Review of "The Lost Boys: A Decker/Lazarus Novel" by Faye Kellerman

 

In this 26th book in the 'Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus' series, former LAPD homicide detective Peter Decker - who's close to retirement age - is now working for the Greensbury Police Department in upstate New York.



Peter's detective partner is Tyler McAdams, a Harvard Law School graduate who's preparing for the Bar Exam.



And Peter's wife Rina, as always, gives advice about her husband's cases and prepares delicious kosher meals and snacks.



The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a plus.

*****

As the story opens an intellectually disabled man named Bertram Lanz disappears from a field trip organized by his 'Loving Care' assisted living facility. The residents were taken on a gentle hike, then to a diner, after which Bertram failed to return to the bus.





Detective Decker and his team scour the woods near the diner, but find no sign of Bertram. While searching for the missing man, however, the police find the remains of a college student named Zeke Anderson, who vanished ten years ago. Zeke and two of his college buddies had gone camping, and never returned. Finding Zeke's bones, which have sustained severe damage, leads to new inquiries about the three missing students.



Meanwhile, Decker and McAdams interview the director and residents of the Loving Care facility, and learn that Bertram was moved there from another home, where he had a girlfriend named Catherine.



Moreover, Bertram had been friendly with a Loving Care nurse named Elsie, who recently quit.



Decker and McAdams want to speak to Catherine and Elsie, but this is easier said than done.

As all this is happening, Decker's wife Rina has a little drama of her own. Peter and Rina's foster son Gabe, a 24-year-old concert pianist.....



.....got a call from his biological mother, a manipulative woman who probably wants something. Gabe asks Rina to accompany him to see his mom, and Rina agrees.

It's always a treat to visit with favorite characters but this book is disappointing. The narrative consists largely of Decker and McAdams going here and there to interview people again and again, which gets a bit dull. Moreover, of the three plotlines, only one is completely resolved. On the upside, Peter and Rina plan a rather significant change in their lives, which may well play out in future books.

Rating: 3 stars