This Decker & Lazarus novel is pretty light on the Decker & Lazarus, heavy on the crime. In some ways, that's nice, but in others, it causes the book to falter.In the first two in the series, I felt that the main purpose of the book was to talk about Peter & Rina, their relationship, and Judaism. Which was ... interesting, but definitely not enough (as written) to sustain the plot of a full-length novel. Although Peter is a police detective, we didn't really see much of the cases, and there were often side cases thrown in ... just because, I suppose. My favorite of the series so far, Day of Atonement, struck a really nice balance between the human element and the crime element. False Prophet starts out well enough (plot-wise--this is not a nice thing to have happen to you!): Peter is called in to an assault and rape, and it turns out the victim, who has been beaten and whose room has been completely, systematically destroyed, is the daughter of a fading, but magnetic, Hollywood starlet. It seems pretty obvious that Davida, Aging Hollywood Starlet, is drawn from Joan Crawford, down to the wacky relationships with her children, her adoptions, her marriages, her ... forceful personality, etc. Okay, fine. The daughter concerned in the rape case, Lilah, runs a spa in LA where women go to, you know, refresh, recharge, starve themselves. Lilah immediately latches onto Peter and becomes, in effect, his stalker. Meanwhile, Peter's juggling a pregnant Rina, grumpy step-children, and his daughter who doesn't want to talk to him anymore. Kellerman progressively introduces the cast of characters, most of them related to Lilah in some fashion, with dirty secrets galore. I felt like I had fallen into a lost episode of Dynasty or something. The "false prophet" of the title is Lilah herself, who claims that she feels spirit energies, auras, etc. and can see the future. We never find out whether she's shamming, or if she really believes that, or if she's shammed so long that she's come to believe in it. In fact, at the end, we don't find out much of anything because of the HUGE and HORRIFIC and OH-SO-SHOCKING scandal that is revealed in the final pages!!!! (ha) Perhaps when this was written in 1992, the REVELATION was horrifying. I felt more pity than anything. This really affects the pacing of the book. I felt like I was hurtling along and then suddenly the road dropped out from underneath me and then I was falling. Overall, a decent time-trip back to the early 90s, when everyone wore leotards, apparently.
Part of Pamela's review This Decker & Lazarus novel is pretty light on the Decker & Lazarus, heavy on the crime. False Prophet starts out well enough (plot-wise--this is not a nice thing to have happen to you!): Peter is called in to an assault and rape, and it turns out the victim, who has been beaten and whose room has been completely, systematically destroyed, is the daughter of a fading, but magnetic, Hollywood starlet. It seems pretty obvious that Davida, Aging Hollywood Starlet, is drawn from Joan Crawford, down to the wacky relationships with her children, her adoptions, her marriages, her ... forceful personality, etc. Okay, fine. The daughter concerned in the rape case, Lilah, runs a spa in LA where women go to, you know, refresh, recharge, starve themselves. Lilah immediately latches onto Peter and becomes, in effect, his stalker. Meanwhile, Peter's juggling a pregnant Rina, grumpy step-children, and his daughter who doesn't want to talk to him anymore. Kellerman progressively introduces the cast of characters, most of them related to Lilah in some fashion, with dirty secrets galore. I felt like I had fallen into a lost episode of Dynasty or something. The "false prophet" of the title is Lilah herself, who claims that she feels spirit energies, auras, etc. and can see the future. We never find out whether she's shamming, or if she really believes that, or if she's shammed so long that she's come to believe in it. In fact, at the end, we don't find out much of anything because of the HUGE and HORRIFIC and OH-SO-SHOCKING scandal that is revealed in the final pages!!!!
What do You think about False Prophet (2005)?
So, Peter and Rina are married. Things are looking up. of course there seems to be a little friction with Peter's older daughter who has become a bit distant since Rina became pregnant. Still this is probably just something to do with dad having another baby and will be worked out. All is looking great.Then (of course) Peter gets called in on the rape assault of the daughter of a well know, golden age screen star. The victim herself is well known and runs a popular spa. She's had numerous "suitors", romantic liaisons and marriages. She's beautiful, desired...eccentric and has decided she wants Peter.Sigh.Life can be tough for us desirable men.Anyway this book has a bit more of the mystery flavor than the last as John puts convoluted clues together to figure out what's going on.Again a good book where characters work with plot and neither outweighs the other. These are good books and I plan to follow the series.Recommended, enjoy.
—Mike (the Paladin)
This is a very good audio production of one of Faye Kellerman's earlier books. The plot had more than its fair share of twists and turns, and since I mostly listened to the book during my trek to and from work, I had plenty of time to think about each development in the story and come to my own conclusions about the direction the plot would take next. For readers who enjoy this series, this book is a must read to fully understand the developing dynamics of the relationship between Rina and Peter. The ending is the sort that can sometimes leave the reader unsatisfied, even though it parallels what most often happens out there in the world of non-fiction life. But I found it to be surprisingly satisfying and well crafted finale to a very good book.
—Jan
Quite an involved story with lots of suspects and false leads. Shows how some people cross boundaries when the character ,Lilah, comes to the detectives house and invades his private life. Her and her mother both tried to intimidate others with their wealth and fame. Quite a twist in the end with one of the suspects turning out not to be quite what they expected. Interesting how they pretty much figured out who masterminded everything but didn't have the proof to do anything about it and the lead detective in the end was ok letting others handle it.
—Wanda
