Once Dr. Emil Euler Ganz was a preeminent astrophysicist with a worldrenowned reputation. But then he vanished without any warning to his family or colleagues. Fifteen years later, he reappeared as "Father Jupiter," the founder and charismatic leader of the scientific cult, The Order of the Rings. And now he's dead--a vial of sleeping pills and an empty bottle of vodka standing near his lifeless body.
Was Ganz's death an accident? Suicide? Or did someone hasten Jupiter prematurely out of this world? These are the questions LAPD Lieutenant Peter Decker and his Homicide team are determined to answer as they enter the cult's fortresslike compound. But the dead leader's four "privileged" attendants make it clear that the police are not welcome there--and the mysterious disappearance of two of the Order's members, including a child, turns an already uncomfortable situation even uglier and more incendiary. Decker will need more than the wisdom and support of his wife, Rina Lazarus, to defuse a ticking time bomb of jealousy, greed, bizarre hidden pasts, and deadly secrets--one that could explode at any time into mayhem so pernicious that it threatens to destroy a multitude of misguided lives--and scores of helpless, innocent children as well.
Rina Lazarus and her husband, LAPD Homicide Lieutenant Peter Decker, are shocked by an outrage that cuts close to the spiritual heart of their family. Rina's small storefront synagogue has been desecrated with anti-Semitic graffiti and grisly Nazi death camp photographs. The alleged perpetrator is seventeen-year-old Ernesto Golding, a "rich kid" obsessed with haunting suspicions about the origins of his Polish paternal grandfather. Then Ernesto is found brutally murdered, along with his therapist, Dr. Mervin Baldwin, at an exclusive nature camp that caters moneyed, troubled children. For Decker and his wife, unraveling the truth behind Ernesto's violent death becomes more terrifying with each sinister twist. For lethal secrets with roots in the horrors of a past genteration are coming to the surface, propelling Peter and Rina into a ghastly world of ruthless parents and damaged youth -- and toward a dark evil and its ultimate retribution.
L.A. Homicide Detective Peter Decker never wanted the perils of his job to touch his family. But now his two worlds have collided.
A first year rookie with the LAPD's Hollywood Division, Cynthia Decker became a cop against her father, Peter Decker's, wishes. But police work is in her blood, and she's determined to make it on her own -- even now, when her razor sharp instincts for danger are telling her that something is very wrong...
The signs are impossible to ignore: things being moved around in her apartment, the destruction of personal effects. But it's a harrowing trip down a dark canyon road that confirms Cindy's worst fears. Someone fiendishly relentless, and with decidedly evil intentions, is stalking her. And with Peter Decker isolated from her troubles by his own investigation into a disturbing series of car-jackings, it's up to Cindy alone to find out who in her personal and/or professional life wants her frightened or harmed...or dead.
eBook Special Feature: A special note from the author, Faye Kellerman LAPD Homicide lieutenant Peter Decker and his wife, Rina Lazarus, hear shocking news: A horrible murder has occurred in the family of Decker's recently discovered half-brother, Rabbi Jonathan. The rabbi's brother-in-law was found murdered in a seedy hotel room in upper Manhattan, and the victim's 15-year-old niece is missing. Decker and Lazarus immediately head out to New York, but after several days of assisting with the investigation, it becomes clear to Decker that there will be no fast and easy answers. He is merely at the beginning of a twisted journey fraught with peril that takes him from the darkened slums of New Jersey and the deserted industrial streets of New York to the religious enclave of "secretive" Quinton and the hidden meeting places of Hassidic outcasts. Soon Decker and Lazarus are thrust into a pernicious maze of deceit, lies, and danger, where no one-neither family nor friend-is to be believed, and where ultimate salvation may be delivered only by the most heinous of psychopaths: a madman hell-bent on his own personal vengeance, who will allow no one-not even Decker and Lazarus-to stand in his way.
When LAPD Officer Cindy Decker finds a newborn in a restaurant dumpster, the hunt for the baby girl's mother is on. The detective assigned to the case is less than determined, though, so Cindy decides to overstep her bounds and hotdog it as an "unpaid" detective on her own time. Searching in the Hollywood district is a dangerous game of hide and seek. Fortunately her parents, Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus, have just returned from a vacation in Munich, and while Rina looks into the mystery surrounding her grandmother's death in Germany, Peter provides Cindy with guidance and tips. Armed with advice from her father and medical information from a handsome male nurse, Cindy finds a likely candidate for Baby Girl Doe's mother-a young, retarded woman in the care of her older sister. But locating her is only half the battle. The father is missing and could be a victim of foul play. With the case's focus suddenly shifting from Missing Persons to Homicide, Cindy needs even more help than before. Who better to turn to than her father? But can they work as unofficial partners without personal issues getting in the way? Cindy and Decker traverse twisted alleys and unknown places, but the bumpiest avenue will prove to be the Decker road to mutual respect and understanding.
