Sacred and Profane

A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

By: Faye Kellerman

Narrated by: Mitchell Greenberg

Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Los Angeles Police Detective Peter Decker had grown very close to Rina's young sons, Sammy and Jake, as he had to their mother, and he looked forward to spending a day of his vacation camping with the boys. A nice reprieve from the grueling work of a homicide cop - until Sammy stumbles upon a gruesome sight.

Two human skeletons, charred beyond recognition, are identified by a forensic dentist as teenage girls - and for Decker, the father of a 16-year-old daughter, vacation time is over. Throwing himself professionally and emotionally into the murder case, he launches a very personal investigation: a quest that pulls him deep into the crack dens of Hollywood Boulevard and painfully close to the children of the streets and a nightmare world he must make his own.

©1987 Faye Kellerman (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Kellerman brings the case to a resounding resolution, suggesting as well a believable conclusion to Pete's personal dilemma even as she leaves his future with Rina unresolved." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Bold, taut, with an artful fusion of the down-and-dirty with characters whose personal lives we care about and whose spiritual and emotional growth are as compelling as the events themselves." (Sue Grafton)
"Moves crisply and the characters are deep and well drawn - Faye Kellerman is a talented writer." ( Chicago Sun-Times)

Too many superfluous characters

Struggled to complete the book.
The problem was with the faux porno that didn't ring true.

JT

Kellerman weaves the mystery of the crime with the mystery of personal relationships that makes the novel alive and real. The realty of how love can motivate one's actions is well written in this novel.

The ending is a cliff hanger

This was a good story. It gave a lot of emotional background on Peter and Rina. I can't wait to read the next in the series

Loved It!!!

In the past, I have read some of Mrs. Kellerman's works, But my discovery of the Decker and Lazarus series is a pleasant surprise. This book has just enough of everything; good mystery, good police work and a little romance. I like the fact that, by the time I finish the fist ten chapters, I cannot figure out who the culprit is and how the book ends. She keeps my guessing and listening.
I would gladly recommend this book friend and family, with confidence that they will enjoy it as much as I have

Do not listen to in the car with children!

I love this series so far. I feel I am learning so much about Jewish Orthodoxy while being entertained by very believable and exciting plots. BUT, I wish it wasn't so sexually graphic. I've decided to download the next in the series because I really do like the characters and I love murder mysteries. We'll see. . .

Oh save me from music!!

I really like the combination of real life and cop life in this series, but this one was "produced" which mean altho it has a good reader, there's the inevitable suspense (?) music, which really detracts.

Also, the ending is not satisfying. I think you can make it clear that the series will continue w/o the feeling of sudden chopping off.

Teach The Narrator to Read

I liked the background and plot of the book, but the music at the end and beginning of some chapters was distracting. Even more distracting was the narration. Often, narrators can add a lot to the story by their interpretation of the tone of conversation & thought. However, this reader reduced the characters to caricatures and there were some obvious mis-pronunciations of common words. The story is still worth it as an escape, but just be prepared for a bit of frustration if you care about details.

Good, but not as good as Ritual Bath

If you could sum up Sacred and Profane in three words, what would they be?

Entertaining, sad & troubling

I'm a HUGE fan of Kellerman's Decker/Lazarus novels. And I greatly appreciate that sequels are often not as good as the original story. But the ending of this one seemed abrupt and uneasy...as though she wasn't quite certain what to do with it. However, it does move their love story along. But it isn't as though Mik and Honey provides any answers for how Decker managed to wrestle his religious doubts into submission.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sacred and Profane?

When Decker showed up drunk at Rina's house and then blamed her for the outcome.

What about Mitchell Greenberg’s performance did you like?

Mitch Greenberg is a wizard with voices and accents. Really quite talented. And I greatly appreciate that he has been able to narrate the entire series. I really hate it when the narrator changes in the middle of a series and then the characters change entirely with the new interpretations by the new narrator. Please don't EVER switch from Mitch!!

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

The death of the street kid who looked like Cindy.

What happened? This one stunk!

What would have made Sacred and Profane better?

The narrator could have rehearsed his parts better. The main characters suffered from gross over acting. The story stumbled along and the story drug.

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

The detective was made to be too flawed, the coincidences were too frequent, the emotions were silly and erratic.

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

Mitchell did well in "The Ritual Bath". Which is what led me to purchase this, thinking it would be good also. He just did a really bad job this time.

Any additional comments?

The production and editing was VERY BAD. And the silly and annoying music didn't help.

rated down for the terrible music...

THe music detracts from the overall production! This series does a great job of intertwining the mystery with the home life of Peter and Rina. It is what I like best about Faye Kellerman's books. She teaches us about Judaism and shows us the beauty of that lifestyle all while exploring sometimes gruesome crimes. She is brilliant at this juxtaposition of the sacred and profane. However, I do wish the sex scenes were more limited. And I hope the future books contain no music.