The Mercedes Coffin

(review of an uncorrected proof) I opened The Mercedes Coffin, read the first couple of pages, and sighed happily. It was like sitting down with a good friend you haven't seen in a while, or slipping on an old, comfortable shoe. Not that the story wasn't exciting; it was - very much so. But, it felt so GOOD to be reading about the Deckers again.

Teacher Ben Little was killed, stuffed in the trunk of his Mercedes, and the car was abandoned in a park. His murder was never solved. When Primo Ekerling is killed the same way, fifteen years later, one of Little's students wonders if there isn't a connection. Now a billionaire, the student offers to donate lots of cash to the LAPD if they will solve both murders. The case goes to Decker.

What show more can I say about Kellerman that hasn't already been said in many other reviews? She's a wonderful writer, easily conveying the emotions of her characters with her words. You feel Decker's concern, Rina's fear and exasperation as Decker risks his life yet again. You get a realistic view of the time it takes to solve many crimes and the tedious legwork that goes into getting that solution. In fact, this last is one of the things that really impressed me about this book. So many police procedurals have cases solved so quickly, it's a little unrealistic. Kellerman makes a point of letting us know that weeks and months are passing before we reach the final, heart-pounding scene.

This book is a must read for those who have followed Peter and Rina all these years. It is also a good story for those who haven't met the Deckers yet. All in all, it's a good read for anyone who appreciates a good police procedural. show less

Peter Decker is asked to investigate a fifteen year old murder that is now a cold case, that of a very popular guidance counselor from a Los Angeles school who was found in the trunk of his Mercedes shot in the back of the head execution style. Interest in the case has been raised because someone else has been murdered in the same fashion and found in the trunk of their Mercedes.

I enjoy reading about the Decker and Lazarus family as much as I enjoy the mystery. The only fault I found with this book is that Rina Lazarus did not play as important a role in this book as she has in others I've read. But that said, I enjoyed "The Mercedes Coffin" very much and it kept me turning pages until the end.

Old unsolved murder cases seem to have caught the public’s imagination during the past few years, as evidenced by the success of the television series Cold Case on CBS and a spate of recent novels by Stephen White, Edna Buchanan, and others. The genre benefits from the current forensics craze started by bestselling novelist Patricia Cornwell, in that forensics is often involved in closing old crime files. Like archaeology of a lost civilization, cold cases can reveal a lot of evidence without providing the essential pieces needed for a solid conclusion, and it is this aspect that makes them such rich pallets for the writer’s art.

Now comes Faye Kellerman. In her newest novel, The Mercedes Coffin, the 15-year-old homicide of a beloved show more high-school teacher is reopened at the behest of a former student who, having grown up to become a highly successful entrepreneur, offers the Los Angeles Police Department a large monetary donation on the condition that they solve the case. As cold cases go, the evidence is stale, and those involved have moved on--some to the graveyard themselves.

The case lands on the desk of Lieutenant Peter Decker, a character familiar to Faye Kellerman fans. Decker and his team begin collecting as much information as they can by reviewing the case files and interviewing the variety of people involved first hand: the original detectives, the family and acquaintances of the victim, and anyone who might have had a beef with him. This, of course, is what you’d expect from such a story, but Kellerman breathes life into the aged police-procedural genre by engaging the reader in the thinking process. She places you in the squad room, the squad car, and anyplace where the detectives mull over what they know, what they don’t know, and their various speculations over what might have happened; thus, the story unfolds clue by clue, allowing you to solve the case with the cops. And if that isn’t enough to hold your attention, the slew of daft characters—the beautiful widow with a grubby past, bad-boy musicians, sleazy music producers, burnt-out cops, and an assortment of lowlifes—compels you to turn the page to see what’s next. (Kellerman fans should be aware, however, that although the book is billed as a Decker and Lazarus novel, the character Rina Lazarus, Decker’s wife, has only a low-key supporting role in this go-around.)

As much as I liked the story, two structural flaws annoyed me a bit: The character Genoa Greeves, the former student of the victim who induces the police to reopen the case, is described in great detail, given the whole of the first chapter, but contributes nothing of substance after that. She’s brought back in at the middle of the story and again at the end, but manages only to stall the plot. Her function is that of a prime mover, and would have fulfilled that role better by being relegated to a brief prologue without further involvement in the story. Secondly, this is one of those novels in which the narrative ends without revealing whodunit, and is wrapped up in the last chapter with a conversation between two of the characters. I’ve always felt that resolving a story in this way lacks skill, and I suspect the technique stems more from deadline desperation than literary considerations. Neither is a fatal flaw, however, and I expect this book to be well received. I found The Mercedes Coffin an enjoyable read. show less

Note: This review is of a pre-publication version in the Early Reviewer program.

I LOVE Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus books and have read all 16, but The Mercedes Coffin doesn’t really belong in the series. Unlike the previous books in the series, Rina plays a minor, almost insignificant part in this novel, as do the others in the Decker/Lazarus family: Hannah, Cindy, Jacob and Samuel.

The Mercedes Coffin lacks the warmth, heart and flavor of the other books in the series. It’s missing the Orthodox Judaism theme, as well as the side plots involving the Decker/Lazarus family characters, which make these novels so appealing to me. Without them, Peter becomes just a cop pursuing a cold case involving a long, confusing list of suspects, show more snitches, and witnesses. It’s not a bad story but Kellerman leaves the Decker/Lazarus fan unsatisfied. Sure hope her next book makes up for the Mercedes Coffin. show less

This is not one of the best one of the Rina Lazarus and Peter Decker series. In fact it might one of my least favorite. Not because its not good, but its was a mostly average read whereas much of the series has been fantastic. In this installment, Peter takes on a cold case that has been dug up due to a recent murder. His daughter, Cindy, shows up some to help, but Rina wasn't in the story much (and she was sadly missed). Most of it seems to be a pretty standard mystery, but at least the ending was exciting and yet believeable unlike many mysteries. It was okay, but I wished I could have liked it more.

Faye Kellerman’s latest novel features the engaging Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus duo she created in The Ritual Bath. Pete’s challenge in this novel is a fifteen year old very cold case revived by an eccentric billionaire, Genoa Greeves. Money talks, and the department snaps to attention to work on the execution-style slaying of the only teacher who gave words of encouragement to the awkward nerd during her high school years. Genoa was struck by the similarity of a current case to the one that took the life of her teacher. Initially the cases don’t appear to be related, but as the novel progresses, the relationship between the cases grows and fades and grows as Peter, his crack team of Marge Dunn and Scott Oliver, and his daughter show more Cindy Kutick, follow the clues through a forest of music producers, gamblers, former detectives and rappers to solve the crime. Along the way, the detectives working the current case and Peter and his team clash over territory, with Cindy, the newly minted detective, caught in the middle.
The mystery is well-crafted, but the relationships of Rina, Peter, Cindy and Hannah don’t receive as much attention as in prior novels. Rina, in particular, has been relegated to a supportive wife role rather than the active part she has played on occasion in the past. Hannah is growing up, learning to drive and plays a minor role in the novel. Cindy receives more attention since she works with the detectives assigned to the current case and provides information to help her Dad sort out the connections with the cold case. Although the character of Genoa Greeves spurs the plot into action, she only appears a couple of times later in the book after being featured in the first chapter.
Kellerman captures the sound and the rhythm of the rappers speaking in her dialogue, and differentiates the voices. The characters are very diverse and well developed, and range from a gambling ex-wife, a street kid rescued by his grandmother, a former detective that “eats his gun” and more. It’s a great read for the beach! show less

The Mercedes Coffin, by Faye Kellerman.
Advance Readers' Edition

Well, it finally happened. I found a book I simply could not finish. This is a first for me and I've read some pretty "interesting" stuff over the years. I struggled through more than half of it and found myself repeatedly reluctant to pick it up and finish it. Kellerman's books are usually pretty good, albeit occasionally pedantic. But, this one seemed to be nothing but investigation after investigation, talk and more talk, with nothing really happening. Reading it turned out to be more of a chore than a pleasure. I'm really disappointed. I hope it's a fluke and will be ready to try her again, someday, but for now . . . no.