As Lt. Peter Decker and his wife Rina Lazarus grow older (“the Loo” celebrates his 60th birthday in this latest entry in the series), their lives certainly don’t get simpler. Peter agrees to attend a meeting between an old friend, Terry McLaughlin, and her psycho husband, Chris Donatti, from whom she has sort of run away, with their 14- year-old son, Gabe, after Chris had struck her “to give her some space.” The meeting seems to go well and Peter returns home.
Several hours later, Gabe calls informing Peter that his mother is not in the hotel room and he has not heard from her. Did Chris kill her? Or has she secretly run away? Peter reluctantly takes the boy home as a temporary measure and reports Terry as a missing person and begins to search for her.
Meanwhile a nurse at a local hospital is found hanging at a nearby construction site. Soon another murder victim is found, who turns out to be a close friend of the nurse. Are the crimes related? Will this turn out to be one of the few serial killer cases is Peter’s career?
The two themes move forward with the new characters in the series, especially Chris and Gabe, adding some spice to the dialog. While Rina plays a relatively minor role, she remains the interesting character she has always been, and the interplay between Hannah (the Deckers’ daughter) and Gabe is touching. Once again, the author has provided an excellent look into police procedures to solve a crime. Recommended.
