Blindman's Bluff

Plenty of suspects but only shaky leads. That's the problem Lieutenant Peter Decker faces in the brutal slaying of a wealthy real-estate developer and his wife. The only survivor of the crime, one of the couple's sons, provides the first clue: he thinks the killers spoke Spanish. Further investigation points to an inside job. The best clue, however, comes from a blind court translator, who overhears two men discussing the crime during an unrelated trial. Eager to learn more about the men, the translator waylays a jurist, who happens to be Decker's wife, Rina Lazarus, to serve as his eyes, thereby pulling her into her husband's case and putting her life at risk. Kellerman nicely balances Decker's personal life his Jewish orthodoxy and his relationship with his wife and moody teenage daughter with his professional responsibilities as an LAPD homicide detective. Joined once again by his trusted sounding boards, detectives Oliver and Dunn, Decker is gradually able to weed through the suspects and put his many questions to rest. Another entertaining entry in the long-running series; sure to please Decker-Lazarus fans.--Zvirin, Stephanie Copyright 2009 Booklist

When billionaire developer Guy Kaffey, his wife and assorted employees are brutally murdered, police lieutenant Pete Decker investigates the motives and alibis of the remaining Kaffeys, while Rina, out on jury duty, is largely absent from the main plot. It's a fortuitous development: Mitchell Greenberg offers a slight shift in pitch for Rina, but he shines when capturing the tough-but-reasonable Decker, the gruff-but-romantic detective Scott, and the many members of a Mexican family, whose accented English he performs with subtlety and finesse. A Morrow hardcover (Reviews, Jun. 15). (Sept.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

In New York Times best-selling author Kellerman's (www.fayekellerman.net) 18th Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus title, following The Mercedes Coffin (2008), billionaire developer Guy Kaffey, his wife, and four employees are all murdered one night at his tightly guarded ranch. With the help of an eavesdropping blind court interpreter, Peter and Rina, now Peter's wife, work to uncover the killer's identity. Actor/narrator Mitchell Greenberg's (Sacred and Profane) performance is adequate, but he doesn't display enough variation in tone and voice for listeners to be able to differentiate easily among the many characters. For all suspense/thriller collections and Kellerman's many fans.-Ilka Gordon, Siegal Coll. of Judaic Studies Lib., Cleveland (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.