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    Murder 101: A Decker/Lazarus Novel
    Murder 101: A Decker/Lazarus Novel
    Murder 101: A Decker/Lazarus Novel
    Audiobook13 hours

    Murder 101: A Decker/Lazarus Novel

    Written by Faye Kellerman

    Narrated by Richard Ferrone

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    New York Times bestselling author Faye Kellerman's beloved Decker and Lazarus embark on a new life in upstate New York—and find themselves entangled in deception, intrigue, and murder in an elite, picturesque college town.

    As a detective lieutenant with the LAPD, Peter Decker witnessed enough ugliness and chaos for a lifetime. Now he and his spirited wife, Rina Lazarus, are ready to enjoy the quiet beauty of upstate New York, where they can be closer to their four adult children, grandchildren, and their foster son, Gabe.

    But working for the Greenbury Police Department isn't as fulfilling as Decker hoped. While Rina has adapted beautifully to their new surroundings, Decker is underwhelmed and frustrated by his new partner, Tyler McAdams, a former Harvard student and young buck with a bad attitude. Just when he thinks he's made a mistake, Decker is called to an actual crime—a possible break-in at the local cemetery.

    The call seems like a false alarm until it's discovered that a mausoleum's stunning Tiffany panels have been replaced by forgeries. Soon the case escalates into murder: a co-ed at an exclusive consortium of liberal-arts colleges is brutally slaughtered. Poking into the hallowed halls of academia to find a killer, Decker and McAdams are drawn deep into a web of nasty secrets, cold-case crimes, international intrigue, and ruthless people who kill for sport.

    Suddenly Decker's job is anything but boring, and the case might be too much to handle for a sleepy town that hasn't seen a murder for nearly a quarter century. Decker will need to use every bit of his keen mind, his thirty years of experience as a homicide cop, and much-appreciated help from family and old friends to stop a callous killer and uncover a cabal so bizarre that it defies logic.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateSep 2, 2014
    ISBN9780062332301
    Murder 101: A Decker/Lazarus Novel
    Author

    Faye Kellerman

    Faye Kellerman lives with her husband, New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman, in Los Angeles, California, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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    Reviews for Murder 101

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      Murder 101 is the latest entry in Faye Kellerman's long running Decker/Lazurus series. In fact it's number twenty two. Kellerman has aged her characters over the course of the series. Peter Decker has recently retired from the LAPD. He and his wife Rena Lazurus have moved to quiet Greenbury, NY to be closer to their grown children. Peter has taken a job with the Greenbury PD. But truthfully he's a bit bored - there's not a lot of crime in the town. A possible art forgery in a cemetery crypt seems pretty exciting. But when a body is found, Decker is back in his element. He has a new partner as well - a young man named Ryan, with no experience, and a bad attitude. I always enjoy the mystery in Kellerman's books and the path Decker takes to solve the cases. This one was good, but I did find the international connection to be a bit of stretch. But, the strength of this series is the characters. Rina and Peter are such engaging characters. I've enjoyed watching their relationship grow from their first meeting to this comfortable older stage. Their joy in each other, their love of their family, their faith and their convictions are wonderfully depicted. The title is a nod to Decker's attempts to teach young Ryan the basics of a investigation (and a little bit about life as well. Rina plays a larger role in Murder 101 - she's actually part of the investigation this time round. I like that path that Kellerman has chosen to take for Peter and Rina. I wonder if there will be further cases in Greenbury? And, as much as I enjoy the family aspect of this series (daughter Cindy has had her own book and I'm growing tired of foster son Gabe's issues), it is Peter and Rina I prefer to follow. With such a long running series, there are bound to be some books that are stronger than others. I thought this latest entry was a really good read.
    • 3/5
      I have missed the last two books in the Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus series, largely because they have been released since I started blogging and my reading time has rarely since been my own, so I jumped at the chance to rejoin the series with Murder 101.It’s been six months since Peter retired from the LAPD and he and Rina are now living in upstate New York, closer to their adult children. Peter is working for the local police force which is rarely troubled by anything more than drunken college students, while Rina has made herself at home within the community. When the body of a young coed is discovered brutally stabbed to death, Decker is the only member of the Greenbury Police with the experience to investigate. He quickly connects the dead woman to a recent theft from a crypt and, teamed with an obnoxious rookie, Tyler McAdams, Decker suddenly finds himself in the midst of a case involving stolen art, Russian assassins and international politics.I so enjoyed reconnecting with the characters of this series, I love that Kellerman has aged them in ‘real time’…it has been 27 years since The Ritual Bath was first published. The children Decker and Rina share, including foster son Gabe, are now grown up and on their own, Decker’s old partner Marg has left the LAPD for quieter pastures and Decker and Rina are adjusting to the changes their move has wrought.In this book Decker is partnered with Tyler McAdams, a Harvard graduate with a silver spoon in his mouth and a chip on his shoulder, who initially drives Peter crazy but eventually, with Decker’s gruff guidance, proves useful.I wouldn’t expect anything less from Kellerman than a well crafted mystery which requires shoe leather, rather than luck, to solve. Decker’s investigation is all about following leads, face to face interviews and a bit of hard earned cop instinct. The murdered girl is the first homicide to occur in Greenbury in twenty years so it makes sense that Decker is placed in charge, and in his usual bulldog manner, Decker is determined to solve the case even when his life, and Rina’s and Tyler’s, are threatened.Murder 101 is another well paced, solid installment in the Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus series, which is likely nearing its conclusion, but proves that Decker isn’t quite ready to give up his badge just yet.
    • 3/5
      I have to admit, I love a good Faye or Jonathan Kellerman book. I’ve followed Peter and Rina Decker since the beginning of the series and loved every minute of it. Unfortunately this one just didn’t do it for me.

      Actually that’s not true, I was into it right up until the last third of the book. And then it all fell apart.

      In this book, Peter has retired from the LAPD and taken a job with a small town police department in upstate NY so they can be closer to their kids who have all moved out to the East Coast.

      He takes on a new partner, a spoiled rich kid who went to Harvard and only got on the force because his dad called in a favor with the Mayor. The only good thing is the repartee between them and I wouldn’t mind seeing the kid show up in future books.

      Despite his attitude, Peter manages to mentor him and get him to come down off his high horse. But in the middle of ho hum, Greenbury, NY, Decker gets called in to investigate some stolen artwork, which ends up being a bigger deal than they thought, and part of a bigger investigation of stolen Russian artwork. Then, as usual, people start being murdered.

      Faye had to do an incredible amount of research for this one, especially on Russian artwork, government deals between countries related to priceless artwork, and all the intricacies regarding well known works of art in general and I give her kudos for all of that work. Sadly, it all went completely over my head. Way too many details that just didn’t make sense to me.

      I was also left feeling like they didn’t really resolve anything and that the people responsible were never really brought to justice. There was a lot of alluding to who it was, and that it was “handled” by the Russian government, but there was no real closure for me because it all happened off the page.

      I even went back and re-read the last part of the book and I still didn’t really understand what the resolution was and who the true killer was. Peter did a lot of speculating, but nothing was confirmed, at least not outright.

      Rina also gets more involved in this one, and despite her fun, snappy comebacks to the men on the case, she ends up having way more say in the investigation than seems realistically plausible, for someone not on the police force. Not to mention she verbally takes on the Russian government…. really?

      I will definitely read another Kellerman book (Faye or Jonathan) but let’s hope the next one is way less complicated and has a better resolution.
    • 4/5
      Murder 101 is another in the Decker/Lazarus series from Faye Kellerman and will likely satisfy most of her fans (thus 4 stars from me rather than 3) but is unlikely to win her any new readers.The story and plot were fine for the most part and of course Peter and Rina were, well, Peter and Rina. I liked the new young 'partner' Decker was stuck with. I think, for me, what just didn't fit was the location. Not the actual logistics of the location but the disconnect in my mind from Los Angeles to a small town in New York. There were a few too many references to his big city past which only made me long for the story to be taking place there.As usual Kellerman's writing is wonderful and her characters are compelling. I think I would have been happier if this had been a new series with a new couple retiring to a small town. While the characters would have had the baggage from their past I would not have had it and could have appreciated the story a little more.Having sounded so disappointed I would still recommend this book to readers of the genre whether you are familiar with Decker and Lazarus or not. I don't know that it will make you want to read more of Kellerman but it probably wouldn't keep you from being willing to either. Read some of the earlier books in the series to experience Peter and Rina in their more 'natural' element.Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads.
    • 3/5
      In the 22nd book of this series, recently retired LAPD Detective Lieutenant Peter Decker and his wife Rina Lazarus have left Los Angeles and moved to Greenbury, a small town in upstate New York, to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Decker has gone to work for the town's police department, but unlike the constant stream of murders, drive-by shootings, robberies, etc. in Los Angeles, life is quite dull. His young partner, Tyler McAdams, is a Harvard graduate taking time off before starting law school.

      Suddenly, it seems a real crime has been committed in their town. There has been a theft in the local cemetery. One of the mausoleums was fitted with four priceless Tiffany panels, but now two of the four that are present prove to be fake. That same day, a young woman, a student of fine arts at a local college, has been brutally murdered. Their investigation reveals that she had made the fake Tiffany panels and somehow replaced the originals with her forgeries. But she had to have had help. Soon, a young man is found violently stabbed to death. Decker and McAdams continue to interview staff at nearby colleges and museums, all in an effort to learn who would have an interest in acquiring the original Tiffany panels.

      Murder 101 is an interesting mystery, set largely in an appealing small town, but with side trips to Boston and New York City. While Decker is a well-known character to readers, it is Tyler McAdams that steals the show, with a wicked attitude that livens up the story line. He comes from a wealthy family, and postponing law school to work as a policeman just riles his father. I felt like the aging of the main characters had started to make this a less interesting series. This is a good example of how a change in venue and the addition of a new character can refresh a long-running series. I was getting ready to write the series off after so many years, but I think I'll check out the next book and see if the improvements hold.
    • 5/5
      When I was working and/or driving more I listened to the books of both Kellermans in the car. This is the first I've read in years and I found it riveting. Peter Decker has retired from the LAPD and he and Rina have moved to upstate New York to be nearer all their children. Peter takes a job in a small town and is partnered with an entitle Harvard grad who is delaying law school. Everybody finds him obnoxious, but Peter....at the urging of Rina makes an effort with the young man. Suddenly a theft from a local cemetery become a brutal double murder and Peter, without the resources of LAPD, has a vicious crime that may involve international art thieves and federal agents. Loved the mystery as well as the family dynamics and Rina not stepping back from the alphabet soupers. After all, she was shot at.
    • 3/5
      The ending was just terrible! It really irritated me! The story was going along great & then it just like stopped. It was like she just ran out of time & just threw together a 2 min ending. It just didnt fit. I felt like I was left with alot of loose ends and unanswered questions. Also, there were several times when i found myself drifting off. It felt like she kept rehashing the same old "blue-blood" issues about Tyler & his attitude and position in the dept. etc. etc. etc.. I thought that could have been cut down substantially plus if I hear "old man" one more time Im going to scream!!!
    • 4/5
      Peter Decker and Rena Lazarus have moved to Greenbury in upper New York State to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Lazarus has gotten very involved in the Hillel program at the consortium of five liberal arts colleges. Decker has joined the Greenbury Police Department whose main activities are much quieter than those at his former job as a detective lieutenant with the Los Angeles Police Department.While he was looking forward to the simpler life (the village hasn’t had a murder in more than twenty years), Decker is having second thoughts especially when he meets his new partner, Tyler McAdams. McAdams, fresh out of Harvard and making sure that everyone knows how smart and privileged and independent he is, has alienated all the other members of the force. His main reason for joining the force is to aggravate his wealthy and well-connected father who is demanding that he graduate from Harvard Law School. (Later on, we learn there are reasons for both of their attitudes.) McAdams doesn’t want to learn CPR or shoot a pistol or do much of anything involved with actual police work. He thinks it’s too far below his status.But things change when the department gets a call about a new lock on a mausoleum in the local cemetery. It turns out that two of the four original Tiffany windows in the structure have been replaced with not-very-good reproductions. As they try to determine what happened to the windows, they are faced with the brutal murder of a student in one of the colleges. They look to see if she has any connection to the theft and, eventually, discover another brutal murder and connections with other thefts both nearby and internationally.Lazarus’s observations along with the help of two of Decker’s former associates, help him solve the crimes.MURDER 101 discusses a lot about art theft, a rather popular subject in recent literature, particularly what happens to the items after they are stolen. While this book is one of a series, it is not necessary to have read the previous ones to appreciate it. Kellerman is back in her usual fast-paced, informative, well-written form with interesting characters and situations, though McAdams would not be able to be part of any police department in a larger environment.
    • 3/5
      Peter Decker has retired, and now he and his wife, Rina, live in upstate New York and he has joined that small town police department. His big-city homicide experience comes into use when artwork is stolen and two people are viciously murdered.
    • 4/5
      Decker is back -- predictably a little bored in his retiree job as a small town detective after the LA homicide department. He has a really obnoxious new partner to break in, however, and in doing so (read, doing his job very thoroughly as an example to said partner) discovers an unusual art theft in the local cemetary. This leads to murder and the case quickly escalates from there. I enjoyed it thoroughly -- from the research in the reading rooms to the family stories to the new characters and setting.

      I agree that the geography is very weird and more than a little off. It's quite difficult to pinpoint where Greenbury would actually be.

      Advance Reader's copy provided by Edelweiss.
    • 3/5
      It’s always nice to see characters develop over time in a series of novels. And this one takes the Decker family away from California and they are now living in upstate New York. Talk about displacement. Decker is still working; now for the Greenbury Police Department and is partnered with a rookie with a chip a chip on his shoulder. When Tiffany glass panes are stolen from a cemetery crypt, Decker and his partner investigate. Then people are being murdered and Decker must use everything in his arsenal to find out why and who. Changing the location for a cast of characters they this reader has come to enjoy makes one think that new surprises are in store. This novel doesn’t disappoint. I enjoyed it but it wasn’t one of the best in the series.
    • 4/5
      A new setting for the Deckers in Greenbury, located in upstate New York, with new characters, one particularly young, obnoxious and challenging, and some of the old gang. Because the town is small and remote, Peter's job with the local police dept is nothing like his work with LAPD, and he is frustrated and bored until an art theft is detected in a local cemetery. The case takes a deadly turn and Peter takes the lead in investigating as he has the most recent experience. Very exciting, especially Rina playing a larger role this time around. Good quick compelling read.
    • 2/5
      My least fav in the Decker/Lazerus series.

      I rate it 2.5 stars
    • 2/5
      Way too many characters, visits to the same territory, delving into Russian history and iconography. Not interesting enough to remember the storyline from session to session.
    • 3/5
      Pretty good - a bit of a letdown at the end... like she was rushed. The book also needed some better copyediting - found quite a few errors.
    • 1/5
      The narrator, just couldn't handle that constipated whisper, never made it past 3rd chapter.
    • 5/5
      New locus, upstate NY as seen from a map by a Los Angelino, new role and partner but still a good story line. Art theft, brutal murders, good Jewish cooking and lore as Decker educates and is similarly educated by his laconic, sardonic Harvardian colleague. Rina gets to do the Nero Wolfe thing to wrap it up. Hopefully, the author got closer to the art described than the internet.
    • 3/5
      Peter and Rina have moved to New York State in his retirement, where his job has become a bit stultifying. After some Tiffany panedls are stolen from a cemetery and at least two murders seem to be tied to the theft, their lives become more exciting--and dangerous. Peter's sidekick, a wealthy young intern, is thoroughly dislikeable at the beginning, and actually provides the best interest of the book. I couldn't get past the geographical inaccuracies--there's no place in New York State that's closer to Boston than Manhattan and only an hour from Rhode Island--but the action moves quickly along to a satisfying conclusion.
    • 4/5
      Detective Peter Decker, now living in New York and working at a less-demanding police job than his former career in LA was, finds himself ensnared in an ever-challenging case. What starts out as an apparent theft in a cemetery escalates into murder. Working with a new partner, an upstart rich kid that no one else wanted to be partnered with, Decker is suddenly back on the job with a vengeance. The only disappointing aspect of the book was the conclusion, both with the writing – as if the author suddenly got tired of her own creation – and with the way that justice was meted out. Still, there was much to enjoy in this mystery, great characters we’ve come to love and an intriguing plot, right up until almost the very end.
    • 3/5
      Kind of a disappointment. This is one of my favorite series'. In this installment the Deckers have retired and changed coasts. Peter is working for a small police force in New York when a gruesome murder occurs and he is drawn in. I didn't care for his new partner(?) and there were so many theories that I was confused. Then in the last 15 pages everything was neatly wrapped up.