In a world full of uncertainty and fear there can be something very comforting about stories with familiar characters or familiar structure. Faye Kellerman skilfully balances a familiar formula with a creative, original story. The Lost Boys is the 26th book in the Decker/Lazarus “series”, but in this case that might be a misnomer. The characters are still fresh, exciting, and full of surprises, and there is really no bad place to jump into their stories. Any of the 26 novels can be read independently as a standalone or can be used as an entrance into the series.
Detective Peter Decker and his now-wife Rina Lazarus, who he met in Book 1, The Ritual Bath, released in 2007, are helping their foster son deal with complications in his life that stem from his biological parents. This is a good example, if you have read the series, you know how he became their foster son, but if you haven’t then you are told in this book that he is their foster son, and that information is certainly enough to understand the situations presented. If there is past information you need, you will get it.
At the same time, Decker and his detective partner Tyler McAdams are working a very unusual missing persons case involving adults who have special needs and are living in a residential care setting. Kellerman has her characters explore the moral and ethical implications of whether, as adults, they have the right to simply leave of their own accord, thus perhaps making this not a missing persons case after all. This interesting and unusual angle is handled respectfully and expertly in Kellerman’s hands.
The missing persons case, however, leads to a discovery of skeletal remains in the woods near where the possible disappearance occurred. These remains are part of an entirely separate missing persons case where young men had previously disappeared while on a camping trip.
New cases, cold cases, and family issues all pull Decker in separate directions as he struggles to try to be everything, and do everything, in all aspects of his life. Through this, he gets the opportunity to learn more about McAdams (who he clearly has a father/son bond with) and his background. Decker’s paternal instincts deepen as their partnership does the same.
Kellerman brings everything together in a well-crafted tale that is both fascinating and suspenseful. Rina plays a bit of a smaller role in this particular story, but her presence is certainly still felt. It seems like it has been quite some time since I read a book where most all of the characters (particularly the main characters) were likeable, kind, genuine people.
The Lost Boys is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Faye Kellerman returns with an atmospheric, fast-paced mystery set in bucolic upstate New York, full of unexpected twists and turns that build to a shocking and surprising end—the latest thrilling entry in her New York Times bestseller Decker/Lazarus series.
When Bertram Telemann goes missing from a local diner near Greenbury, the entire community of the small upstate New York town volunteers to search the surrounding woods in hopes of finding him. Bertram had been on a field trip with the staff and fellow residents of the Loving Care Home when he vanished.
When no trace of the man is found, the disappearance quickly becomes an official missing persons case and is assigned to detectives Peter Decker and his partner Tyler McAdams. As their investigation deepens, the seasoned Decker becomes convinced that Bertram hadn’t lost his way, but had left with someone he knew. Soon Decker discovers that Elsie Schulung, a recently fired nurse who had worked at the home, seemed to be especially interested in Bertram. But answers proves elusive when Elsie disappears and human blood is found in her kitchen.
But the complications are only beginning. While combing the woods, searchers discover the remains of one of three young men who had vanished during a camping trip. And for Decker, personal problems are adding pressure as well. After a ten-year absence, the biological mother of Decker’s and Rina’s foster son, Gabriel, has suddenly appeared in New York, children in tow, wreaking emotional havoc on the young man.
Juggling the personal and professional, a hot case and a cold case, Decker and McAdams race to find answers, sifting through cabinets of old files, a plethora of clues and evidence, and discouraging dead ends. As on-going searches for Bertram and the campers’ missing remains continue, the frustrated detectives begin to wonder if the woods will ever give up its dark secrets . . . and if these intertwining cases will be solved.
Rating: 2
Story line is great. The writing limps along at a droop. The writing stinks.