The Ritual Bath: A Novel (Peter Decker & Rina Lazarus Novels (Hardcover))

Rating:
Summary: Once you start you can't stop reading this series!
Review: I recently discovered Faye Kellerman's entertaining and informative series about Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus. I began by reading 'Ritual Bath' (the first in the series) on Rosh Hashanah. It was a perfect read for the holidays and by Yom Kippur I had completed five more Decker/Lazarus novels and was on to a seventh book. I like that the characters are intelligent and have good values but are presented as human beings-flaws and all.

This first book about a rape that occurs just outside the mikvah in a small orthodox community shows how the relationship between Peter and Rina begins to develop while cleverly solving the crime. It deals more with issues of religion than the rest of the series. I found this quite enlightening being a very secular jew living in a community that is becoming quite orthodox.

I don't want to give away any of the story as many reviewers do so I'll just advise you to read this book. However, I'm warning you that you will not be able to stop with just one of Faye Kellerman's books.

Rating:
Summary: Captivating Mystery of Jewish Life from a Goy perspective
Review: I've read 3 of the Decker/Lazarus series. Hint #1: they should be read in the proper order (something I haven't done). This is the book, however, that makes me want to read on! I can understand why this was chosen to be a TV movie - it has all the right ingredients. What I've found fascinating is the voyeuristic peek into a culture that I knew very little about. As a non-religious person, I found myself with a deep respect for the Jewish community rather than wondering why anyone would be crazy enough to follow so many complex rules. Kellerman's writing shows strong character development (especially the deliberately slow flirtation between the two main characters) and good dialogue, resulting in the reader bonding with the characters. The plot, however, was rather quickly resolved (particularly the Foothills rapist), yet a wide variety of suspects kept the book interesting. The book was obviously planned as the first in a series, so it's expected that character development should prevail. With the other two books I've read, again, the Jewish culture and strength of family provide an interesting read. I also recommend Sanctuary, which discusses another topic I knew little about - diamond retailing.

Rating:
Summary: Multi-Cultural Mystery
Review: In this novel, the first in a series of stories featuring LA detective Peter Decker and Jewish teacher Rina Lazarus, Kellerman weaves many elements together successfully: there's a crime, a hero (and heroine), the promise of romance, a social message, and enough action to keep the reader interested in both the resolution and the characters. The story begins with a rape; as heinous as the crime is, the fact that it has occurred in a yeshiva in the Southern California foothills adds even more complications that usual for Pete Decker. The community of the yeshiva is closed, literally and symbolically, to outsiders. The only person who seems willing to help Decker is Rina, a young widow who is devoted to 'Torah' Judaism, and her sense of duty includes running the mikvah, or ritual bath, for women in their purification after monthly menses. Rina found the victim, a woman who left the mikvah only to be attacked on her way home. As the plot unfolds, Kellerman reminds us of the fact that Anti-Semitism is unfortunately alive and well in our own time, even if not intended: the cops, including Decker, refer to the yeshiva as 'Jewtown' at the beginning of the novel; later, Rina is accosted by punks in a parking lot, simply because she is Jewish. Decker balances his pursuit of the yeshiva rapist with another rapist with a similar mode of operation, and the two plotlines intertwine well. Although I pretty much knew who did the yeshiva rape and why fairly quickly into the novel, the characters kept me interested in following their story: it was obvious that Rina and Decker would have some kind of relationship by the end of the book, despite Rina's devotion to her religion and only dating within it. Kellerman does add a little bit of 'deus ex machina' at the end to smooth the way for future books with these two characters, but that is forgiven, since we do end up caring about them and their relationship. Definitely a good beginning to a (hopefully) good series.