faye Kellerman took a chance with this book--choosing to develop the character of Lt. Peter Decker's daughter, Cindy, also a police officer, and relegating Decker and his wife, Rina Lazarus, to secondary albeit important supporting roles. And she has succeeded. An exciting and engrossing plot follows 25-year-old Cindy Decker as she tries to find a niche for herself following in her father's footsteps. She navigates a treacherous path trying to maintain her independence and still be one of the "guys." She receives resistance from fellow officers because she's a "wiseass" college-educated woman, unwanted protectiveness from her father, amorous advances from one of her father's detectives, and the frightening attention of a stalker. She doggedly pursues an investigation of one of her father's murder cases--one she was unknowingly involved in--seeing it to its resolution in a slam-bang climax. Hope we'll see more of Cindy in later books. Kellerman is an engaging writer and the Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series is one of the best going.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thriller to remember, August 8, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stalker: A Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus Novel (Peter Decker & Rina Lazarus Novels) (Hardcover)

Los Angeles Police Department Lieutenant Peter Decker faces the worst crisis of his professional career. His daughter Cindy has joined the force over his objections and he has to balance protecting her vs. showing favorable treatment. Tired of her father's shielding nature, Cindy hides from him the fact that she believes someone is stalking her every move and that person might be tied to the murder of a fellow health club member, Armand Crayton.

Meanwhile Peter works on a couple of car jacking cases. One of them he and his subordinates believe is tied to the murder of Armand. The carjackers have targeted health club members. To Peter's chagrin, he learns that his daughter is being stalked by most likely someone who wants to ensure the health club members remain silent.

The twelfth Decker police procedural is a great entry in a top-notch series because the prime story line turns personal. This provides readers insight into the charcaters of Peter and Cindy. Peter's dilemma and Cindy's distressed reaction to his struggle over a cop for a daughter turns an already fine mystery into a fantastic novel that will entice sub-genre fans to seek out other Faye Kellerman tales (see best-selling JUPITER'S BONES).

Harriet Klausner

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An okay book - but not up to her usual, August 18, 2000

By 

Alise "beatha" (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stalker: A Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus Novel (Peter Decker & Rina Lazarus Novels) (Hardcover)

I understand that authors get tired writing about the same characters, while fans want more of that characters. I got this book expecting a Peter Decker novel because that's how it was advertised. Although he does make more than a cameo appearance, I felt that Mrs. Kellerman did not stay true to character. By the middle of the book, Peter came across as an neurotic, over protective father who could not accept his daughter as an adult, let alone as a fellow police office. As for Cindy, while I emphasized with her need to be accepted as an adult, I'm not sure that I want to spend to much time in her company. And even though she is a rookie, I found several of the mistakes she made just plain stupidity -- either that or put in to further the plot development, rather than the character development. As for the story : There was very little of her wonderful explanation about Orthodox Jewish religion and culture. The plot details are covered in other reviews, but I do agree

with another reviewer that the plot rambles on in places. Still - a good read, but not Faye Kellerman's best.