The Beast by Faye Kellerman Review and Giveaway for Partners in Crime Tours!!

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Published by: HarperCollins/William Morrow
Publication Date: August 6, 2013
Number of Pages: 384
ISBN: 9780062121752
Purchase Links:   

Synopsis:

Over his years with the LAPD, Peter Decker has handled a number of tough cases and strange killers. Few of his previous assignments compare to his latest case—the most bizarre of his storied career.
When Hobart Penny is found dead in his apartment, the cops think that his pet cat—an adult female tiger—attacked the reclusive elderly billionaire. But it soon becomes clear that the beast that killed the eccentric inventor is all too human. Digging into the victim’s life, Decker and his colleagues, Detectives Marge Dunn and Scott Oliver, discover that Penny was an exceptionally peculiar man with exotic tastes, including kinky sex with call girls. 
Following a trail of clues that leads from a wildlife sanctuary in the San Bernardino Mountains to the wild nightlife of Las Vegas, the LAPD detectives are left juggling too many suspects and too few answers. To break open a case involving the two most primal instincts—sex and murder—Decker wrestles with a difficult choice: turning to a man with expert knowledge of both—Chris Donatti, the dangerous man who also happens to be the father of Decker’s foster son Gabriel Whitman, a boy not without his own problems. 
As their work and intimate worlds collide, Decker and his wife, Rina, find themselves facing tough questions. It just might be that family crises and work-related responsibilities prove too much for Decker’s career. A confluence of ordeals can stress even the most intact of families. And when all these shocking truths comes out, exactly how well will Decker and Rina cope as well as survive?

Read an excerpt here at Partners in Crime Tours

About the Author

Faye Kellerman was born in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in Sherman Oaks, California. She earned a BA in mathematics and a doctorate in dentistry at UCLA. Kellerman’s groundbreaking first novel, THE RITUAL BATH, was published in 1986 to wide critical and commercial acclaim. The winner of the Macavity Award for the Best First Novel from the Mystery Readers of American, THE RITUAL BATH introduced readers to Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus, termed by People Magazine “Hands down, the most refreshing mystery couple around.” The New York Times enthused, “This couple’s domestic affairs have the haimish warmth of reality, unlike the formulaic lives of so many other genre detectives.”

My Thoughts
The Beast was the first book I read in the Decker/Lazarus series so I didn't have a lot to base the past story lines on. That said The Beast is one of those stories that starts out exciting and doesn't let go. The story starts with Gabe, foster son of Decker, expecting to testify in a court case, I think if I had read more in the series I would understand more what the case was about. Decker is called in on a murder where an elderly man, Hobart Penny, is found murdered, in the apartment is a tiger, yup a tiger. At first glance it is not quite clear as to how the man died and the forensic team has their work cut out for them in determining how the man died. The investigation takes some strange turns as Decker and his colleagues Detectives Dunn and Oliver start interviewing a list of suspects. I love a good murder mystery and this one was no exception, I enjoyed the author's writing style and the characters are believable. I just have to say that since I had not read any of the previous books in the series, at times I was at a loss, but it did not really keep from me enjoying the book. I will be going back and probably starting with the first book, I enjoyed it that much!!

I received the book for review and was not monetarily compensated for my review.

Giveaway!!

The author has provided an ecopy of The Beast for giveaway!! If you are interested in a chance to win, please leave a comment with your email address so you may be contacted!! Giveaway ends August 31st!1 Good Luck!