Rating: 
Summary: A little missing on the nuances
Review: As someone who grew up in an orthodox Christian home (read fundamentalist) I was amused by the heavy handedness of this novel. For someone who is so superb at writing the nuances and sophistication of orthodox Judiasm, I was surprised to see how little she understood orthodox Christianity -- or if she did not claim to understand it, why she would write about it. So many things were off -- the names, the language, the prayers, the culture. I didn't find it insulting as much as I realized she simply didn't know.
Rating: 
Summary: Family secrets
Review: Dr. Azor Sparks, a prominent heart specialist, is found brutally murdered. Lieutenant Peter Decker is called in on the case and he discovers that the doctor fathered some very dysfunctional children who stood to benefit from their father's life insurance policy. To complicate matters, Dr. Sparks was developing a controversial new drug, and several people had a motive to disrail his research. A third complication is Dr. Sparks' unlikely association with a motorcycle gang with whom he rode on weekends. As always, Faye Kellerman weaves disparate threads into an interesting pattern and intertwines Peter Decker's professional and personal lives. In this book Peter's wife Rina has an unusual connection with one of the murder suspects and this creates some tension between the two of them. This is another winner from Faye Kellerman.
Rating:
Summary: Family secrets
Review: Dr. Azor Sparks, a prominent heart specialist, is found brutally murdered. Lieutenant Peter Decker is called in on the case and he discovers that the doctor fathered some very dysfunctional children who stood to benefit from their father's life insurance policy. To complicate matters, Dr. Sparks was developing a controversial new drug, and several people had a motive to disrail his research. A third complication is Dr. Sparks' unlikely association with a motorcycle gang with whom he rode on weekends. As always, Faye Kellerman weaves disparate threads into an interesting pattern and intertwines Peter Decker's professional and personal lives. In this book Peter's wife Rina has an unusual connection with one of the murder suspects and this creates some tension between the two of them. This is another winner from Faye Kellerman.
Rating:
Summary: Her best book since the first ones
Review: Faye Kellerman's recent books have read like books that her publisher pushed her into writing. "Faye, baby, let's have another book quick while you're still hot. Just bang it out, and you'll sell a million."Prayers for the Dead, however, lets Kellerman develop her characters and her plot as threads as intertwined as the strands of the tzitsis. If you liked the early Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus books, you'll like this one. Read the description for the plot line, read the book for Kellerman's deft touch with a compelling read.
Rating:
Summary: A who dunnit of enormous proportions
Review: I particularly enjoy this series, I think because the main characters are definitely not perfect. Their lives progress and grow, they face new challenges, and at the same time they solve some really perplexing cases. This one was riveting because of the ultimate motivation of the doctor--hard to imagine anyone becoming so wrapped up in their career that they would resort to what the doctor did.
Rating: 
Summary: bittersweet
Review: I really enjoyed this book, it's my favorite Decker-Lazarus mystery. Why? Rina has an active role in solving the mystery and her friendship with Bram added a multi-dimensional twist.Bram's a wonderful character, giving us insight into Rina's first husband and her life before. His love for her seems so pure, that's why I've titled this review 'bittersweet'. I like the reason heart surgeon Dr. Sparks got involved with the motorcycle group..that was classic! I also like the growing friendship between Marge and Oliver. The only part I didn't like was the wooden portrayal of the rest of Azor Spark's family. Hard to believe that the character Bram was supposedly raised in the same environment as the rest of them.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: I wanted to give this book 3 1/2 stars. It was good but very slow in starting. I felt like we went all over the place and got to know some characters pretty well while others were pretty much ignored. We find out who did it but I thought it was pretty much ignored in the end. I did enjoy the relationship between Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus. I even liked the religious aspect of the story. But it was dragged on for way too long. This was my first novel by Ms Kellerman. I might give another one of her book a try, hoping it will move a bit faster.
Rating: 
Summary: boring
Review: The religious lessons, theology, rites and ritual one is forced to endure while reading Faye Kellerman's books completely destroys any enjoyment of the mystery--threw it in the garbage after 100 pages. There's too many other interesting writers out there!!
Rating:
Summary: My Opinion of Prayers for the Dead
Review: This is one of the best books I have read so far, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have recently discovered the works of both Faye and Jonathan Kellerman, two excellent authors.
Prayers for the Dead is an intriguing book, and I couldn't put it down.
The characters were so human you almost felt as if you knew them personally, especially the Sparks family. The plot takes some wonderful twists and turns, and it is apparent that Faye has done her homework in regards to religious history. This is a fabulous book and I would recommend it to anyone to read. You definitely will not be disappointed, especially if you are a fan of horror/medical fiction.
I am an avid reader of John Saul, Andrew Neiderman, V. C. Andrews, Stephen King, and others and Mrs. Kellerman is definitely in the same caliber as these beloved authors of mine.
After reading this book, your literary appetite will be longing for more of Faye's masterpieces!
Rating:
Summary: Not as Good as Jonathan Kellerman
Review: This is the first Faye Kellerman book that I read. The mystery and characters were really terrific. It would have been better if story remained about the suspects and the research. I feel it should have been centered in these areas and take out the religious comparisons. I feel it should have been left as Azor Sparks being a religious man who prays with all his patients before their transplant surgery. The Christian and Jewish religions didn't have to be discussed in such depth.
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