The Forgotten

The desecration of Rina Lazarus and Peter Decker's synagogue leads Peter into a complex investigation of hate crimes, murder, and family secrets. The L.A. detective tracks the source of the crimes through a web of insidious deception. Barrett Whitener unfolds the mystery with care, portraying characters clearly and distinctly. He's particularly good with the teens, including privileged, troubled Ernesto and Decker's son, Jacob. Whitener has a slight Southern softness to his tone that does not always suit some of the Los Angeles characters. His timing and pace, however, will keep listeners on edge throughout the gripping story. R.F.W. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

July 16, 2001
In this complex, disturbing novel (after 2000's Stalker), Kellerman again adroitly balances Rina Lazarus's consuming Orthodox Judaism with the broader societal issues faced by her husband, L.A. homicide detective Peter Decker. Here they intertwine when the vicious defacement of their synagogue reverberates in a widening circle of murders. Ernesto Golding, a troubled, spoiled youth and acquaintance of Rina's son, Jacob, confesses to the crime, but several months later Ernesto and his therapists, Mervin and Dee Baldwin, are murdered. Ernesto had discovered that his beloved grandfather may have been a Nazi who escaped Germany disguised as a Jew. While Rina delves into this provocative strand of the plot, Peter and his staff investigate hate groups. Then another killing ties the therapists to not only the hate groups but also an insidious current of psychological and sexual manipulation and computer fraud. Kellerman focuses on the plight of desperate young people misused and misunderstood by their parents, who apply unbearable pressures for success on their often- bewildered children. She also shows the deepening love and rapport between Decker and his stepson as Jacob helps solve the case. Although the Holocaust subplot seems forced to give Rina a larger role, the author, as usual, seamlessly weaves her themes of religious belief and familial respect into a multilayered thriller, with finely realized characters and a tangible sense of place. 250,000 first printing.