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Gun Games  By  cover art

Gun Games

By: Faye Kellerman
Narrated by: Mitchell Greenberg
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Publisher's summary

Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus are back in this gripping mystery involving a secret cabal of some of Los Angeles’ most wealthy - and vicious - teens.

LAPD lieutenant detective Decker and his wife, Rina, have willingly welcomed fifteen-year-old Gabriel Whitman into their home. While the enigmatic teen seems to be adapting easily, Decker knows only too well the secrets adolescents keep - witnessed by the tragic suicide of another teen, Gregory Hesse, a student at Bell and Wakefield, one of the city’s most exclusive prep schools.

Gregory’s mother refuses to believe her son shot himself and convinces Decker to look deeper. What he finds disturbs him. The gun used in the tragedy was stolen - evidence that propels him to launch a full investigation. But the case becomes darkly complicated by the suicide of another Bell and Wakefield student - a death that leads them to uncover an especially nasty group of rich and privileged students with a predilection for guns and violence.

Before it’s over, the case and all its terrifying ramifications will take Decker and his detectives down a dark alley of twisted allegiances and unholy alliances, culminating into a heart-stopping point of no return.

©2012 Plot Line, Inc (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Gun Games

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Least favorite Faye Kellerman story ever! Skip it.

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

Yes, but not based on this story. I have read all her other Detective Decker books.

What could Faye Kellerman have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The dialog between Jasmine and Gabe was boring, uninteresting, unbelievable and for the most part, irrelevant to the story which dragged.

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

Gabe, when not with Jasmine.

What character would you cut from Gun Games?

Jasmine

Any additional comments?

This story reminded me more of a teen book except for some of the more explicit descriptions near the end which I would not recommend to teen readers. The story did not grab me and if I had been reading it, I would not have finished it at all.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Yes, Chris is back

Faye Kellerman introduced teenager Chris Donatti in 1995's "Justice," an unusual but fascinating (and surprisingly erotic) entry in the Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series. Chris resurfaced in 2002 in "Stone Kiss," one of the best books in the series. Chris--a superhandsome, superintelligent, artistically gifted sociopath and mob assassin--had grown up, served time, and become a wealthy businessman operating on the shady side of the law, able to go where stalwart cop Decker cannot tread and with feelings for Rina that are never articulated but come across quite clearly.

Chris showed up again in last year's "Hangman," leaving his son Gabe Whitman in Peter and Rina's care. Gabe, who has inherited his father's good looks, intelligence, and an even more prodigal musical talent, is the focal point of "Gun Games." He's still a kid, and is a teenager-in-love (with a Persian Jewish girl who loves opera?!?). Likeable as he is, good guy Gabe is not the compelling character his father was at his age (why are handsome, dangerous bad guys so exciting?), and there's not a lot of action in "Gun Games" until close to the end. But fans of the series should find this a solid entry, and it seems to set up some interesting possibilities to come.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Well told, bit of a departure for Kellerman

Would you consider the audio edition of Gun Games to be better than the print version?

Greenberg IS Peter Decker, and Rina - I didn't care so much for his characterization of Gabe and Yasmin. They sounded juvenile and whiny most of the time. I don't know that that is necessarily Greenberg's fault, it could be the way the characters were written.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I think that Kellerman did a great job with Gabe's character, who was a contradiction of maturity and full-blown male adolescence.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yasmin's fear that she was going to be raped was heart wrenching. The bewilderment she experienced at somehow becoming a target of a group that she was unaware of, and it could cost her her life, made her fear surreal.

Any additional comments?

There wasn't much of Rina Decker in this book, not necessarily a bad thing, but I missed her insights. I was not a fan of the fairly graphic sexual encounters with Gabe and Yasmin, who has to be the whiniest teenager I've ever met, and I've raised my own!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I don't believe that Faye Kellerman wrote this

I have enjoyed all of her books both in print and in audio. But, let me get this out of the way first.

The narrator is one of the worst I've ever suffered through. He sounded like a complete amateur - holding his nose - I guess to depict people with colds - and he has Marge and Oliver sounding like African Americans from the South. The narrator's poor interpretation would have seriously damaged even a good novel. I will make note of his name and never again believe I "won't mind" a poor narrator because the book will be worth it.

This book is slow and sloppy. Sometimes it is so dull that you forget who died. I don't believe I would have enjoyed it in print either. The Gabe character is very uninteresting - listen to (or read) chapter 25 to fully experience the stupidity of this book. What happened? Is Faye Kellerman being held hostage while other people write junk under her name?

Seriously though, I am amazed a writer or an agent or an editor wouldn't care who narrated the book - it sounds (no pun intended) as though the audio version receives secondary attention. Considering the number of people who now listen to books, that decision isn't wise. This isn't the first time I've wondered where the writer or the support team was while the book was being recorded. Don't they realize that while I may try Faye Kellerman again it will be through a loan from the library or an used CD.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

WARNING! rated X

Someone should warn a reader that this story is sexualy explicit and involves explicit sex acts with an underage child. Very disappointed in Kellerman for pandering the purient interests. Had to turn it off. Will never read another Faye Kellerman book.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved it!

This is one of my favorite Faye Kellerman books. Chris is absolutely fascinating!!!! More of him please.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Teenage Angst Overload

Way too much teenage coming of age storyline. The Detective part of the story was good but the teenage love story that encompasses a huge part of the book, was of no interest to this adult reader.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

What in the world is Faye Kellerman doing?

Her books are great: excellent plots, lots of drama, fine endings. And, best of all, wonderful, believable characters. This is the first time she's done something that ruins a good book: graphic, embarrassing, unnecessary, voyeuristic sexual activity. And she chooses to describe intimate behaviors between a girl of fourteen and boy of fifteen. These teens are decent, intelligent, and talented. Why intrude on their private lives? Teen romance should be better left to the imagination.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

First Kellerman book I've not been able to finish.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Focus on Decker/Lazarus, not on a 15-year-old kid's horny rants.

What could Faye Kellerman have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Please never, ever, delve into early teen love and lust again, please.

Have you listened to any of Mitchell Greenberg’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Greenburg is fine, it's the story that stinks.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Very disappointed. The book was excruciating and I couldn't even finish it. I've never put down one of Kellerman's books before.

Any additional comments?

I hope this book was an anomaly. I, like many other reviewers, simply wasn't comfortable with the focus shift away from Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus to a horny 15 year old kid's thoughts about an even young teen girl. It was just .... uncomfortable, and more than that, uninteresting. A real disappointment from an otherwise riveting writer.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not up to Faye Kellerman's standard.

What disappointed you about Gun Games?

The dialog between Jasmine and Gabriel was too long, too overwrought, and too unbelievable.

If you’ve listened to books by Faye Kellerman before, how does this one compare?

I much enjoyed her other books, but this falls short mostly because the really interesting characters get the least attention.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Mitchell Greenberg?

George Guidall or Scott Brick would have been infinitely better.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I quit reading in the middle and didn't take it up again until I ran out of other things to listen to.

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1 person found this helpful