The Theory of Death

Transplanted LAPD detective Decker and his sidekick McAdams investigate two suspicious deaths in a small upstate NY college. There, the competitive environment and academic turf wars make just about everyone a suspect. That's the part that kept me guessing but what kept my interest were the detectives themselves; the banter between them along with Decker's wife Rina's insightful observations. Overall I'm not a big fan of police procedurals but this book may have just changed that.

I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways. (le

I liked this one more than the last one. Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus are settling in to their new quiet life in a college town in upstate NY, when a young Ph'D math student is found dead and naked in the woods, an apparent suicide. Kellerman takes us into the competitive world of academia, and the applications of math in the larger world. Peter and Rina continue to minister to their newest stray person, McAdams, who asks if he can study for his Harvard Law finals there, only to be drawn back into the detective business. When an untenured professor is found dead, and perhaps posed to look like the initial suicide, Peter and McAdams bore down. Their relationship continues to be a central tenet, somewhat diminishing Rina's role as show more Peter's conscience. I found the ending to this one more satisfying: one element was sadly predictable, while the second was quite clever. Peter still rocks. show less

Faye Kellerman always provides a good story, well told. Her main characters have taken roots in the fictional, sounds like Claremont, five college area of upstate New York. Rina and Decker stay interestingly committed to his work and her sense of religion and family. Tyler McAdams drops in from his Harvard Law studies and we learn a lot about Fourier transforms and the savagery of academic competition. Like Rina's cooking, a quite satisfying mystery to be consumed.

I love it when my mystery books teach me something -- this one is all about higher math and head injuries, and that's fascinating. Great mystery.

Decker with help from Tyler McAdams investigates the death of an outstandingly bright college student. It appears to be suicide but when another body is found in similar circumstances they believe both are murders.

I enjoy the way Faye Kellerman continues to keep Decker and Lazarus in character while further developing their lives keeping them fresh and current. And always quick-witted, nurturing of virtually everyone they meet, and still in love!

Good read!

This story was hard to get into. It had a lot of mathematical language that was hard to understand. The basic gist of the story is that a naked body is found and the police are not sure if it was a suicide or murder.
I would give the book a rating of 3 as it did not command my attention.

This was a great edition to the Decker/Lazarus novels. I loved the interaction of Peter Decker and Tyler McAdams. They play off each other beautifully. Then the book gets better when you throw in Decker's wife Rina. Keep more of the books like this one coming. Love the suspense and mystery.