The Burnt House

A Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus Novel

By: Faye Kellerman

Narrated by: Mitchell Greenberg

New York Times bestselling author Faye Kellerman spins a gripping tale of a modern-day nightmare that ensnares L.A. Homicide Detective Peter Decker and his wife Rina Lazarus in a web of secrets and murder.

A small commuter plane carrying forty-seven passengers crashes into an apartment building and L.A.P.D. Lieutenant Peter Decker works overtime to calm rampant fears. But a grisly mystery lives inside the plane's wreckage: the unidentified bodies of four extra travelers. And there is no sign of an airline employee who was supposedly on the catastrophic flight. The fate of the unaccounted-for flight attendant—twenty-eight-year-old Roseanne Dresden—remains a question mark more than a month after the horrific event, when the young woman's irate stepfather calls, insisting that she was never onboard the doomed plane. Instead, he claims, she was most likely murdered by her abusive husband. But why was Roseanne's name included on the passenger list?

Under pressure to come up with answers, Decker launches an investigation that carries him down a path of tragic history, dangerous secrets, and deadly lies—and leads him to the corpse of a three-decades-missing murder victim. And as the jagged pieces slowly fall into place, a frightening picture begins to form: a mind-searing portrait of unimaginable evil that will challenge Decker and his wife, Rina's own beliefs about guilt and innocence and justice.

Combining relentless suspense with intense, multi-layered human drama The Burnt House is Faye Kellerman at her mesmerizing best.

Another Five Star Book

The plot has excellent complexity. It involves the emotions of the listener, as do all Decker/Lazarus titles. The reconstruction of a burned homicide victim’s head is especially fascinating. The homicide department puts the pieces together with admirable skill. Kudos also to Mitch Greenberg for narration.

Cliche

An engaging plot with engaging twists however the key detective characters were under developed and too much explanation was provided of the forensic elements in a patronising attempt to communicate to the audience, making the cops appear painfully simplistic.