Murder 101 (2014) · Faye Kellerman · A Decker/Lazarus Novel · The Peter Decker & Rina Lazarus series

Murder 101 is a serviceable, later-series entry in Faye Kellerman's long-running Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus detective saga. A reflective Decker, now nearing the tail end of his career, takes on a new partner in the sharp young Tyler McAdams, and the two get drawn into a cold case that unearths dark secrets stretching back years.

There's a lot to like on the surface. Kellerman's character work remains reliable — Decker and Rina are familiar, warm, lived-in company, and the newcomer McAdams is a solid foil. The central mystery has genuine weight, and the book is well assembled, the kind of dependable procedural Kellerman fans have count on for decades.

But. As a suspense thriller, it never really catches fire. The pace is the problem — it's slow, deliberate to a fault, spending long stretches on domestic detail and relationship beats when you're waiting for the plot to tighten. The tension is polished into place far too gradually. It reads fine, it's never bad, but "solid" and "good" fairly quickly blur into "average." If you're coming to it expecting the propulsive momentum of a page-turner, you'll be underwhelmed; it's a mystery you appreciate more than you race through.

The verdict: An average suspense thriller in a strong series — worth a read if you're already invested in Decker and Rina, harmless enough otherwise, but the slow pace keeps it from being anything more than a serviceable installment. Given the choice, most readers would want something with more forward drive.

Rating: 2.5/5 — good, not great; pace too slow.