BLINDMAN'S BLUFF: A Decker and Lazarus Novel
Faye Kellerman
William Morrow
Mystery
ISBN: 9780061702327
Lieutenant Peter Decker is not one to be surprised by a phone call telling him that a homicide has taken place in his jurisdiction. But after so many years on the force, he knows a 3 AM call means more than the usual trouble. When Decker is told of a multiple homicide at the estate of tycoon Guy Kaffey, he knows he will not be getting any more sleep that night. The Coyote Ranch murders are at the center of BLINDMAN'S BLUFF, Faye Kellerman's latest novel, and once again she succeeds in marrying a crisp police procedural with the sympathetic characters of Peter Decker and his wife, Rina Lazarus.
Just before Decker gets the middle-of-the-night call informing him that at least four people have been shot at Coyote Ranch, Lazarus finds out she has been selected to sit on the jury of another Los Angeles criminal case. While there was seemingly no reason that Lazarus, despite being married to an LAPD homicide detective, should have been excluded from the jury, just days into the trial, a strange occurrence at the courthouse connects her to the case Decker is investigating.
The link between the two is a courtroom translator working on the case Lazarus is hearing. Odd and a bit creepy, Lazarus and some of the jurists she befriends call him “Smiling Tom” and write him off as a weirdo. But when he asks Lazarus to take a look at two men on whom he is eavesdropping, she is drawn into danger, and the translator, Brett Harriman, won't leave her or Decker alone.
Meanwhile, Decker and his team of seasoned detectives are deep into the investigation at Coyote Ranch. Who would've wanted Kaffey and his wife dead? Why was his son shot, and why were two bodyguards still missing? With a full staff of employees at the ranch, Decker and his crew have a lot of people to account for, and as they work, no motive becomes clear. There are too many family members who stand to inherit money and power, and it turns out that Kaffey was fond of hiring former gang bangers to work as his security detail. Decker and the others are pulled in a number of directions as they try to sort out what happened that night and why.
The story in this latest Decker/Lazarus book is intricate; there are many characters to keep track of, and much of the plot involves the legwork of the investigation. While Lazarus does take an active role in the investigation, as she sometimes does in this series, the marriage and family life of the couple remains merely in the background here. BLINDMAN'S BLUFF lacks some of the tension and drama of Kellerman's other novels, but the details, plotting and thoughtfulness of the book make up for what it lacks in pace and thrills. The characters are sometimes a bit flat or stereotypical, but readers looking for a mystery with a less than obvious conclusion and a couple of good twists will be satisfied.
Is BLINDMAN'S BLUFF the masterpiece of the series? Certainly not. But it’s another solid and crafty tale of murder and greed, good detective work and perseverance, and good guys versus the bad.
--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
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