Serpent's Tooth: A Peter Decker/rina Lazarus Novel (Peter Decker & Rina Lazarus Novels)

I love the way Faye gets you connected to the family. The mystery is well done, but the family dynamics are the reason I can’t put the book down. The killer’s family dynamics also. Human emotions are described so well so the reader is right there.

Serpent's Tooth was my first exposure to Faye Kellerman and her Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series and it really was excellent. Kellerman tells an excellent tale and fills it with realistic characters. In Serpent's Tooth Decker must solve a mystery that challenges his self-image and understanding of his relationship with Lazarus. While Decker is the street-smart cop and Lazarus is an orthodox Jewish wife who has no direct link the case, it is Lazarus who provides valuable contributions to Decker solving the case. Kellerman does spend considerable effort in character development and understanding relationships. However, that aspect complements rather than clashes with the mystery. The solution of the external mystery is dependent on the understanding of internal mysteries. The whole effect is mesmerizing.

I have read all of Kellerman's Decker/Lazarus series now and consider this one of the best. I agree with other reviews that Kellerman has a tendency to view women as almost inferior (other than her heroine) and that the men view the women in a "turned on" state. But, and there always is a "but", I've found that it's not unusual - in books or in life. So, let's take that with a pinch of salt and stick to the story and plot line. Terrific. I'm a great mystery buff and always look forward to a new Kellerman. I've recommended her writing to others who love the genre and will continue to look forward to more of her books. The restaurant killing scenario was fantastic and something I have never seen in other mysteries. I will continue to read her books and recommend them to others. They're certainly different and, in my opinion, better than her husband's! A great read all around.

The one issue i have with her books--it just doesn't seem like it's written by a woman. I keep thinking its a pseudonym. WHy? because every single time she describes a woman, it is sexualized as if seen through the eyes of a perpetually turned on guy. I guess it makes sense because she is trying to portray a certain earthiness in the cop dept, but it gets a bit depressing when even WOMEN authors can't describe a woman without describing how she physically affects all the men in her midst. I love her characters and story line but this gets very old. I have a feeling she might begin spinning off his daughter, and if she does and has her constantly objectifying the men around her, then I will withdraw my criticism! All I want is equal time! And her stories are more than compelling enough to carry interest without all the objectifying!

This is one of Faye Kellerman's best books. In "Serpent's Tooth," she continues the ongoing process of creating her main characters. In each book, we learn more anout the past of both central and minor regular characters. The mystery is a good one, although that is not the best part of the book. Cindy, Peter Decker's first daughter from a previous marriage, is drawn in closer to Peter and Rina's family, including Rina's son from a previous marriage. I do not want to give the plot away, but even when you know who the killer was, you do not know the motivation and the exact way in which it was accomplished. Faye Kellerman is a deft writer. Her touch is delicate but sure. So, nu, when is the next one out?

Faye Kellerman's latest in her series of Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus novel's "Serpent's Tooth," if not equal to her other books certainly surpasses them. Once again husband Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus are placed in another situation of mystery, murder and mayhem. The two are modern Orthodox Jews. Peter, born a Jew but brought up in a Christian home, met Rina in "The Ritual Bath," Faye's first book. Their courtship continued as Faye's Orthodox husband had leaving her to bring up her two boys. Decker, himself, went through a "conversion-learning process" in early novels. Their Jewishness is much apart of all the novels. "Serpent's Tooth" opens in a Los Angles restaurant where a mass murder ensues. Thirteen are dead and scores are wounded. The book is fast-paced, and a usual her characters are very realistic. The interpersonal relationships, Decker, his daughter Cindy, by his first marriage; Faye's two teenage boys by her first marriage; and Peter and Rina's daughter add much to the novel. There are a number of twists as one would expect in a murder novel but there are some pleasant ones in the personal relationships among the Deckers as well. Of course the horrible crime is solved but Kellerman leaves one open end concerning the family's future housing arrangements. Next on my reading agenda is her "Quality of Mercy" written a few years back, but not part of the series. Her 12th book, now in the works, also out of the loop is "Moon Music," that will be set in Las Vegas. Book #13, will bring Decker and Lazarus together again.