Grievous Sin

A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

By: Faye Kellerman

Narrated by: Mitchell Greenberg

Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

The birth of their baby girl has filled Rina Lazarus and her husband, LAPD Homicide Detective Peter Decker, with joy mingled with sorrow, since complications have ensured that they can have no more children. But the situation is grim at the hospital, which has been devastated by severe budget cutbacks and staff shortages. And when a respected nurse vanishes along with a newborn from the nursery, Peter and Rina fear for the safety of their own precious child - especially when the missing nurse's car is found at the bottom of a cliff... with a corpse inside.

A most grievous sin has been committed. In pursuit of justice, Decker - with the help of his tough-as-nails partner, Marge, and an able assist from his teenage daughter, Cindy - follows a twisted path that winds through a sinister maze of hospital politics, misplaced passions, and torturous mind games that can all too easily lead to murder.

Solve another case with Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus.

©1993 Faye Kellerman (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

Nursery Nightmare

This is a good book in the series, A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel. The narroator, Mitchell Greenberg, does a great representation of all of the characters voices. His inflections are in sync with the feelings that are being projected. Greenberg has narrated all of the books in this series that I have read. Therefore, when I start to listen to another book, I can tune in and know who is who. There is drama and action. It's a light mystery and can be read in one sitting. The characters are well developed, especially if you have been reading the series in sequential order. I've come to like the main character's personalities. Decker, the Sergeant Detective, works vigorously until the crime is solved. This book deals with the kidnapping of a three day old infant from the nursery. The supervision of the nursery was, without question, negligent. There are many sincere emotions being felt by quite a few of those inside and outside of the on-going investigation. Peter is now an Orthodox Jew, having converted for his wife Rina. He was adopted and did find out many years later that his mother is Jewish. They refer to him as the, Rabbi, at the police station. He is not a crusader who attempts to push his views on others. His friends and relatives are of various faiths and nationalities. Not being Jewish myself, I have found the books a source of learning about the Jewish faith, perhaps the descriptions are superficial in some ways but for someone who knew nothing, it has been useful. The book is an easy listen, so if you want to sit back and relax, purchase the books in the series and you many find that you will enjoy them as much as I have.

Narrator sucks

What did you like best about Grievous Sin? What did you like least?

I like the story but the narrator does not accurately portray the characters. His sing song delivery of dialog doesn't match the intent and detracts from the book.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

His sing song delivery of dialog doesn't match the intent and detracts from the book.

First Faye Kellerman I have listened to...

I couldn't seem to put my finger on what bothered me about this book, largely because I have read several of Faye Kellerman's books before (in print) and liked them quite well.

I am familiar with the Jewish cultural information that is part of all of her Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series. I find it interesting, although it sometimes seems to become a bit pedantic. A number of reviews here have objected to that.

Since I couldn't seem to identify my problem with the book (I rarely give only 3 stars), I decided to listen to some of it again. That was the key. All of the things that bothered me came rushing back:

It took forever to get through the first couple of days at the hospital after the birth of Peter and Rina's baby (almost 3 hours). At that point, the "grievous sin" of the title has not even occurred. Not much has actually happened. A lot of the setup seems superfluous to me, and I got really tired of it. One of the problems about audiobooks (as much as I love them) is that the listener cannot really "skip" anything or even skim parts that seem repetitious or unnecessary. What might have been bearable in print becomes unbearable.

I also didn't care much for the reader. Another reviewer said that Greenberg sounds like he is reading to a child. That is a good assessment -- although if I were a child I don't think I would enjoy his reading, either!

I did persevere and listen to the entire book (which I had purchased, like others, when it was on sale for a great price). I didn't consider the story memorable. I purchased two Faye Kellerman's during that sale and to this day I have not listened to the second one. I am still hoping that it will be better than this one.

Needs more research!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not time well spent. This may be picky but I found it distracting when there were inconsistencies with regard to how nursing staff function in a new born nursery or when the forensic odontologist was acting like a forensic anthropologist.

Has Grievous Sin turned you off from other books in this genre?

I enjoy murder mysteries. I had downloaded another Faye Kellerman book at the same time as this one and listened...same problems. I won't be downloading additional titles from this author.

Too bad because I love her husbands books.

What does Mitchell Greenberg bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

In my opinion, he is a good narrator.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.

Decker comes to the rescue

Would you try another book from Faye Kellerman and/or Mitchell Greenberg?

I've been an avid reader of Kellerman for some time. This book moves too slow for my tastes. Good story line, but takes hours to move the story along.

Would you be willing to try another book from Faye Kellerman? Why or why not?

This is the first book that Kellerman wrote that I consider slow moving. I'll try a few more, but if her style has changed, I'm moving on.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Mitchell Greenberg?

Greenberg is an ok reader, but not memorable.

Contrived, Padded, and Relatively Pointless

Would you try another book from Faye Kellerman and/or Mitchell Greenberg?

Probably not.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The search for the point of the title provided motivation to continue reading, but while there were loads of "sins," none is highlighted as the "grievous" sin.The least interesting part of the book was the relentless ethnic/religious padding.

Which character – as performed by Mitchell Greenberg – was your favorite?

I'm sorry, no one stands out. I really didn't much like or identify with anyone

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

I found the characters stereotypicall and did not really believe the emotions attributed to them. Probably I identified most with Decker's impatience to get it over with.

Keeps your attention

What made the experience of listening to Grievous Sin the most enjoyable?

The reader was great...excellent voice choices.

What does Mitchell Greenberg bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He has a huge repertoire of voices that makes it so realistic.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I loved how the author got into the feelings of the people. It was also neat to learn more about the Jewish way of life.

Narator not to my taste

I have read and enjoyed Faye Kellerman for years. This book is one of my favorites, but was very disappointed with the narration. Reminded me of a parent reading to a child. Not up to professional standards.

Pretty good mystery; cumbersome dialog.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No. I did finish it, but was anxious to get it done. How many times do we need to hear interesting dialog like "Thank you" he said. "you are welcome" she said? Also I get frustrated with whiney women and the whiney dialog was constant. I really don't need to hear details of a difficult birth for 3 hours.

What did you like best about this story?

I did like the plot; the mystery. It was creative but frustrated by blah, blah.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Mitchell Greenberg?

Sure, he was fine.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.

What’s a Heaven For?

This novel runs on parallel tracks. Attention must be paid to both plots. I’ve been a fan of both Jonathan and Faye Kellerman for a decade. I just started the entire Faye series over again from The Ritual Bath. In context, Grievous Sin is as strong a story as any other Kellerman novel. Greenberg does a good job with all the accents. If you want perfection, move to print.