Reading order · 27 books · 1986 to 2022 · Set in Los Angeles
Decker and Lazarus Books in Order
Peter Decker is a Los Angeles police detective who meets Rina Lazarus, a young widow living in an Orthodox Jewish community, in The Ritual Bath. Their marriage, faith and growing family run through the series alongside Decker’s cases, and in the later books they move to the small town of Greenbury in upstate New York.
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Series facts
- Books
- 27
- Published
- 1986 to 2022
- First book
- The Ritual Bath
- Latest
- The Hunt (2022)
- Setting
- Set in Los Angeles
The reading order
Every Decker and Lazarus book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
27 books · Set in Los Angeles
- 1The Ritual Bath1986With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusRina Lazarus, a young widow living in a yeshiva community in the hills outside Los Angeles, reports a rape at the community’s ritual bath.Buy on Amazon
- 2Sacred and Profane1987With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusDecker finds two burned skeletons in the hills above Los Angeles, and the search for who the victims were takes him into the darkest corners of the city.Buy on Amazon
- 3Milk and Honey1990With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusDecker finds a small, bloodied girl alone in a new housing development in the middle of the night, and no one can say who she is.Buy on Amazon
- 4Day of Atonement1991With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusDecker and Rina travel to New York for the High Holy Days to visit Rina’s family, and when a teenage boy from the community disappears, Decker is asked to help find him.Buy on Amazon
- 5False Prophet1992With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusLilah Brecht, daughter of a famous film star and owner of an exclusive spa, is attacked in her home, and claims she has visions of the future.Buy on Amazon
- 6Grievous Sin1993With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusRina gives birth to a daughter, but the joy is shaken when a newborn baby is stolen from the hospital nursery, and Decker hunts for the child.Buy on Amazon
- 7Sanctuary1994With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusA family of wealthy diamond dealers vanishes from their Beverly Hills home, and the case leads Decker and Rina all the way to Israel.Buy on Amazon
- 8Justice1995With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusA high school prom queen is found murdered in a hotel room, and the chief suspect is Chris Whitman, a cold, brilliant student with dangerous connections.Buy on Amazon
- 9Prayers for the Dead1996With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusA celebrated heart surgeon is found murdered, and his son, a Franciscan friar, is drawn into Decker’s investigation of the family.Buy on Amazon
- 10Serpent’s Tooth1997With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusA gunman opens fire in a busy Los Angeles restaurant, and Decker’s team must work out whether the massacre was random or aimed at someone.Buy on Amazon
- 11Jupiter’s Bones1999With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusThe leader of a cult, a former astrophysicist, is found dead, and Decker has to get inside the group, and protect its children, before more people die.Buy on Amazon
- 12Stalker2000With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusCindy Decker, now a rookie officer with the LAPD, finds herself the target of a stalker, and her father fears for her life.Buy on Amazon
- 13The Forgotten2001With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusRina counsels a wealthy teenager who vandalised a synagogue, and when the boy and his therapist are found dead, she joins Decker to find out what happened.Buy on Amazon
- 14Stone Kiss2002With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusRina’s brother-in-law is found murdered in a New York hotel, and his teenage niece has disappeared.Buy on Amazon
- 15Street Dreams2003With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusCindy Decker finds a newborn baby abandoned in a dumpster, and sets out to find the mother.Buy on Amazon
- 16The Burnt House2007With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusA small commuter plane crashes into an apartment building in Los Angeles.Buy on Amazon
- 17The Mercedes Coffin2008With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusA billionaire asks the LAPD to reopen a fifteen-year-old murder after a similar killing, and Decker begins to see a link between the two cases.Buy on Amazon
- 18Blindman’s Bluff2009With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusA billionaire property developer and his wife are murdered in their mansion in the hills, and Decker has to untangle a family full of secrets.Buy on Amazon
- 19Hangman2010With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusTerry McLaughlin asks Decker to look after her teenage son, Gabe, and then disappears, while the body of a nurse is found hanged at a building site.Buy on Amazon
- 20Gun Games2012With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusA teenage boy’s death is ruled to be by his own hand, but his mother refuses to accept it, and Decker’s inquiry uncovers the secret lives of privileged teenagers.Buy on Amazon
- 21The Beast2013With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusA reclusive billionaire inventor is found dead in his apartment, along with his pet tiger.Buy on Amazon
- 22Murder 1012014With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusDecker has left Los Angeles for a quieter life in Greenbury, New York, but an art theft at one of the local colleges soon leads to murder, and he partners with a young officer, Tyler McAdams.Buy on Amazon
- 23The Theory of Death2015With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusA young man is found dead in the woods near Greenbury, an apparent suicide that Decker comes to doubt, and the trail leads into the world of a college for mathematics.Buy on Amazon
- 24Bone Box2017With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusRina discovers human remains in the woods, and Decker and Tyler McAdams link the bones to missing students and a possible serial killer.Buy on Amazon
- 25Walking Shadows2018With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusThe killing of a young man draws Decker back to a decades-old robbery and murder case involving the young man’s father.Buy on Amazon
- 26The Lost Boys2020With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusA man vanishes from a group outing and a nurse disappears from her home, and as searchers find the remains of long-missing campers, Gabe’s mother reappears.Buy on Amazon
- 27The Hunt2022With Peter Decker and Rina LazarusTeresa McLaughlin is attacked in Los Angeles and her younger children are taken, and Gabe turns to Peter, Rina and his father, Chris Donatti, to get them back.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read in publication order, starting with The Ritual Bath. The cases stand alone, but the family story develops from book to book.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Peter Decker | Rina Lazarus | Cindy Decker | Marge Dunn | Hannah Decker | Sammy and Jacob Lazarus | Scott Oliver | Tyler McAdams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 The Ritual Bath | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | |||||
| 2 Sacred and Profane | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ||||
| 3 Milk and Honey | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 4 Day of Atonement | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ||||
| 5 False Prophet | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ||||
| 6 Grievous Sin | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 7 Sanctuary | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 8 Justice | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 9 Prayers for the Dead | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 10 Serpent’s Tooth | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 11 Jupiter’s Bones | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 12 Stalker | LLead | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 13 The Forgotten | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 14 Stone Kiss | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 15 Street Dreams | LLead | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 16 The Burnt House | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 17 The Mercedes Coffin | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 18 Blindman’s Bluff | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 19 Hangman | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 20 Gun Games | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 21 The Beast | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 22 Murder 101 | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ||||
| 23 The Theory of Death | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ||||
| 24 Bone Box | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ||||
| 25 Walking Shadows | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ||||
| 26 The Lost Boys | LLead | LLead | MMajor | |||||
| 27 The Hunt | LLead | LLead | MMajor |
Characters in the Decker and Lazarus books
11 characters from Faye Kellerman’s chart, with the number of Decker and Lazarus books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Peter DeckerLos Angeles detective, later a police officer in Greenbury, New York | 27 | The Ritual Bath 1986 |
| Rina LazarusPeter’s wife | 27 | The Ritual Bath 1986 |
| Cindy DeckerPeter’s daughter, later an LAPD officer | 8 | Milk and Honey 1990 |
| Marge DunnDetective and Peter’s long-time colleague | 20 | Sacred and Profane 1987 |
| Hannah DeckerPeter and Rina’s daughter | 20 | Grievous Sin 1993 |
| Sammy and Jacob LazarusRina’s sons | 14 | The Ritual Bath 1986 |
| Scott OliverDetective in Peter’s squad | 14 | Justice 1995 |
| Tyler McAdamsYoung officer who partners Peter in Greenbury | 6 | Murder 101 2014 |
| Chris DonattiHit man with a long tie to the Deckers | 5 | Justice 1995 |
| Gabe WhitmanTerry and Chris’s son | 5 | Hangman 2010 |
| Terry McLaughlinChris Donatti’s girlfriend, later his wife | 2 | Justice 1995 |