Book Review: Street Dreams

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Street Dreams     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Faye Kellerman
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Ethnic   Police Procedural
Series: Peter Decker / Rina Lazarus # 15
Warner, Aug 2003, $25.95, 420 pp.

While on duty, LAPD Police Officer Cindy Decker finds an abandoned infant in a dumpster. The SOP is clear on this scenario detectives take over seeking the mother. However, Cindy, who is a good cop though only a couple of years on the force, has one fault as far as the brass is concerned. She refuses to pass on a case.

Cindy makes inquiries seeking the missing mother, as she believes the individual is a rape victim, but no one else jumps to that conclusion. However, when the case takes a dangerous twist, Cindy turns to the one member of the brass she trusts, her father LAPD Lieutenant Peter Decker.

Fans of the series will appreciate the latest entry that provides a police procedural with the protagonist being an orthodox Jew trying to belong yet not be assimilated in modern America. The investigation uses too much coincidence to move it forward though readers will enjoy following Cindy’s actions and perseverance. The religious angle, as in previous tales especially starring her mom Rina Lazarus, always grips the audience and this time with the daughter, remains intriguing. Faye Kellerman’s readers will delight in STREET DREAMS because the heroine is a chip off of two popular blocks.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner