Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus: A Mysterious Profile

By Faye Kellerman

The USA Today–bestselling author details how she became a crime novelist and how she created her acclaimed husband-and-wife detective team.

In 1986, Faye Kellerman introduced LAPD detective Peter Decker and widowed yeshiva teacher Rina Lazarus in her crime novel, The Ritual Bath. The debut won Kellerman the 1987 Macavity Award for Best First Novel and turned into a long-running bestselling series. But how exactly did it all come about?

In this autobiographical piece, Kellerman discusses the origins of Decker and Lazarus and answers common questions from readers. Like, how much does she resemble her character, Rina? And how have Peter and Rina evolved? But Kellerman also talks about her own life as an author, mother, and wife. She shares what it’s like being married to a fellow novelist, and how exactly she carved out a place for herself in the world of crime writing.

Praise for the Decker and Lazarus Novels

“Exceptionally fine suspense.” —San Diego Union-Tribune

“Faye Kellerman is a master of mystery.” —The Plain Dealer

“Tautly exciting.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Reading a good thriller is very much like taking a great vacation: half the fun is getting there. Faye Kellerman is one heck of a tour guide.” —Detroit Free Press

“Surprising twists and engaging subplots will keep readers turning the pages to the satisfying conclusion.” —Publishers Weekly

• Language: English
• Publisher: MysteriousPress.com Open Road
• Release date: May 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781504074452

Faye Kellerman

Faye Kellerman lives with her husband, New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman, in Los Angeles, California, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Book preview

Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus

A Mysterious Profile

Faye Kellerman

Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus

Part I: Evolution

One of the most frequently asked questions that I have fielded over my twenty-two years as a published crime fiction writer is: how much of me is my characters? More specifically, how much am I like my series female protagonist, Rina Lazarus? I’ve answered this question hundreds of times and usually I respond with the following: I am not Rina Lazarus. Rina Lazarus is a fictional entity that I’ve created. She is not based on a single representation but a composite of my experiences and my imagination. Then I add: all of my characters have Faye Kellerman in them. How it could be otherwise? They all come from my unique and sometimes subconscious process of blending fact and fiction, real and imaginary.

But the response does beg the question: how much of me is Rina Lazarus? I find it amusing and not unpredictable that people rarely ask: how much am I like my male series character, Peter Decker? More often than not, Peter takes the starring role in my novels, so if there is any character than is a manifestation of me, why wouldn’t it be Decker?

To answer the question honestly and completely, I’d like to go back to the origins of Peter and Rina. Where did they come from? Who were they before they appeared in fiction and how have they evolved?

To best respond, I need to reconsider my first published novel, The Ritual Bath, where Peter and Rina made their debuts. I’ve italicized the word published because at the time, I didn’t know that The Ritual Bath was going to be my first novel. I had made a few attempts at writing and was now trying to pen a story that would be interesting, entertaining and most important, would capture the eye of some far-sighted editor. But the characters didn’t come from thin air. In order to understand the biographies of Peter and Rina, I’m going to give you a little background about the author.

As a young child, I had a vivid imagination. Most kids do, but mine seemed to last a little longer and to be just a tad more florid than most children my age. I not only had imaginary friends, I had them in many different locales and diverse centuries. My friends were Greek goddesses of mythology, dames from medieval Europe, turn of the century Boston blueblood girls in boarding schools, barefoot Okies from the dustbowl and prisoners of concentration camps. Anything I heard or saw was recreated, enhanced