Part of Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus, book 22
First published 2014
Peter Decker thought his days of investigating brutal crimes were behind him. The former LAPD detective lieutenant moved to upstate New York with his wife Rina Lazarus, seeking quiet retirement near their children. His new job with the Greenbury Police Department feels like a letdown after decades of Los Angeles homicide work. His young partner Tyler McAdams, a former Harvard student with attitude problems, only adds to his frustration. Then a cemetery break-in changes everything. Someone has stolen valuable Tiffany panels from a mausoleum, replacing them with clever forgeries. Before Decker can solve that puzzle, a college student turns up brutally murdered. The investigation pulls him into the shadowy world of elite academia, where prestigious colleges hide dangerous secrets. What starts as small-town crime spirals into international intrigue involving cold cases and killers who murder for pleasure. Decker must use every skill he learned during thirty years as a homicide detective. Even that experience might not be enough to survive what he uncovers in this seemingly peaceful college town.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller, detective, academic
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, fish-out-of-water, retired-detective
Setting: Greenbury, LAPD, New York, Tiffany
Period: Decades, Retirement
374 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow