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Dreams for Aspiring Authors, Juil 16 2004
This book gives inspiration to all author wanna-be's. Try just a bit & you'll create something better than this meager tale. This novel is downright boring. Hardly what one would term "a page turner." It lacks for excitement, suspense, enjoyment, wonder, chills and just about every reason readers gravitate toward fiction. It was my first Faye Kellerman novel & very well might be my last. However, I should keep in mind the works of Dean Koontz. Sometimes a work of art--Dark Rivers of the Heart. Sometimes a work of an over imaginative saddistic middle school student--so pathetically terrible, not worthy of mention by title. That said, Kellerman should be given the benefit of the doubt; I vow to try 1 more.
Cynthia "Cindy" Decker is our leading lady. A police officer who is following in the footsteps of her, mildy camoflauged macho-macho man, police officer father. Cindy meets up with an irresistible male RN who works in a pediatric ward, no less. He's quite the smorgasboard--Jewish, Ethiopian, Black, Russian, We Are The World, nicknamed "Kobie." It doesn't get much better; as in---it's rather lame. Kobie has no life outside of the sterile walls. But...then he meets Cindy and by darned, she's also Jewish! Therein lies their only commonality. They're not natured alike; they don't think alike. No chemistry between them. Quite frankly, there is very little character development in those two. They're basically androgynous. After many chapters, we find that Cindy sees a therapist for some unknown reason & bless her heart, suggests that Kobie should see one...for some unknown reason...or maybe it's his self-professed "dark moods." Which don't seem to be more than a slight shade of gray. Not that we are ever privvy to said moods. Cindy Decker's big find/big case is an infant who is miraculously found in a dumpster. Even more miraculous is that the infant survives. And miracle of all miracles, the mother is tracked due to shared Down's Syndrome. In Los Angeles! Amazing. The true miracle here is how this book made it to a publisher. My cat seems to have more extraordinary street dreams.
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EMPTY STREETS, Nov. 24 2003
In this latest installment of the Decker family series, Kellerman commits a grave sin as far as good mystery writers go: there is little, if any, suspense, and she sacrifices the mystery by focusing on two plots that go absolutely nowhere.
The focus in this novel is on Peter's daughter, Cindy, who continues to be a non-interesting, hardly likeable character. She continues to resent teamwork, and now she finds herself madly in love with an Ethiopian Jew. A disarmingly handsome nurse who helps her out when she finds the abandoned baby. Again, Kellerman lets her religious fervor dominate. What's odd about this particular romance is that obviously from Koby's own words, his relationship with Cindy is primarily physical. He wants to have sex with her all the time; he also has dark moods that are never truly explained or resolved. Combining the racial and religious problems fails to enliven this meandering romance.
Then we have this other plot where Rina is investigating the murder of her grandmother in 1930's Poland. She goes all out to discover the truth, but when the novel ends, we have no further understanding of what really happened.
And perhaps the biggest disappointment is that even after the child abandonment, the hit and run, etc., the killers are characters who have had little time in the novel. So who can really care?
I have read all of the series now and still maintain that "love/hate" relationship with Kellerman's books. She might be better off just writing family tales of the usual marital and romantic woes, than trying to slide a mystery in.
Not the best of her series in the long run.
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A weak entry in the Decker series., Aoû 25 2003
LAPD officer Cindy Decker is on routine patrol when she finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster.Cindy must track down the baby's mother, but the trail leads her down the dark streets of Hollywood, a place filled violent gang members, and predators lurking the night for new victims. Joining forces with her father, Detective Peter Decker, Cindy makes a twisted journey for truth, one that will put her life in danger. 'Street Dreams' is the weakest entry in the Decker series. The mystery elements of the novel are barely present, and the Jewish themes are so strong they overpower the rest of the novel. Faye Kellerman is slowly bringing this series to a halt, and that's a shame because it was one of the more interesting several years ago. I was not a fan of the first few Decker novels, but as time went on they developed into interesting plot boilers that not only thrilled with suspense, but also with new developments of it's lead character and his family. Unfortunately, the last few years have seen the plots becoming weaker, and the Jewish story-lines becoming stronger, resulting in a novel a lot less satisfying. If Faye Kellerman can take out the overload of religion, and put the suspense back in her novels the series will get back on track giving readers the Decker mysteries they are used to, but if each new novel remains the same the series will soon drop off. Nick Gonnella
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(2.5) A fine line between taste and exploitation, Aoû 12 2003
The promo ads for Faye Kellerman's newest mystery tout her talent, proclaiming, "She has a way with murder". Generally, I would agree with that assessment, but Kellerman's last offering is somewhat under par for a writer who does have the chops to craft a tight story. In Street Dreams, another of the Pete/Rina Decker series, Kellerman brings back Pete Decker's daughter by his first marriage, Cindy, a two-year veteran of the LAPD, with designs on a detective shield. On regular patrol, Cindy discovers a newborn baby in a dumpster behind an LA restaurant. Determined to find the mother, Cindy is warned by her father not to step on any of the detectives' toes while pursuing her own investigation. In the course of her sleuthing, Cindy does find the mother, a developmentally disabled young woman who tells of a harrowing gang rape in a local park where she has met the father for secret trysts. The father is also developmentally disabled. There may be even more to the story, as Cindy learns that other vulnerable young woman may be in danger. At the hospital where the baby is taken, Cindy meets a male nurse, an Ethiopian Jew. They are immediately attracted to each other and pursue a relationship. Per usual, Kellerman, uses her captive audience to impart more information about Rina's rich religious heritage as a devout Jew. In the first few Pete/Rina Decker novels, this approach served to flesh out Rina's character, adding depth to her role as socially conscious mother and wife. This time, however, under the guise of solving the mystery of Rina's grandmother's murder in pre-Nazi Germany, she requests her husband's assistance in reading documents she has discovered. In the context of Street Dreams, this subplot serves as an unnecessary distraction. There are numerous mentions of earlier trauma suffered by Cindy and Det. Decker(in another Pete/Rina Decker book), but the author never explains the ordeal involved or why both father and daughter are unable to shake the pyschological effects. Since their relationship is a strong component of the story, this aspect is somewhat frustrating for a reader unfamiliar with the Decker series. Most disturbing to this reader, however, is Kellerman's handling of the romance between Cindy and her new boyfriend, although he is portrayed as handsome, sexy, well built, intelligent...practically perfect. The only obstacle is Cindy's father, who is affronted at his daughter's reluctance to inform him ahead of time that her boyfriend is black. I found Kellerman's portrayal exploitative and stereotypical, a surface treatment of the subtleties of race relations, complete with racist comments by other officers (another obvious stereotype) regarding size and performance, pandering to common curiosity and ignorance. Perhaps the author should put as much effort into researching this cultural aspect of her story as she does on Rina's religious beliefs. I can deal with a mediocre mystery, but it is disappointing when an author uses sex and race instead of good writing. This author might have better used the energy expended on superficial distractions by constructing a believable plot for this series. Although Kellerman can't see the forest for the trees in Street Dreams, she does have the talent to write an effective mystery and is certainly capable of giving her fans the quality they appreciate and deserve. Luan Gaines/2003.
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Disappointment, Aoû 11 2003
Par Un client
I have enjoyed all of Faye Kellerman's other books and bought this the day it came out. I was very disappointed; there was little or no suspense or mystery. It is certainly not a page turner! The relationship between Cindy and Koby was neither interesting or believable. I hope the next book focuses on the older generation!
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Ce produit
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Street Dreams par Faye Kellerman (Mass Market Paperback - Juil 1 2004)
CDN$ 10.99 CDN$ 9.89
Habituellement expédié sous 3 à 5 semaines
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Accueil Amazon
