|
There is a comic strip that has been around forever. It's called "Judge
Parker" and it used to be about a character in the strip who had the same name. About
20 years ago or so, though, the strip introduced a character named Sam Driver, and since
then the strip has been pretty much about Sam and his girlfriend, now wife, Abby; and
except for an occasional appearance once every couple of years, Judge Parker has been in
chambers, so to speak. The strip probably should be renamed "Sam Driver," but I
have a feeling it will be called "Judge Parker" until it's no longer
published.
I think that it's possible that the same thing is happening in STALKER, the new novel by
Faye Kellerman. STALKER is labeled as "A Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus Novel," but
it isn't really. Sure, they flit through the book here and there. Decker gets to play
cavalry and Rina almost gets carjacked, but this isn't a Decker/Lazarus book. They,
unfortunately, are not the main attraction here. No; in STALKER Ms. Kellerman puts Cynthia
Decker in the spotlight.
Officer Cynthia Decker, that is; she's a first year rookie who, against the wishes of her
father, Lieutenant Peter Decker, has joined the force and wants to succeed without the
benefits that potential nepotism could bring her way. The problem is that who her daddy is
keeps getting in the way of her ability to establish a rapport with some of her fellow
officers. The result of this is that when Cindy begins to get the sense that she is being
stalked, she is not sure if it is some sort of hazing prank or if one of her fellow
officers has a serious mad-on towards her. There is certainly no lack of potential
suspects in either category.
And that is part of what makes STALKER a bit difficult to wade through. Now, complex plots
are good; and it's also good, methinks, to make the reader work a bit at trying to figure
things out. But there is just a bit too much going on here in addition to the mystery.
Cindy has a pretty complex life, with a father on the force; a stepmother who is also a
friend; a little sister; a mother; a mystery; and, unfortunately, a personality that makes
her a bit hard to take: Ms. Know It All with a chip on her shoulder who still expects the
squad to come to her rescue when she gets her posterior in the sling. I don't know if Ms.
Kellerman felt some pressure to give us a large chunk of Cindy right out of the gate, but
it was a little much. Cindy Decker might have gone down a bit easier if we had been given
a bit of her at a time.
Understand, now, this is not a bad book. It certainly starts off well, with a young mother
getting carjacked and doing exactly the right thing by avoiding a scenario in whcih she
would otherwise wind up as Crime Scene Number 2. The investigating officers feel that it
is one of a continuing series of similar crimes. As they begin to delve deeper into the
incidents, however, they note that they appear to be dealing with two separate sets of
actions. One involves a straight up series of carjackings, where the cowardly punks
involved target mothers with newborns. The other jackings, however, appear to be linked to
the murder of a land speculator who left a lot of investors holding the bag.
Cindy finds herself pursuing the carjacking end of the investigation, in part because of
her very tenuous connection to the speculator. Her path and her father's soon cross;
Lieutenant Decker is torn between the emotions he experiences as a loving, protective
father and his duty as a superior officer. At the same time a series of incidents directed
against Cindy escalate to the point that she is in fear for her life. She is on the one
hand afraid to tell her father, hoping to establish her independence; yet, failing to may
jeopardize both of their investigations.
Ms. Kellerman plays this conflict, and the others --- Cindy's difficulties with other
officers, and the perils of dipping the pen in the office ink, so to speak --- off quite
well. The problem, however, is that STALKER ultimately demonstrates that Peter Decker and
Rina Lazarus are far more interesting as characters than Cindy Decker is. Perhaps this
will change with future books. At this point, however, most readers familiar with this
series will prefer that in future Decker/Lazarus books Ms. Kellerman will feature those
characters more prominently and not relegate them to secondary roles.
---Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 1996-2009, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
Back to top.
|
