Walking Shadows: A Gripping Decker & Lazarus Thriller – A Brutal Murder Uncovers Decades of Small Town Secrets (Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Book 25)

Enjoyed reading this book

Was somewhat reticent to read this book after the last one. Bone Box was disappointing for me. Seemed like there was a concerted effort to pack in every major character in the series. More than that, there were so many distracting proofreading errors. Walking Shadows was much more focused and limited. Other than Decker's daughter, the past was pretty much left there. The story was pretty tight as well. Resolving the case was only moderately difficult but the introduction of new players was refreshing. Don't think we've seen the last of Lenora Baccus. I hate to harp on this but I have trouble understanding why Kellerman's work continues to be plagued by proofreading errors. As a college teacher I have graded thousands of papers and have an eye for such things. MY OCD also comes in to play I'm sure. I counted six significant errors in this book. Not talking about grammar but simple typos that should have been caught. You would think that a major author and publisher would have the resources to ensure this does not happen. I can either conclude they do not place an emphasis on this or those employed to carry out this function are not up to the task. To those it may concern: I am retired and available should you need an extra set of eyes. This book will feed the hunger of those of us who crave a Decker/Lazarus novel. I highly recommend it.

Peter Decker left the LAPD for a quiet police life in upstate NY. But it never seems to be that way. When a badly beaten body of a young man is discovered in a wooded section of Greenbury, Peter becomes entangled in this mystery as well as one from the past. As Faulkner put it – The past is never dead. It’s not even past. With Rina’s (his wife’s) help, Peter discovers a twenty-year-old robbery that may be linked to this current killing. The questions are then how and why – if he is to learn who did this. The mystery is slowly revealed, as in any good police procedural. But it is made more complex because the crime not only involves years but different jurisdictions and people who do not want to revisit the past. The ending is a gasp out loud scenario with a satisfactory follow-up about the characters. Highly recommended.

I have been a fan of Faye Killerman since she first wrote The Ritual Bath in 1986. I think the Decker/ Lazarus Novels are one of the best in true crime scene fiction that are out there today.In all her books Faye Killerman brings you into the mind of detective Peter Decker as he puzzles out crime scenes and with the help of his team and the analytical mind of his wife figures out how and why a crime was committed. As a reader I have thought by the end of the book I had the case solved, but with Faye Killerman that never hapoens, there is always one small hidden fact that Shaw's up in the last few pages that changes everything. In Walking Shadows the 25th book in the Decker/Lazarus series, Peter Decker is trying to solve to murder mysteries at once. He thinks a 20 year old case ( that has been solved) is related to the murder of two young boys he is trying to solve now. As always though though many twists and turns Peter Decker and his team solve the case but they don't get their man.

I bought this book because I've read every one of Kellerman's books since the "Ritual Bath" story that started it all. But they're really going downhill. I guess I just want to find out what happens to Peter and Rina and their family. But few of their family members actually feature in this book. I did like how Cindy played a small but important part in the story. In this book, Decker is on the case of a body found in his jurisdiction, but whose connections are all part of the neighboring town. Oddly, this neighboring town has never been mentioned in any previous book, but it's right next door and conveniently has all kinds of lowlife missing in Peter and Rina's retirement idyll. There are so many characters, and so many sub-plots across generations, that the story is hard to follow. The narrator admits this at least twice in the book ("there are too many pieces") and even at the end it's clear that there is no wrap-up or real ending to some of the loose ends. One of the strongest new characters kind of falls off the face of the earth at the end of the story. The usual problems with Kellerman's later books are of course present: poor editing, grammar errors, extra/missing words. She also has continuity errors such as a man who is handcuffed to the table, crossing his arms and leaning back on the next page. And there's a nauseating brag/mention of her husband's novels (the Alex Delaware series) - i.e. characters in "Walking Shadows" talk about how "terrific" those books are. I don't mind a passing reference to other authors' work (e.g. the mention of the "Gone" series in the "Ashfall" series) but when it's Faye about her husband, and the books in question are also mediocre, and it's repeated again a few pages later - then it becomes annoying. (EDITED TO ADD - I'd forgotten this until I read the other reviews, but the shout-out about Alex Delaware was extra bad because he was a "real" person to Decker in a previous book. Sheesh.) Peter is as usual a driven homicide investigator and there are some interesting side bits about turf wars in the police departments. Rina helps out by constantly providing food and then key insights and library research. It's in some ways the same book we've read many times, which I would mind a lot less if it weren't so confusing this time. :) The truth is, I'm going to keep buying and reading and complaining about this series. I'd rather not have to complain so much, and a bit of editing would go a long way.

I have read every Decker Lazarus novel, in the past 2 - 3 years. It has fun to go back to investigate crimes and crime solving that happened in LA before the internet and cell phones, before the Century Freeway was completed, before development was so prevalent in the Antelope Valley, before DNA use was perfected to help solve crimes, etc. I also love that Peter and Rena moved from LA to a smaller town in Vermont, that can use his/their crime solving expertise. I also understand not all crimes are cleanly solved. But this one, with murders 20 years apart, a neighboring police chief caught in a web of lies from his younger years, a young detective who is sidelined because of the same police Chief, and some shady small time criminals, in and out of prison, couldn't give him, nor us, the final answers we craved. I had hoped the series did not end on this book. I understand another Decker Lazarus tome is due in January 2021. Already preordered.

Just finished this read for the third time. For perspective, I never do that, never even a book twice. I love Ms. Friedman's books. Peter and Rina are great characters and I just keep coming back! I very seldom enjoy series books, either, but I've read this entire series twice.... And guess what I'm reading next? Yup... The next Decker/Lazarus book. I do love one other series, and that's the Dr. Alex Delaware series, written by Jonathan Kellerman, husband of Faye Kellerman. I'm reading this series again, also. Wonderful, exciting books! I'm waiting impatiently for more!!!

Truly enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced, a quick read but in-depth enough to hold my interest - could hardly put it down. I enjoyed the brief reference to Alex Delaware in this book as a brief chuckle aside. As always, I appreciate the continued references to the important mention of Jewish values and traditions to expand my knowledge of the faith. Only problem is - now I have to wait months for the next book release. Please keep the books coming as it is one of my favorite series.

I enjoyed this book. I've read every one of these. And hope Faye keeps writing.

Great book for a cool summer day, Faye always has twists and turns that keep you turning the pages! Thanks

Die Idee, die letzten Jahre seines Dienstes als Polizist in einer Gegend zu verbringen, die deutlich friedlicher ist, als Los Angeles hat sich für Peter Decker und seine Frau bisher als weitestgehend illusorisch erwiesen. Es scheint beinahe so, als ob der Umzug der Deckers nach Greenbury die mörderischen Instinkte der Bewohner dieser Gegend extra befeuert hat. Und so stößt Peter bei Ermittlung um Vandalismus mit Bezug auf Briefkästen auf die Leiche eines jungen Mannes, dem offensichtlich der Schädel eingeschlagen worden ist. Zunächst einmal sind natürlich die mit Baseballschlägern ausgestatteten Vandalen aus dem Nachbarort Hamilton im Visier der Ermittlungen, was eine frühe Kontaktaufnahme mit dem dortigen Polizeirevier bedingt - und dann die Tochter des dortogen Polizeichefs in Peters Ermittlerteam spült. Und der muss sich fragen, was eine junge Polizist zu Beginn ihrer Karriere aus Philadelphia nach Hamilton verschlagen haben könnte - und warum ihr Vater sie ihm aufsattelt. Die Ermittlungen selbst gehen sehr sprunghaft voran, denn es scheint viele auf den Toten bezogene Personen zu geben, von denen sich eine auch noch schnell als vermisst herausstellt. Und in deren Haus machen die Ermittler eine grauenhafte Entdeckung. Der Fall entwickelt sich langsam und läuft auch des Öfteren mal in die Irre - wie man es bei einem solchen Fall, der zum Teil sehr weit zurückreichende Wurzeln hat, erwarten muss. Das lässt die ganze Geschichte ziemlich glaubhaft wirken. Genau, wie einige am Ende offenbleibende Fragen. Ich hoffe mal, dass in den Folgebänden Lennie Baccu, die junge Ermittlerin aus Hamilton, weiter eine Rolle spielen wird.

From the minute I started reading I was hooked, I couldn't put the book down, the story just got better and more complex as it unfolded, I can't wait for the next book, it was wonderful. Not so much in this book about the Deckers extended family, I missed that. Thank you Ms Kellerman for yet another outstanding book.

It was a clever story but there were too many people. I almost needed to draw a chart & that weakened the strength intensity. shame