Stalker

Rating:
Summary: A disappointed reader
Review: The plotting and situations created were unreal boring and hard to understand. There is tiresome repetition and much ado because the heroune is Decker's cop daughter. I still can't understand who is who in an unreal complicated ending. I have read other excellent Decker-Lazarus novels. Here the author has failed and disappointed a loyal fan.

Rating:
Summary: STALKER - Another Decker cop walks the talk
Review: Rough and tumble and seasoned detective Peter Decker takes a back seat to his rookie cop daughter, Cynthia, as they belatedly team up to drive out who and why someone is scaring 'Cindy' into paranoia and fear. Is it related to a high-profile murder investigation? Or to the recent carjackings in L. A.? Or maybe a vendetta against her not-always politically correct dad?

Cindy's paranoia extends to her cop colleagues who think she is a holier-than-thou and arrogant ivory leaguer who does not play the police blues very well. And just like her daddy, she is not very good at fitting in, but she is pretty good at piecing together transgressions, even those that are perpetuated against her.

The anchor and centering force for both daughter and father is Peter's wife, Rina Lazarus, who has wisdom and religion beyond her years. She is also a steadying force for her kids and others that are touched by her. Rina is low-key but direct; warm and humanly insightful. She is a wonderful counterbalance to the world of cops and robbers.

The introduction of Cindy as a main character is a bold move for this series, but one that opens up many possibilities for author Faye Kellerman. But we have come to love and enjoy fictional 'characters' Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus, so the author's argument to embrace Cindy will have to be extraordinarily strong. The jury is still out on this, but the odds are good that Cynthia will eventually win our hearts.

Rating:
Summary: Overstuffed
Review: I should say first of all that I'm new to this long-running series, so there's a good deal of backstory I've probably missed. Peter and Rina are relegated to supporting roles here, with the spotlight going to Peter's impetuous daughter Cindy. The plot involves the reopening of an old murder case, so there are a few too many scenes of cops sitting around hypothesizing. I gather that Judaism is an important element of the series, but here the section on Jewish rituals and the trip to the synagogue seemed to slow things down a bit. Several male cops seem to antagonize Cindy, at some points I had trouble keeping track of who was who. Kellerman could have used some judicious editing in the last third of the book. Still, she clearly knows her police procedure, and what a relief to see a long running mystery series go in a new direction. (Are you listening Patricia?) Fans of this series should enjoy this, rookies should go back and start with THE RITUAL BATH.

Rating:
Summary: Generally good but not spectacular
Review: Being close to Cindy's age than Peter's, I found her actions somewhat more comprehensible, and the sketching of how it is to work in a profession dominated by men really rings true. I was excite to learn more about Cindy and I think it will be interesting to follow her career, although she is really going to have to mature. Not covered enough in this book are two themes I became interested after the last book: what happened to Vega (this was touched upon but I wanted more!) and also to Peter's relationship with his sons. Plotwise: I thought this book got pretty boring in the last forty pages or so, after Cindy was captured. Kellerman's strength is the whodunit and not writing about hostage situations, I think. Also, she needed a better copy editor--numerous grammatical errors and stylistic felicities were present.

Rating:
Summary: Better than suggested
Review: I was eagerly looking forward to the release of this book until I read some reviews suggesting that the focus on Cindy Decker instead of Peter and Rina made this a less enjoyable Kellerman novel. I say, to the contrary...the addition of Cindy's character in a more developed role was very interesting. I felt that there was a good balance of storyline between Cindy and also with Peter and Rina. I don't know if I would be so enthusiastic about an entire novel devoted to Cindy only, but I thoroughly enjoyed this balance of characters. Don't let the reviews frighten you away!

Rating:
Summary: Not best in series, but pretty good
Review: I like police procedurals, so I'm inclined to like this series. This book actually focuses more on the street cops than on the detectives, a change of pace. We learn more about Cindy Decker. Not as much about Peter Decker and his family. There are several hints at a developing love interest for Cindy - which I would bet won't develop successfully, but which do indicate that we are going to see more of Cindy in the future. One disappointment: the ending was just a little unrealistic. Oh yeah, it is a surprise, and I'm not giving it away here - but I didn't like the end as much as I liked the rest of the book.

If you are newly discovering Faye Kellerman's series, this probably isn't the book you should start with - while you wouldn't be hopelessly lost, you will enjoy this one more if you know more background about the characters by reading a couple of the earlier books first. One important character in this book was first introduced in _Jupiter's Bones_, the preceding book. Read a couple of them, then read _Stalker_.

Rating:
Summary: Welcome to Cindy Decker
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It had all the suspense that I enjoy and I enjoyed the emphasis on Cindy. I liked the interaction between father and daughter and between the characters in this story. I found it to be fast moving. As much as I like Peter and Rina, it seemed to be harder and harder to keep the stories coming - yet through Cindy, we have new characters with a chance to visit Peter and Rina. Seems like the best of both worlds to me.

Rating:
Summary: Fun New Kellerman with a Female Lead Cop!
Review: Cindy Decker, a newly minted cop, is a departure from the characters of Rina and her father, Peter Decker. She is more contemporary and perhaps easier to identify with, even though I have enjoyed the chronicles of Rina and Peter, including their struggles with living as Ortodox Jews. I particularly enjoyed the fact that the story was told from the perspective of a woman attempting to fit into a man's profession, and an intellectual attempting to fit in with less intellectual colleagues. The story is fast paced, and I wanted more. Then I realized that the CD was abridged. . .

Rating:
Summary: Faye Kellerman lost her touch with this one.
Review: I was disappointed in this book, and even more so after having waited anxiously for the book's August 2000 release. I was first in line so I could read yet another episode in the lives of the Decker family. However, this book was just not nearly as interesting and/or entertaining as her others. In fact, I found myself extremely bored with the plot and the characters. The characters were unbelieveable and they possessed little depth and substance. The story dragged as it winded endlessly around and around telling a tale that never took off. This was the first time, since I started reading a Kellerman novel, that I was not even a little bit sad to see the story end. Let's hope the next one is better! I won't jump ship just yet!

Rating:
Summary: Okay, not as good as others, and disappointing writing
Review: As a great fan of Faye Kellerman's series, I have read them all in order, and some twice. This is not one I would read again. I am pleased in some ways that Kellerman is bringing in Cynthia as a more central character, but I miss seeing Decker and Rina. What bothered me most was the poor quality of the writing and/or editing; in one place, Kellerman writes (something like), "She parked herself in front of the TV and turned on the boob tube." Overwritten (no need for repeating any word for TV) and "boob tube" is just stupid (I don't think many 25 year olds use it). These type of "Gen X" pepper the book and are annoying. Again, it is repetitive and it seems that, because she has been a bestselling author for many years, either Kellerman or her editors are slacking off. Don't, please!