Decker and Rina and a host of memorables

This latest installment in the series brings back all of the characters we've come to know and introduces us to a face from Decker's past. New insights into the character while solving more twisted crimes. Does not dissapoint.

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dragged

I like Faye Kellerman but couldn't stay with this story. Usually I like the whole Decker thing but this must have been written before she refined her characters. It dragged and the thisonesaid this and thatonesaid that was exasperating. I quit halfway through part 1. Sure would like to know what happened to the little kid but just couldn't take anymore.

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1 person found this helpful

Milk and Honey

Good book -you will not be disappointed

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interesting peek into Jewish Orthodoxy

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Probably not. Our reading hours are too short; so why go for an average book? I do remember reading this when it was newly released in 1990 and I liked it much better then than I do today. Some of what turned me off was the use of the n-word, and some views that seem close-minded to me today.

I will say that I didn't guess the culprit right up front. The ending had an element of surprise to me and that is always a good thing when reading a mystery.

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Good Story

the series is beginning to spend too much fluff time on the relationship between Decker and Rena but not very high quality conversations amongst them, seems they only fight and screw and fight and screw now.
the Macho misogynistic language is atrocious! you can tell this is over 2 decades old!
Decker really rubbed me the wrong way as a character in this installment with his 'my woman ' commentary.
the story of the crime is definitely the highlight (as it should be!). the story is both creative and entertaining. shame the book did not stretch far enough to fit more story details to overshadow the bad characters' stories and backgrounds- what really was the point of the friend sleeping with some rich woman? didn't do much to sway opinion any which way about this weak filler.
I might buy the next one. after this one, not sure.

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Milk and Honey - Faye Kellerman

Detective Pete Decker finds a little girl on patrol one night, and in his quest to find out who she is and who she belongs to, uncovers a grisly quadruple murder scene.

This is a tough review to write. The overall mystery involving the little girl and the murders was good, and the only real reason I kept listening. But, and this is a big one for me, Pete Decker is a pig. He's verbally abusive to his fiancee on several occasions, and treats her like she's a little girl. "You only talk to other men if I'm with you" "You can't handle my car, take the Jeep instead, it's easier to drive" and to another detective "Don't talk like that in front of my woman. She's too good to hear that language". It was ridiculous and really hard to read. Well, hear. There were a lot of characters portrayed as really backwoods, and the n-word was sprinkled liberally throughout the story, making me cringe every time I heard it. I understand that people who think and talk like that exist, but not in my world. It's not something I hear a lot.

The way women are treated in general in this book is bothersome. Even Decker's partner, Detective Marge Dunn, is referred to as "little lady" constantly, and told to wait in the car while Decker does the dirty work, or pointedly ignored while "the men are talking". There are several references to "those women's libbers" as well. I'm trying really hard to put this in the context of when it was written, but it was published in 1990. And while I have no doubt this attitude was still present at the time, I don't recall it being quite as blatant as it is here.

(Side thought - The time the book was set was a little confusing to me. It was published in 1990 - is it set there, as well? It seemed to me that it was; there were beepers and pay phones, but also rotary phones at the station. If that's the case, given the fact that the Pete/Rina series is still being published, are all the books set in the early 90s? Or are they present day? Do Pete and Rina age in real time, or do they stay about where they are in this book while the world around them changes? I guess I won't know unless I keep reading, but Pete was born in 1950, so he'd be in his early 60s in 2013. That seems well past the standard 20 or 25 years most cops put in. But if Kellerman keeps him in his 40s, that would change a lot of the dynamic, since Pete's experiences in Vietnam had a huge impact in making him who he is, as they did everyone involved. And his caveman attitude would have to undergo some major changes in order for him to fit in in 2013.)

Pete's one saving grace to me is that by the end of the book, he seemed to realize that he has some anger issues and is a pig at times, and he seemed to want to make a genuine effort to change. That's the one reason I'll read at least one more in this series. I'll at least give him a chance to redeem himself.

The narration of this book was somewhat off-putting. Enough that I'll probably just read any more in this series, not listen to them, at least not if they're narrated by Mitch Greenberg. His reading of the main characters was fine, but all of the male side characters sounded like Rodney Dangerfield. Every one of them. Some times a straight Rodney, sometimes a hillbilly Rodney, sometimes a southern Rodney, but all of them sounded like Rodney. And there were several bizarre musical breaks in the audio. I have no idea what was happening with those. They weren't between chapters or scenes, or parts, and they weren't consistent. Suddenly I'd just be listening to 30-45 seconds of weird music, then back to the story.

Overall, I listened to this as fast as I could because I wanted to get through it and find out the answer to the murder mystery, but not because I was enjoying my listening experience. I'd recommend it only to people who really want to read this series, though.

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5 people found this helpful

One of F Kellerman’s Best

Interesting sub-plots, with plenty of Judaica for those of us who appreciate those things. Minus 1 star because Beauchamp is pronounced BEECHam. I don’t know whether that error belongs to production or to narrator. If that’s the worst thing one can say about a Kellerman novel (I like J as well), it must be pretty great!

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Decker and Lazarus....what a couple!

Fantastic series...I can't wait to get to the next one! Well written and beautifully narrated.

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Milk and Honey

The story is acturally a good one...I don't know if reader is given an exact script...this has so many He said She said and He asked She asked that it becomes so annoying you want to scream......get rid of that format and you have a keeper.......

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6 people found this helpful

Every one a great read!

Where does Milk and Honey rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The whole series is superbly written. Characters are very dependable. No one behaving strange to type. Very good book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Milk and Honey?

Would give away the ending

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes!

Any additional comments?

The entire series is great!

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