Rating: 
Summary: Best read in proper order
Review: Kellerman's favorite couple, Pete Decker and Rina Lazarus, have a long history. Street Dreams assumes readers are familiar with that history, which is a good thing for readers who have followed the series from the beginning - but not so good for readers picking this book without some background. It works as a stand-alone, but just barely.
But true fans and followers of the Decker/Lazarus union will relish this solid whodunit as it takes the pair's relationship to new heights.
Cindy, Pete's adult daughter by a 1st marriage, plays a major role as a rookie cop in Street Dreams. She investigates the case of a developmentally disabled teenager who abandoned her baby, says she was raped, and might have been an unwitting witness to a murder. Good stuff. Read it.
Rating: 
Summary: A weak entry in the Decker series.
Review: LAPD officer Cindy Decker is on routine patrol when she finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster.Cindy must track down the baby's mother, but the trail leads her down the dark streets of Hollywood, a place filled violent gang members, and predators lurking the night for new victims. Joining forces with her father, Detective Peter Decker, Cindy makes a twisted journey for truth, one that will put her life in danger. 'Street Dreams' is the weakest entry in the Decker series. The mystery elements of the novel are barely present, and the Jewish themes are so strong they overpower the rest of the novel. Faye Kellerman is slowly bringing this series to a halt, and that's a shame because it was one of the more interesting several years ago. I was not a fan of the first few Decker novels, but as time went on they developed into interesting plot boilers that not only thrilled with suspense, but also with new developments of it's lead character and his family. Unfortunately, the last few years have seen the plots becoming weaker, and the Jewish story-lines becoming stronger, resulting in a novel a lot less satisfying. If Faye Kellerman can take out the overload of religion, and put the suspense back in her novels the series will get back on track giving readers the Decker mysteries they are used to, but if each new novel remains the same the series will soon drop off. Nick Gonnella
Rating:
Summary: Eh...
Review: Last weekend I went home borrowed several book from my Mom (who is much better than any library). In my stack of books was "Milk and Honey" and "Street Dreams" by Faye Kellerman. I am a huge fan of this type of book but after reading both novels I've found I'm not a Faye Kellerman fan.
First of all, as you might note, neither of the books is the first in the series or consecutive which is definitely a problem for the Lazarus/Decker saga. Through both books I felt confused and lost as character reflected on past plots enough to make me wonder what had happened but never enough to explain it any relevance it had to what was going on in the current novel.
Also there was alot of Orthodox references some of which were explain, but most weren't. I felt there were many scenes that possibly had more that I could have gotten out of them but I was too distracted by what "yesh lee Yaakov gam ken" means or where Kiryat Arba is.
If you're really short on something to read (or the book is free as in my case) why not? It might not put you to sleep but you surely won't stay up all night wanting to find out what happens.
If you're like me and like this genre (detectives and such) I'd recommend Iris Johansen instead of Ms. Kellerman.
Rating:
Summary: Cindy Decker is Destined to be a Major Player, Like her Dad
Review: Police Officer Cindy Decker (daughter of Pete) on a routine patrol finds a newborn baby abandoned in a dumpster. When the search for the baby's mother leads her to a mentally retarded young woman, she starts to think that something sinister may have happened. With the grudging support of her supervisors, she begins looking for a possible rapist who preys on these extremely vulnerable targets. The situation becomes more urgent when another retarded woman dies under suspicious circumstances. Cindy seeks advice and guidance from her father, who continues to deal with the conflicting urges to both help his daughter solve the crime and protect her from danger.
Rating:
Summary: A Well-Crafted and Immensely Readable Story
Review: Street dreams are the nightmares of rookie cops --- dreams of violence, fear and mistakes. In Faye Kellerman's latest novel, STREET DREAMS, LAPD officer Cindy Decker has had a traumatic year on the force and at night dreads the street dreams she has in her sleep. But a new case and a new person in her life are about to occupy her time, her thoughts and her energy. One night Decker is flagged down in her patrol car and brought to an alley. A restaurant employee taking out the trash hears the cries of a baby and Cindy quickly dives into the dumpster and recovers the newborn. She sees that the baby is safe in the hospital that night and is impressed by Koby, the handsome and intense pediatric nurse on duty. She now must find the mother of the baby and make sure she is safe and healthy as well. The search for the baby's mother takes her around Hollywood, from alleyways to bus stops to local haunts to high schools and eventually to a school for developmentally challenged young people. She soon identifies the mother as a mentally retarded young woman named Sarah, whose boyfriend, the father of the baby, disappeared months ago. Now that Cindy knows the baby and the mother are safe, she decides to work in her spare time to find David, the baby's father. Finding David proves harder than finding Sarah. But with the help of her father, Lieutenant Peter Decker, Cindy navigates a world of thugs and gangsters to locate him and bring him the news of the birth of his daughter as well as to make sure he is safe after the brutal attack he and Sarah had suffered the day he disappeared. Cindy's search for the baby's parents leads her to other crimes that had been previously unknown but that end in a brutal hit-and-run accident. Cindy witnesses this accident, and it only fuels her desire to figure out the culprit and what this may have to do with David and Sarah. She does much of her work in her off-time and knows she must be careful not to damage her fledgling law enforcement career. Her father helps to balance her enthusiasm with good police work. In addition to their busy work schedules, Peter and Cindy are also busy in their personal lives. Kellerman's readers are familiar with Peter, his wife Rina and their children --- and they do form a subplot in this novel. Meanwhile, Cindy is forming an intense and interesting relationship with the nurse Koby, an Ethiopian Jew who lived in Israel before coming to the U.S. Cindy and Koby's relationship intensifies quickly and balances the police/crime aspect of the novel. Kellerman fans have come to know and enjoy this balance of personal and emotional with mystery. Those who prefer their crime novels with no sentimentality (much less romance) will find themselves skimming the pages concerning Cindy and Koby's courtship in order to get back to the story of Cindy chasing the gang members who brutalized David and Sarah. STREET DREAMS will not disappoint Kellerman fans. The Decker family dynamics are here as well as an interesting mystery. Cindy is not as developed as her father Peter and stepmother Rina, and this case has less urgency than some of the other Decker/Lazarus novels. Still, it is enjoyable and well written. Cindy and Peter are not as dynamic a duo as Peter and Rina, but the father-daughter relationship complicates both the police work and Cindy's romance just enough for some great literary tension. STREET DREAMS should appeal not only to those familiar with Kellerman's work but also to those looking for a well-crafted and immensely readable story. --- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
Rating: 
Summary: Cracking the Maze of rape , murder and thuggery
Review: Street Dreams is yet another thrilling page turner by Faye Kellerman.
When LAPD officer Cynthia Decker finds an abandoned infant in a downtown rubbish dump, the hunt is on for clues, through the murky world of inner city Hollywood. Cindy finds her love interest in an Ethiopian-Israeli male nurse, with lots of charm and mystique - Yaakov Kutiel 9the book focuses much on Cindy and Yaakov's steamy romance) , and soon joins up with her father Lieutenant Peter Decker, in cracking open a maze of rape and murder, in many sleazy and dangerous corners. It is a story of the vicious thugs that pray on the innocent. A side story takes place as Rina, Peter Decker's beautiful Orthodox wife does some of her own detective wife, also roping in 'Loo' Decker, to find out about the murder of her grandmother in Munich, Germany, in 1928. Hence the story is set against the backdrop of both the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany , in the 1930's and the war of Arafat and his PLO mass murderers to eliminate the Jewish state today - the preparation for another holocaust of Jews. The backdrop of the criminal motivated murder on the streets of LA is shadowed by the murder of Jews in Israel today, and in Europe so many centuries ago.
Rating:
Summary: "A new generation begins"
Review: Sweet Dreams begins a new generation of family and past in this series. I enjoyed this story. The characters are interesting, the dialogue is lively, and the plot intriguing. A very appealing combination. John Savoy
Savoy International
Motion Pictures Inc.
California
Rating:
Summary: Good, fast reading
Review: The book was a good mystery and kept me interested throughout. Cindy Decker is becoming a good cop and her lieutenant father, was integral to the plot. I was troubled by the turn that Cindy's romantic life took. I don't think I was ready for this part of the book. I enjoy mysteries, not social commentary.
Rating:
Summary: the latest in a great series
Review: The characters of Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus are likable and fun to read about. In this book the character of Cindy Decker, Peter's daughter, is further developed and I found her equally as likable and interesting. I read this book in less than a plane ride and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Rating:
Summary: (2.5) A fine line between taste and exploitation
Review: The promo ads for Faye Kellerman's newest mystery tout her talent, proclaiming, "She has a way with murder". Generally, I would agree with that assessment, but Kellerman's last offering is somewhat under par for a writer who does have the chops to craft a tight story. In Street Dreams, another of the Pete/Rina Decker series, Kellerman brings back Pete Decker's daughter by his first marriage, Cindy, a two-year veteran of the LAPD, with designs on a detective shield. On regular patrol, Cindy discovers a newborn baby in a dumpster behind an LA restaurant. Determined to find the mother, Cindy is warned by her father not to step on any of the detectives' toes while pursuing her own investigation. In the course of her sleuthing, Cindy does find the mother, a developmentally disabled young woman who tells of a harrowing gang rape in a local park where she has met the father for secret trysts. The father is also developmentally disabled. There may be even more to the story, as Cindy learns that other vulnerable young woman may be in danger. At the hospital where the baby is taken, Cindy meets a male nurse, an Ethiopian Jew. They are immediately attracted to each other and pursue a relationship. Per usual, Kellerman, uses her captive audience to impart more information about Rina's rich religious heritage as a devout Jew. In the first few Pete/Rina Decker novels, this approach served to flesh out Rina's character, adding depth to her role as socially conscious mother and wife. This time, however, under the guise of solving the mystery of Rina's grandmother's murder in pre-Nazi Germany, she requests her husband's assistance in reading documents she has discovered. In the context of Street Dreams, this subplot serves as an unnecessary distraction. There are numerous mentions of earlier trauma suffered by Cindy and Det. Decker(in another Pete/Rina Decker book), but the author never explains the ordeal involved or why both father and daughter are unable to shake the pyschological effects. Since their relationship is a strong component of the story, this aspect is somewhat frustrating for a reader unfamiliar with the Decker series. Most disturbing to this reader, however, is Kellerman's handling of the romance between Cindy and her new boyfriend, although he is portrayed as handsome, sexy, well built, intelligent...practically perfect. The only obstacle is Cindy's father, who is affronted at his daughter's reluctance to inform him ahead of time that her boyfriend is black. I found Kellerman's portrayal exploitative and stereotypical, a surface treatment of the subtleties of race relations, complete with racist comments by other officers (another obvious stereotype) regarding size and performance, pandering to common curiosity and ignorance. Perhaps the author should put as much effort into researching this cultural aspect of her story as she does on Rina's religious beliefs. I can deal with a mediocre mystery, but it is disappointing when an author uses sex and race instead of good writing. This author might have better used the energy expended on superficial distractions by constructing a believable plot for this series. Although Kellerman can't see the forest for the trees in Street Dreams, she does have the talent to write an effective mystery and is certainly capable of giving her fans the quality they appreciate and deserve. Luan Gaines/2003.
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