โ Scribed by Faye Kellerman
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
The brutal murder of Dr. Azor Sparks in an alley behind a restaurant is greeted with public outrage and a demand for swift, sure justice. But the investigation into the well-known surgeon's death is raising too many questions and providing too few answers for homicide detective Lieutenant Peter Decker.
Why, for example, would the family of a man so beloved respond to his slaying with more surprise than grief? And what linked a celebrated doctor with strict fundamentalist beliefs to a gang of outlaw bikers? But the most unsettling connection of all is the one that ties the tormented Sparks family to Peter Decker's ownand the secrets shared by a renegade Catholic priest . . . and Decker's wife, Rina Lazarus.
Dr. Azor Moses Sparks is an extremely esteemed heart surgeon, a devout fundamentalist Christian, a cyclist, a friend of biker gangs; a friend to all. Until he is found dead in an alley with his chest ripped open, that is. Where does one go to begin in the investigation of a man who had no enemies? Lt. Peter Decker starts with the man's family, which he discovers is large and filled with strife and unstable characters. He also finds some problems in his own affairs, mostly involving religious beliefs--his own, those of his Orthodox Jewish wife and those of a Roman Catholic priest who plays a prominent role in the multilayered thriller.
Powerful, assured and absorbing, Kellerman's ninth Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus (Sanctuary; Justice) mystery begins with the brutal murder and mutilation of renowned heart surgeon, researcher and fundamentalist Christian Azor Sparks. LAPD Lieutenant Decker gets the call. He also gets an abundance of suspects. First there is Sparks's large family: his wife, Dolores, and six adult children, including triplets (Paul, Luke and Abram, a Catholic priest), and their assorted spouses. Then there are the victim's surgical and research colleagues and his unlikely biking buddies. Religion and morality are integral to Kellerman's mysteries?built on the bedrock of the Deckers' orthodox Judaism. Here she deftly casts her net around the commanding victim, whose shadow lay equally over family and colleagues, and his son, the theologian Father Abram, whose past connection with Rina may force Decker off the case. Human strengths and frailties, decisions made or not made and mistakes overcome or yet to be reckoned with provide the material that Decker must sift through to find the murderer. As his competent staff (Marge Dunn among them) launch their probes in all directions, they uncover a catalogue of motives that may relate to Sparks's murder and to another that follows. Kellerman succeeds brilliantly in making the search for understanding as compelling as the search for the murderer. 100,000 first printing; audio rights to Brilliance.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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