This book has more Terry and Chris than I’d like. Knowing them from previous books and their tumultuous relationship history, nothing about their story surprises me. They are an explosive couple of people, especially together. They kind of remind me of Bonnie and Clyde.

This story feels like a wrap up party. It’s putting everything to bed as if it’s the last book of the series. It may or may not be, I don’t know. If it is the last book, at least there is nothing hanging in breeze. If it’s not, there is an opening for the next.

I would love to see more of Peter and Rina but maybe it is time for them to retire or should Jerusalem have itself a new detective? I’m torn as to what I want. I personally feel like this story is a goodbye.

This is Faye Kellerman's edgiest installment in the Rina Lazarus/ Peter Decker series. It features two storylines. One has Peter finishing his final case as Detective of Greenbury PD in New York. Once this case is solved, Peter is retiring and he and Rina plan to move to Israel.

A second storyline has the Decker's bonus son Gabe begging his father Christopher Donatti to rescue Gabe's mother Terry from a life threatening situation. It is the first time in a decade that Chris has seen his ex-wife and he still holds resentments towards her for leaving him for another man and moving to India.

Since this novel delves more deeply into the character of Chris Donatti, Kellerman has considerably more edgy sexual situations than are ordinarily found in this series. Readers will explore whether Chris and Terry's relationship is one based on depravity, need , and lust, or a poignant everlasting love that supersedes time and space.

Nail biting intensity drives this novel forward. Will this be the last book in the popular series? Time will tell. There is some sense of closure yet Kellerman left the door open for future storylines.

I have never written a book, so bear in mind I have no talent when it comes to writing a book. But I was unable to finish this book. It was not enjoying it. Not my cup of tea.

*Thank you to Faye Kellerman, William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I am a long-time fan of Jonathan Kellerman. I have read almost everything he has written. I wanted to give Faye Kellerman a try. Maybe I shouldn't have come in on the 27th book? There are two parts to this novel - a mystery to tie up Decker's last case in Greenbury and then the other side of the novel which depicts the relationship between Terry and Chris. There seems to be no connection between the two cases except that Terry abandoned her son Gabe many years ago and Lazarus and Decker raised him. Terry is now married to Devek but separated and living in Los Angeles with their two children, Sanjay and Juleen. When Sanjay is kidnapped and Terry is beaten, Chris, her ex-husband, comes to her rescue. Sadly, there are children involved and with Devek, Chris, and Terry all horrible people, the children are abandoned or forgotten about. Terry shows some concern for her 5yo son that has been kidnapped but it doesn't consume her day or anything. Between graphic details of multiple sexcapades of Terry and Chris, sodomy, brutal rape (also in graphic detail), child abandonment, physical and emotional abuse from Chris to Terry and heroin addiction, you wonder how Terry had time to be a Mother. She also divorces Devek and marries her rapist and sodomizer, so he can buy her a house. I am just confused. Is the same Faye Kellerman that had such a wonderful series with Lazarus and Decker? I wonder if she included toxic relationship by accident? It certainly is eye opening compared the marriage between Lazarus and Decker.

WHY is there not a warning on this book? TRIGGER WARNING: DEHUMANIZING, VIOLENT SEX AND RAPE!

I loathed this book. It was repetitive and slow with not much else to the story than awful, awful sex and rape, rape, RAPE!

I was not sure that I wanted to read THE HUNT, this 27th entry into the Decker/Lazarus series by Faith Kellerman. However, Faith Kellerman has done something amazing: she makes me care for her characters from the present and from the past; I’ve missed them.

Long-term readers will recognize Chris Donatti, former husband of Terry McLaughlin, an M.D. who ten years earlier fled to Mumbai because of her pregnancy. Chris will never accept another’s child and not wanting to have an abortion, Terry gets a divorce, marries Devek and has Juleen. Later she has Sanjay. Devek has an addiction to gambling, and he has put his entire family at risk to the point that he is willing to whore out Terry to his brother who will pay off his debts if Terry accommodates him. Terry’s son Sanjay is kidnapped; her daughter Juleen has escaped, and Terry has been beaten badly. She knows that she and her daughter are in danger. She calls Gabe, her musical savant son with Chris Donatti, and asks for help. Gabe says she must ask Chris for help. And so she does. And a love story started more than 20 years earlier is reignited.
A reader would have to go back to read the Chris and Gabe and Terry stories to fully appreciate how Kellerman has beautifully weaved their stories into this novel. And I envy you the reading. These characters are some of my favorites from Kellerman’s best novels.
I must admit, at the end of the novel, I did something I almost never do when reading fiction; I cried. THE HUNT is that good. Read Faye Kellerman.

After having been a fan of this series since the first book, Ritual Bath, what seems to be the final installment was an incredible letdown. There was no real reason for the two separate plots]lines, one regrading the body found in Greenbury, and the other involving Chris and Terry.

The Greenery murder case progressed at a snails place and was often convoluted and verbose.
The Chris and Terry story seemed like a bad re-write of Fifty Shades of Grey. Multiple, detailed descriptions of rape of every kind did not make Chris and Terry's story very interesting, and did not add to the appeal of either character.
I don't want to spoil the endings(s), but both stories could have ended much sooner. The books conclusion was not a surprise and, frankly, I was glad to finally finish it.

This conclusion to what was once a terrific series ends with an unsatisfying and smutty fizzle,

I have read every single one of Faye Kellerman's books and I love Rina and Pete. So I am always happy to see a new book in this series. However, this one is a total disappointment. I don't mind a little violence and sex, but this one is so filled with rape, repugnant sex and dehumanization that it totally turned me off. There are two stories going on and the other one was okay. But why oh why did the author decide to write scenes that will only alienate her readers? And is this really the last book in this series? Too much confusion here and I did not like this book at all.

I have read a number of Faye Kellerman's books, Although I've liked some more than others, this title, "The Hunt', is way on the bottom of my list. I am not a prude, but there is an extreme amount of violent and degrading sex scenes written with extreme detail. The graphic descriptions did nothing to further the rather weak mystery in the book. The book begins with a violent scene, and for readers who have not read the previous books in this series, they will be totally confused.
I appreciate the opportunity given to me by Netgalley and the publisher to be able to read this and comment on the book.

To say this is a disturbing book would be an understatement. The portion of the novel with Rina and Decker is good but the portion of the novel with Teresa and Chris is very disturbing. The Chris portion of the novel does not feel true to the Kellerman voice that has been in the past 26 novels. Teresa is raped multiple times by Chris, treated badly by Chris and yet she willingly allows herself to be his captive. To have this story told from the strong woman of Faye Kellerman is not just a disappointment but a slap in the face to her readers. Kellerman is a much better writer and voice for female empowerment than to give readers a weak woman grovels at the feet of her captor (and lets him treat her like a bauble).

I really hope this does not portend the future of Kellerman books. If it does, I will no longer be reading her work.

I was not a fan of the author's stylistic decision to leap directly into the action without more than a cursory glance at character development. Rather than making the story exciting, it took me out of the moment trying to figure out why I should care about any of it.

This book is an excellent read. Unique characters and fast paced plot make this book easy to recommend. Is there anything you wouldn't do for the person you love? Love isn't always easy and sometimes it can be unhealthy but love is very powerful. Faye Kellerman has a best seller in The Hunt.

I have read every Lazarus/Decker novel since I discovered them 20 years ago. I have loved most of them, liked some of them, and been on the fence about a couple. I am always excited for the next installment, though the Gabe & Co storyline has always been *meh* to me. That said, I am sadly done with the series, and quite possibly the author.

I barely finished The Hunt. The pacing is ridiculously uneven (it was jarring to have a bunch of chapters of the main story interspersed with a mystery that was never fully fleshed out till the last chapters). Bouncing between first and third person perspectives with only paragraph breaks is brutal, as it is hard to tell where one story ends and the other picks up.

But the worst part is the horrific depictions of rape in all forms, starting almost immediately and continuing throughout, blow-by-blow (and it ends up both glorifying and justifying partner assault at times, while somehow bizarrely trying to be sexy). I thought it might get better, or be an almost treatise on surviving a relationship filled with domestic violence. This, readers, is not that. And the ending was bizarrely bleak, followed by a cutesy vacay between the original main characters. I was left both stunned and horrified.

I have been a loyal reader of the Kellerman's since the beginning. I have especially loved Faye's Rina/Decker novels. However, I disliked this one. I read about 60% then skimmed to the end. I enjoyed the previous books where Decker has taken a new position in upstate New York, and enjoyed the new storyline with his partner Tyler. While part of this book focused on continuing that story, the other part of the book focused on Theresa and Chris (and for those who have not read the prior books, background knowledge would be helpful). I really disliked the 50% of the book that was about Chris and Theresa's story...I mean really disliked. I hope Faye's next book sticks to a Rina/Decker story line only. Overall, a big disappointment for me compared to her earlier books. Thank you to NetGAlley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this advanced copy of THE HUNT.

I have been a fan of Rina and Peter Decker since “The Ritual Bath” so I found myself rather shocked finding a traditional Decker detective novel wrapped around a rather bizarre psychosexual love story. As a fan, I knew all the characters and their histories, but this was such a deviation from my expectations that I am not sure how to to react.

Long term readers will recognize Chris Donatti who plays an important part in this story. The Deckers raised his extremely gifted son Gabe after he was abandoned by his wife Terry. They are all back, surrounded by violence and sexual perversion.

As we left the previous novel, Peter was working on a case, in his sleepy college town. I looked forward to all the ends being pulled together. In fact, this book does return to that case and i was given closure.

However, this presents readers with a problem. This cannot be viewed as a stand-alone novel. It really is the continuation of many years of the Lazarus-Decker partnership. I fear that the cast of dozens of characters coming together might be a harbinger of ending this series, which has brought me so much joy.

So, with the understanding that this book should only be read by those of us with all the puzzle pieces in our background, I do recommend it to the loyal followers.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this most unexpected ARC in return for an honest review.