Hangman

By: Faye Kellerman

Narrated by: Mitchell Greenberg

Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

Murder, a missing woman, and a sociopath from the past sweep Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus into a labyrinth of mystery and danger in this electrifying new tale of suspense from New York Times bestselling author Faye Kellerman. . . .

Fifteen years ago, high school senior Chris Whitman went to jail for murdering his girlfriend, Cheryl Diggs. Propelled by a misguided sense of chivalry, he confessed, determined to save another classmate, the beautiful and vulnerable Terry McLaughlin, from having to testify at his trial. When the truth came out, Chris was released from prison, married Terry - pregnant with his child - and changed his last name to Donatti. He also became a professional killer.

Peter Decker was the detective on the case, and over the years, he and Terry kept in touch. Now his friend is in L.A. and asking for a favor. Though Decker knows full well that getting involved will bring Terry's sociopathic husband back into his life, the obsessive and duty-bound LAPD lieutenant reluctantly agrees. The favor soon becomes complicated when Terry goes missing and Donatti disappears, leaving their fourteen-year-old son, Gabe, with no one to turn to except Decker and his wife, Rina Lazarus.

But Peter's search for Terry must share center stage with a gruesome murder. Adrianna Blanc, a neonatal nurse at St. Timothy's Hospital, had signed off her night shift at eight a.m. Six hours later, a foreman supervising the construction of a house in a nearby suburb discovered her body swinging from the rafters, a cable wire around her neck. Her car was found where she had parked it the night before, with no signs of foul play.

A dedicated and conscientious professional, Adrianna had a circle of close friends. Yet as Decker and his able team soon learn, the young woman also had her share of detractors. A party-hearty girl, she enjoyed booze, kinky sex, and revenge-cheating on her boyfriend, Garth Hammerling, another nurse at St. Tim's. Suspicions heat up when Decker and his team find that one of Adrianna's last phone calls was a provocative and disturbing message to her vacationing boyfriend, who himself has vanished without a trace. Was Adrianna's death something personal because of her carefree lifestyle? Or was this unusually cruel and very dramatic murder the first signs of a serial killer? With lives hanging in the balance, Decker and his colleagues, Sergeant Marge Dunn and Detective Scott Oliver, need to find answers and fast.

As if juggling two investigations weren't enough for the lieutenant (not to mention turning sixty!), things are becoming even more dangerous with his precarious home life. Ever the concerned parent, Decker wants to look after Terry's son, Gabe. Yet who will protect his own family? Because if there's one thing he knows for sure, with a sociopath like Donatti on the loose, no one is ever really safe.

Solve another case with Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus.

©2010 Plot Line, Inc. (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

Felt as if she ran out of time

I always enjoy the Peter and Rina Decker novels, although I find we haven't had enough of Rina in recent books. And the link between their religious observance and their daily lives is hardly emphasized any more -- in this book, they take in a non-Jewish kid and there is barely any reference to how he is going to adjust to life in a Shomer Shabbos (Sabbath observant) home. But that's not my main complaint about this one, which just feels disjointed and unbalanced. Kellerman has decided to describe every female character's clothing, which is a bit bizarre -- do we care that Marge is wearing rubber-soled shoes? And she goes into great detail about every single preliminary interrogation as Peter and his team try to solve the murders -- but then all of the final and crucial leg work, interviews, shocking evidence, interrogations and confessions are described in a summary narrative in the last 45 minutes of the book, or less. Did she reach her page limit and say, "Oops, no time for more dialogue, let's wrap everything up?" Also, no one seems at all fazed that an intelligent doctor has stayed married to a hit man for years and seems to have no problem with his continuing to see their son. I'm giving it three stars because I was consistently interested, but it's not up to Kellerman's usual standards.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Don't Bother

This is the first time that I have every been disappointed in one of Faye Kellermans books. When I saw that this book was released I could not wait to get it on audio it had all the elements I look for one of my favorite criminal character Chris from Stonekiss and the Decker family, so imagine my surprise when it was awful. So bad that in the five years that I have had Audible I have never written a review on this one I felt compelled. SAVE YOUR MONEY. It is a complete disappointment.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Not credit-worthy

What a disappointment this was. Instead of guiding the reader (listener) through well thought out clues & action, the plot is resolved by a detective's narration in the last 45 minutes of the book. Had I known I could have fast-forwarded & saved having to (force myself to) listen to several plodding, convoluted hours. I'm a Jack Reacher/ Harry Bosch/JP Beaumont fan so maybe I set the bar too high. The characters were well drawn but that was all I found enjoyable. To be fair, I'll try one more of Kellerman's books but I'll get it from the local library. I won't risk wasting another credit

10 of 12 people found this review helpful

FINALY a great chapter in the series!

The last 2 instalments left me flat and I was mulling over giving up on the future books, but this one saved the series from that fate!

It was great and there was enough movement in the background story of the “Deckers at Home” that I dove into Book 20 right away.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I will

I do not intend to write a review. Jam not contracted with you to write reviews. I pay to listen to a book and that's it. I am being blocked from my library because I am unable to dismiss this review window.fix it! I can buy books other places.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Boring and formulaic - characters like cardboard

I want to pass a law against the phrase "So-and-so blew out air." Faye has always over used this phrase, but in this book you will hear it so excessively you will want want to throttle somebody. There is a dearth of imagination, but plenty of conversation. Most of the conversation, however, is "he said, she said, then he said, then she said." Characters are thin, plot average, reader is good. I can't wait for it to be over. It is one of those books you force yourself to listen to because you padi for it... and by golly every word will be heard.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A book for Decker/Lazarus fans

I am so glad that I trusted the author more than reviews from unknown people. I pay attention to reader reviews when it's an author who's new to me, but I just couldn't miss Faye Kellerman's new book. I've never written a review, but felt compelled to in this case.

If you're a Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus fan, then there is no reason to miss this book - especially with the return of Chris Donatti. No, the book is not perfect, nor is it my favorite of the series, but it is still a good read. I will not discuss any details of the story as some other reviewers did, thus ruining part of my experience with the book. There are definitely parts of the story that I wish were written a bit differently - action rather than narrative. However, the journey was still excellent. It was wonderful to revisit the Decker/Lazarus family, and Decker's wonderful detectives. I love the characters, so I loved the story. The narrator is not my favorite, but, again, the characters are so great that it was still well worth my time.

If you've never read Faye Kellerman before, then start with an earlier book, so you can get familiar with her great characters. It's not really a good idea to start at the end of a series anyways.

Cheers, and happy listening!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Hangman

As a huge Faye Kellerman fan, I found this book quite good. She did an excellent job with the mother/father/son relationship surrounding Gabe Whitman and as always, Peter and Rina are very rich characters. My only hesitation was the narrator. His deepest voice which he used for about 5 characters didn't provide enough differentiation from one character to the next.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Best in the Series

I love this series and have enjoyed the books thus far. I must say I think this one is the best in the series. I think you could walk into it without reading any of the others. Plus, Ms. Kellerman seemed to be completely on point throughout the entire book. Oh, and did I mention I love the Rina and Peter Decker series!

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Short Changed

I felt short changed when reading this novel. There were too many questions still remaining unanswered when the last chapter ended.

3 of 5 people found this review helpful