Product Description

From one of the finest sisters in crime ("Los Angeles Times") and a "New York Times" bestselling author comes a remarkable anthology of her best short writing, including two new Decker/Lazarus crime-fiction stories.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #582744 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Bestseller Kellerman's hardcore fans will welcome this eclectic volume, whose 17 selections include two new tales about her series husband-and-wife team, LAPD Lt. Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus; two stories with family themes, one coauthored with Kellerman's two daughters ("The Luck of the Draw"); and a pair of autobiographical essays, one a poignant tribute to her late father ("The Summer of My Womanhood"). Kellerman's short stories may lack the intricate plotting of her novels (Stone Kiss, etc.), but a typical effort like the title story, in which Decker notices some things out of place when a friend dies of an apparent heart attack, is never less than entertaining. Brief comments at the start of each entry provide context. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Kellerman may be best known for her Rina Lazarus-Peter Decker mysteries, but she's also written numerous short stories, 18 of which are collected in this rather varied anthology. Not all of the stories fall within Kellerman's usual crime beat. "Luck of the Draw," for example, a collaboration between Kellerman and her daughters (at the time, 11 and 15), is a pleasant tale in which a sudden windfall causes a close-knit family to reassess its economic priorities. On the other hand, "Mummy and Jack," which Kellerman wrote with her author-playwright son, Jesse, is a dark psychological thriller. Rina and Peter appear in several stories, and Kellerman includes a tale starring one of her first PI characters, Andrea Darling. Greed, dashed hopes, and boredom, occasionally leavened with a touch of humor, are the stuff of many others. A brief note about how each selection came to be heads each tale. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Faye Kellerman is the author of the bestselling Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus novels, as well as a thriller, Moon Music, and a historical novel, The Quality of Mercy. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Jonathan Kellerman, and their children.

Customer Reviews

A somewhat uneven, mixed bag of stories
Faye Kellerman's novels of crime and psychological turmoil have earned a permanent spot on my reading shelves, albeit I've noticed a general slide towards a flat, repetitive style in the last few novels. But now she is taking a slightly different turn with this collection of short stories from throughout her career.

Several of her stories feature her most popular characters, those of Peter Decker, and his wife, Rina Lazarus. Others feature historical figures, characters on the edge, and all sorts of human nature. There isn't any sort of linking theme here, just that they are stories by Kellerman, and several either co-written with or inspired by her children or husband. And as usual with short story collections, several are downright creepy, a few are very good, and one or two fall short of the mark.

The Garden of Eden
This one, and the next three, are stories that feature the Deckers, a married, Orthodox Jewish couple that are very real, and good to read about. In this one, Rina and Peter have a problem at home when Rina's indoor gardening starts to get out of hand. Mixed in with this is the death of an elderly friend that has hints of foul-play and a stash of money that is missing. How both problems are resolved is done with Kellerman's deft hand at suspense.

Open House
A dead body turns up in a vacant home, and it's up to Decker and his officers to puzzle out the how and why. It's a sordid little tale of a man who gets caught with his pants down and the girlfriend is getting a little too annoying. While it's a simplistic tale, I was glad to see more of the policemen that Decker gets to work with.

Bull's-eye
This one features Decker's daughter, Cindy, who is a chip off the old block when it comes to solving crimes. This time, the murder is particularly close when one of Cindy's instructors at the police academy is gunned down in front of witnesses. But the question is who and why. Kellerman kept this one from getting too stale by tucking in a twist or two, and it's a good, tight story, perfect for your coffee break.

A Woman of Mystery
This is one of the saddest stories that I've read in a long time. Rina has an encounter with a young, troubled woman without a name or past, and it's a tale that will make all of us wonder how far we should visit the sins of the past onto the future.

The Stalker
For every woman who has been the victim of an abusive relationship, this one is sweet, sweet revenge. While I wouldn't recommend being this drastic, it's certainly soul-satisfying.

Mummy and Jack
Cowritten with her son, Jesse, Kellerman takes on the old Jack the Ripper story, but this time with a twist or two that makes it unique. And actually, it's not too bad.

Bonding
Told in first person, this is a tale to make your blood run cold at a teenage girl who's bored with her life, and decides to make mischief. The body count rises, the sins are unthinkable, and it's one of those stories that makes you wish you didn't read it. Not that it's bad, it's just that horrifying.

Discards
A female private eye takes on a case that looks simple enough -- find a cleaning woman who has vanished over several days, and the employer is concerned. There's always a deeper motive, of course, and this one turns into a question of poverty and morality over a diamond ring.

Tendrils of Love
If this tale doesn't turn you off of internet chat rooms, nothing will. There's all sorts of reasons for a woman to turn up dead in a quiet backwater in Missouri. How it all fits together is the appeal of this one.

Malibu Dog
We all know them. The neighbor with the dog. The monsterous fanged horror of both the canine and human species that has turned your little slice of paradise into an absolute hell. But as with all Kellerman stories this one has a twist.

The Back Page
It's a cute story on an old urban legend, but I found it to be a little too much. Set in a newspaper, it's the story about a reporter who always seems to be first on the spot.

Mr. Barton's Head Case
It's a tale of true love, between a man and his car. This is one of those stories that makes me wish that Kellerman used more humor in her full length novels, as when she does it, she is very good at it indeed. This one was also based on one of the more interesting bits of lore out of the Bible, updated for the modern age.

Holy Water
More humor here about a rabbi who is kidnapped during Purim in a clash of corporate giants. It's a cute tale, and it made me chuckle a bit.

Free Parking
There isn't any crime in this one, just a cozy tale of elderly women and a youngster gathered together for a family ritual of playing Monopoly.

The Luck of the Draw
Kellerman co-wrote this with her daughters for an anthology. It's an ok story, but it's such a painfully 'goody-goody' tale that I had a hard time taking it seriously.

Small Miracles
This one is a recounting of an actual event in Kellerman's life involving her mother and her children. Just a few pages long, it's still a treat.

The Summer of My Womanhood
This one is a story about Kellerman herself, working in the family business. I found it to particularly poignant and wonderful to read. It made wading through all of the other stories worth it to get to this point.

Each story comes with an introduction, where Kellerman talks about what influenced her to write the story, and some of the underlaying themes and ideas. It's a nice touch, and it helps to understand where a writer can get their ideas and topics in both fiction and non-fiction. As a collection showcasing Kellerman's talent, it's not bad, but I would only suggest it to those who are already fans of her work, and it wouldn't make that good of an introduction to her work. For that, I would recommend her earlier Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus novels.

Overall, about four stars. While mystery fans will enjoy it the most, the final stories in the collection are accessable to anyone and are very heartfelt.

Recommended

Short story thrills: great bedside reading before you duck under the covers...
Faye Kellerman has put together a nice collection of her short stories in this volume, The Garden of Eden and Other Criminal Delights. The title story will give you a good flavor of the rest of the collection, most of which are very good. There's a short piece (Mummy and Jack) written in collaboration with her son that I really didn't care for (in fact, I'm not sure I even understood it), but that is a minor fault. The story "Bored"? Brrrr. These really were engaging stories, and I'll bet they would come across great on CD.

Short story collections are often a hodgepodge of ideas, characters, and storylines. This one was interesting in that Lt. Decker, a character from other novels, also appeared in a few stories. There are also a few (4) non-fiction pieces in this collection (I assumed they were non-fiction); they seemed out of place. I wanted more mysteries!

Bottom line? You will enjoy this collection by Faye Kellerman.

Surprising writing styles
Reviewed by Lynn O'Connell for Reader Views (10/06)

Crime and mystery tales, short stories and autobiographical essays are all part of this collection of works by Faye Kellerman. In all, the book contains 17 stories. Four stories, making up more than 100 of the book's 327 pages, feature Kellerman's husband-and-wife duo, Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus, from her full-length novels. And, two of these pieces are published here for the first time. One is the title piece, "The Garden of Eden," which has Lazarus and detective Decker exploring the death of their next-door neighbor. In the other new work, "Open House," Decker and police department colleagues investigate the mysterious death of a woman who was killed and left in the closet of a house for sale. Daughter Cindy makes her first appearance in "Bull's Eye," as a rookie in the police academy.

Two of the short stories are collaborations between Kellerman and her children. "The Luck of the Draw" is co-written with Kellerman's two daughters. "Mummy and Jack," written with son Jesse, is a dark tale reminiscent of Jack the Ripper.

One of my personal favorites in the collection is "Holy Water," which involves the kidnapping of a Rabbi by a soda company in an effort to discover the secret Coca-Cola formula. "Discards," featuring Kellerman's first private detective, Andrea Darling, was another favorite for me. Both tales had some mystery as well as a somewhat light and humorous ending.

The last two works in the book, "Small Miracles" and "Summer of My Womanhood," are autobiographical essays. "Small Miracles" describes Kellerman's successful capture of a mugger, while "Summer of My Womanhood" provides a look into her teen years as she worked in her father's deli.

Other stories include: "The Stalker" and "Bonding," both very dark tales with somewhat disturbing endings; "The Back Page," based on the years-old legend about fillings picking up radio transmissions; and, "A Woman of Mystery," in which Lazarus solves the mystery of a student without memories.

This collection is truly an anthology of works by Kellerman, as it includes stories from numerous genres - not just the crime/mystery stories for which she is best known. The book is also a wonderful way to get to know Kellerman and her writing style.

Each of the stories has a wonderful ending; albeit some are humorous, while others are dark and unsettling. It is amazing to see the range of Kellerman's writing capabilities all together in one book. Each short story has a very short introduction which I found interesting as I tried to put each vignette into perspective as to Kellerman's purpose and the timeframe where it fit in her writing career.


Kellerman fans will probably all enjoy this book, particularly those who are eager for another Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus novel. (The last one came out in 2005.) However, it is important to realize that this collection is not all crime and murder mysteries; fans should read the book as an opportunity to see a new side to Kellerman. I was truly surprised by some of the writing styles, including the personal essays, in the book. The book is a great read for those first-time readers of Kellerman, who then can decide if they want more.

In all, "The Garden of Eden and Other Criminal Delights" held my attention, and each story was a quick read. Some I liked, and some I didn't. But, with such a diverse range of genres represented, every reader is likely to find at least a couple of stories that will leave them wanting more writing from Kellerman.