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A review by snazzybooks
The Theory of Death by Faye Kellerman
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
The Theory of Death is my first novel in the Peter Decker/ Rina Lazarus series and the 23rd, so I'm joining the characters very far into their journey. The book follows Peter Decker, head of the Police Department in a quiet New York town (having moved there from LA, it seems) as he investigates the apparent suicide of a man who turns out to be an incredibly intelligent maths student at Kneed Loft College.
Along with former colleague McAdams (who left the force to study law, but is back to help out), they investigate the goings on at the college and dive into the world of maths (or 'math' as they say in the US).
The theme of academia in this novel is a really interesting one, and there are some interesting mathematical theories referenced which, despite knowing next to nothing about anything past GCSE maths, I found really interesting. The plot becomes more complex as the team discover that the man who died was working on some very important research - and another body turns up...
I found the characters interesting but didn't hugely connect with any of them - but I imagine if I'd read the previous novels in the series I'd understand them more. Mallon in particular was an irritating character who didn't seem to add anything really to the story.
The plot was intriguing without being too complicated but I didn't think the ending was that great. However, I would definitely read more from this series as I thought it was well-written. Ultimately it's no surprise that The Theory of Death perhaps wasn't the best book to read first from this series (I picked it up in a charity shop) so that's definitely on me, and I imagine seasoned readers would enjoy this more. It was still a solid and enjoyable mystery/crime novel.
Along with former colleague McAdams (who left the force to study law, but is back to help out), they investigate the goings on at the college and dive into the world of maths (or 'math' as they say in the US).
The theme of academia in this novel is a really interesting one, and there are some interesting mathematical theories referenced which, despite knowing next to nothing about anything past GCSE maths, I found really interesting. The plot becomes more complex as the team discover that the man who died was working on some very important research - and another body turns up...
I found the characters interesting but didn't hugely connect with any of them - but I imagine if I'd read the previous novels in the series I'd understand them more. Mallon in particular was an irritating character who didn't seem to add anything really to the story.
The plot was intriguing without being too complicated but I didn't think the ending was that great. However, I would definitely read more from this series as I thought it was well-written. Ultimately it's no surprise that The Theory of Death perhaps wasn't the best book to read first from this series (I picked it up in a charity shop) so that's definitely on me, and I imagine seasoned readers would enjoy this more. It was still a solid and enjoyable mystery/crime novel.