Capital Crimes (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Faye Kellerman (Author)
Key Phrases: Jack Jeffries, Cathy Poulson, Lucille Grayson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The second collaboration by bestsellers Jonathan and Faye Kellerman (after Double Homicide) offers two thin novellas that dedicated fans will most appreciate. In the first, My Sister's Keeper, Faye Kellerman's LAPD detective Peter Decker makes an extended cameo role in an inquiry into the murder of an activist lesbian California state representative, Davida Grayson. Grayson, who was the focus of threats from politicians and members of the radical right opposed to her support for stem-cell research, is found shot to death in her Berkeley office; an uninspired pair of local police find that the dead woman's personal relationships, rather than her politics, may have motivated the killer. The second story, Music City Breakdown, gives Jonathan Kellerman's consulting psychologist, Alex Delaware, a little more to do after Nashville detectives probing the stabbing murder of recording artist Jack Jeffries learn that Delaware had been treating the dead man. The solution is as unsurprising as that of My Sister's Keeper. (Nov. 21)
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From Booklist

The Kellermans have been writing together and separately for decades. Their latest collaboration seems thrown together and listless compared with the high suspense they are capable of generating. This book houses two novellas set in two different state capitals. Each has a different writing style, grating in its own way. The first novella, "My Sister's Keeper," takes the high-romance road toward inflated writing. Set in Berkeley, California, the story centers on the murder of Congresswoman Davida Grayson in her office. Berkeley Police Detective William Barnes, who has known Grayson for years, takes the case, which, naturally presents a host of suspects including Davida's partner, who announces dramatically (and unnecessarily in 2006): "I'm Minette. Her lover." Hackeneyed plot with stilted dialogue. The second novella, "Music City Breakdown," swings the other way, with self-consciously tough-guy prose and a formulaic plot focusing on the murder of an L.A. singer transplanted to Nashville. The dialogue sounds forced throughout, the plot plods along, barely overcoming nearly indigestible chunks of backstory. The Kellermans' track record ensures demand for this distinctly lesser effort, but even devoted fans are likely to be disappointed. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; First Edition edition (November 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345467981
• ISBN-13: 978-0345467980
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #593,821 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not up to snuff for either author, November 30, 2006

By	Robert Busko (Waynesville, NC USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

You would think that when you pair up two bestselling and award winning authors the likes of Jonathan and Faye Kellerman that the result would be a sure fire runnaway success. Capital Crimes, their long awaited collaborative book is a huge disappointment. Uninspired, and limp, the book provides two novellas that are among the most forgettable stories of 2006. Its almost as though they each provided a dull story so that their characters could shine. Trust me....it doesn't work.

Save your money and time and pass this one up.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not up to their usual standards, November 27, 2006

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Jonathan and Faye Kellerman are novelists, and in Capital Crimes, they have teamed up to write together again. Their first team effort was Double Homicide.

Capital Crimes is really two suspense novellas set in two different cities and feature cameos of characters from their popular suspense novels.

My Sister's Keeper is set in Berkeley where Peter Decker makes an appearance. California state representative, Davida Grayson is a lesbian and activist. She has also been murdered. Grayson had been threatened for her support for stem-cell research. Was it her politics or her personal relationships that resulted in her death by a gunshot?

Music City Breakdown is set in Nashville and features Alex Delaware. Jack Jeffries is a rock legend who left retirement to perform for charity. His body was found in a ditch, his throat slashed. The detectives on the case have their own connection to the music industry and are determined to solve the murder.

This book is not up to the 'hype' the Kellermans normally receive when they have a novel published. It feels like they had an idea, 'slapped' it together and said, "It's a good little money maker." The stories don't have much of a plot, seem hurried and forced. Only true, die-hard fans will appreciate this book. Then again, maybe not.

Armchair Interviews says: If you've never read anything by the Kellermans, this is not the book to start with. You'll be disappointed.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A capital crime indeed, January 24, 2007

By	Edith C. "ediereadie" (Newark, NJ) - See all my reviews

I am a great fan of Jonathan Kellerman, but have not read anything by his wife. This book overall was a great dissapointment to me. The stories seemed forced and pushed together with plot lines that just didn't seem to get there. Perhaps each writer realized that they didn't have enough for an entire book, so they conceptualized this idea. The poignant ending of "Music City Breakdown" would have been much better, I feel, integrated into the story. On the whole, a ho-hum read.