Part of Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus, book 4
First published 2004
Peter Decker planned to enjoy his honeymoon with new wife Rina Lazarus in Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community. Those plans shatter when a local boy disappears. Noam, a troubled teenager, fled the religious strictures that felt suffocating to him. He wanted freedom from the tight bonds of his close-knit community. But Noam didn't escape alone. A psychopath has claimed the runaway as his companion, dragging the boy into a brutal world of violence and death. Now Decker must track them both across the country. The LAPD detective races against time to locate a killer and his young victim before blood is spilled. Somewhere in America, a confused and frightened teenager faces mortal danger. His only crime was yearning for something beyond his prescribed life. Decker fights to save Noam before the psychopath destroys an innocent boy whose sin was simply wanting more.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: race-against-time, small-town
Setting: Brooklyn, LAPD, United States
Period: Contemporary
373 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Harper Torch
Content warnings: violence