Author: Faye Kellerman
Year Published: 2021
Category: Adult mystery
Pages: 368
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Location (my 2021 Google Reading map): USA (New York, Ohio, Missouri)
Summary (from the inside flap of the book): When Bertram Lanz goes missing from a local diner near Greenbury, the entire community of the small upstate New York town volunteers to search the surrounding woods. Bertram had been on a field trip with the staff and fellow residents of the Loving Care Home when he vanished.
Summary (from the inside flap of the book): When Bertram Lanz goes missing from a local diner near Greenbury, the entire community of the small upstate New York town volunteers to search the surrounding woods. Bertram had been on a field trip with the staff and fellow residents of the Loving Care Home when he vanished.
When no trace of the man is found, the disappearance quickly becomes an official missing persons case and is assigned to detectives Peter Decker and his partner Tyler McAdams. As their investigation deepens, the seasoned Decker becomes convinced that Bertram hadn’t lost his way but must have left with someone he knew. Soon Decker discovers that Elsie Schulung, a recently fired nurse who had worked at the home, seemed to be especially interested in Bertram. But answers prove elusive when Elsie disappears and human blood is found in her kitchen.
These complications prove to be only the beginning. While combing the woods, searchers discover the remains of one of three young men who had vanished during a camping trip. And for Decker, personal problems are adding pressure as well. After a ten-year absence, the biological mother of Decker and Rina’s foster son, Gabriel, has suddenly appeared in New York, children in tow, wreaking emotional havoc on the young man.
Juggling the personal and professional, a hot case and a cold case, Decker and McAdams race to find answers, sifting through cabinets of old files, a plethora of clues and evidence, and discouraging dead ends. As ongoing searches for Bertram and the campers’ missing remains continue, the frustrated detectives begin to wonder if the woods will ever give up its dark secrets...
Review: I was really looking forward to reading a new Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus novel as I have enjoyed all the books in this series. You can read each one as a stand alone, but I love that over the 25 or so books we've gotten to know the characters, their families, and friends. It's a community I like.
If you've read Faye Kellerman you know the drill: a crime is committed (or as in this novel, 2 crimes), Peter Decker is on it, his wife Rina and his partner Tyler weigh in with insights that help further the case, and things are wrapped up at the end. However, they aren't always wrapped up in a happy way and that feels right and real. I like the way Peter and Rina's extended family and characters from past books always appear, reminding us that characters have lives beyond their job and the main storyline. These are not unnecessary bird walks, however, they propel the stories forward and keep me turning the pages.
If you like Faye Kellerman or detective/police novels, then this is a good choice (but, of course, I'd recommend starting with the first installment: Ritual Bath where Peter and Rina meet for the first time).
Challenges for which this counts:
- Alphabet (author)--"K"
- Cloak and Dagger
- Diversity--Down Syndrome, CP, other differing abilities
- Literary Escapes--Missouri
No comments
Post a Comment