Jupiter's Bones [Paperback]

Faye Kellerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2000

Emil Ganz was always extraordinary. Child genius. Prize-winning astrophysicist. And then, aged 40, missing person. A decade later he re-emerges as Jupiter, guru of an apocalyptic new age cult, bringing shame on his family, worrying local parents and intriguing Detective Pete Decker. But when he's found dead, apparently from an overdose, the consequences of his death are even more extraordinary, and terrifying, than of his life ...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Faye Kellerman's 11th Peter Decker-Rina Lazarus mystery takes police lieutenant Decker into the enclave of a Heaven's Gate-style pseudoscientific religious cult, the Order of the Rings of God. The cult's leader, a former world-class physicist who styles himself Jupiter, has died of an ungodlike combination of liquor and prescription drugs, but whether it was accident, suicide, or murder is suspiciously murky. The death is mysteriously reported by Jupiter's estranged daughter Europa, a scientist who has nothing to do with the cult, and when the police arrive on the scene, they find that Jupiter's followers, particularly his four unpleasantly ambitious personal attendants, range from uncooperative to downright hostile. Decker's suspicions kick into high gear when two other cult members go missing and another body turns up. But with the tense situation threatening to unravel as explosively as Jonestown or Waco, it's Marge, Decker's professional sidekick, who penetrates the cult's inner sanctum and effects a scary eleventh-hour rescue.

For Decker, as always, the mystery serves to offset the tempestuous Orthodox Jewish family life that he married into. Sammy, Rina's older son, wants to study in a politically unstable region of Israel, and Jake, the younger, is teetering on the edge of a most unorthodox social scene of girls, porn movies, and pot. Kellerman knows how to craft a compelling mystery, but it's the honesty of Decker's unique religious and family struggles that keeps mystery fans interested book after book. If you're new to this series, you'll want to begin at the beginning with The Ritual Bath. --Barrie Trinkle --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In her 11th Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus mystery (Moon Music, etc.), Kellerman develops the theme of parent-child relationships along two fronts. Before Father Jupiter became the head of a religious cult called the Order of the Rings of God, he was a renowned astrophysicist named Dr. Emil Euler Ganz. Though Jupiter has long been out of touch with his family, when he dies mysteriously his estranged daughter, Europa, becomes a pivotal help to LAPD detective Decker's investigation. Jupiter's death looks like suicideAuntil the autopsy reveals small amounts of arsenic in his body. Then two of the four remaining cult leaders are killed, prompting the cops to suspect that a serial killer is lurking among the group's members. When the police and FBI try to storm the cult's compound, Brother Bob, Jupiter's old attendant, wires the buildings and threatens to blow up everyone, leaving Decker to figure out how to save the lives of the compound's 96 children. Meanwhile, because of the pressures of the case, Decker is failing to give his two teenage stepsons the attention they need to weather the upheavals of adolescence. He relies on the help of his wife, Rina, to understand the rules of the boys' Jewish orthodox upbringing, but there are aspects of their lives he must take the time to find out on his own. Kellerman writes spine-tingling suspense and defines her characters well, but the scenes in which experts lecture the cops on physics and cult psychology are overlong and sometimes superfluous. Although the Decker/Lazarus family relationship strengthens in this novel, this is not the strongest of the series. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Feature (January 6, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747259224
• ISBN-13: 978-0747259220
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 1.3 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,404,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Faye Kellerman is the author of twenty-six novels, including nineteen New York Times bestselling mysteries that feature the husband-and-wife team of Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus. She has also penned two best selling short novels with her husband, New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman, and recently has teamed up with her daughter, Aliza, to co-write a teen novel, entitled PRISM. She lives in Los Angeles, California, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cults and Mystery, March 9, 2000

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Jupiter's Bones: A Novel (Peter Decker & Rina Lazarus Novels) (Hardcover)

What is it with all the cult-oriented mystery novels lately? Between this and Death Du Jour (Kathy Reichs) it seems like we're in a spurt of post-Heaven's Gate paranoia. Cults are bad. We get the message.

This is not Faye Kellerman's best book. It's not even close. As far as the mystery itself is concerned, this book would only rate 3 stars at best. The situation feels more than a little contrived in a number of places and the ending is overly sensational. I also think a lot of diehard Peter Dekker fans may be turned off because we see rather significantly less of Rina than we usually do.

What saves the book and made it (in the end) a good read is the care with which Kellerman handles her family unit of Rina Lazarus and Peter Dekker. The trials of Peter and his maturing step-sons contain enough realism and conflict to keep the reader firmly hooked. Kellerman provides enough resolution to leave us satisfied, but nicely sets up the seeds of future problems for later books. Along the way she manages to do some fairly intelligent musing on the differences between orthodox religious adherents and cult members.

Worth a read, particularly if you like the series.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Peter and Rina are back!, September 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jupiter's Bones: A Novel (Peter Decker & Rina Lazarus Novels) (Hardcover)

Jupiter's Bones is classic Faye Kellerman. There is plenty of mystery and Peter works through the puzzle with the assistance of his partner Marge and supported by his wife Rina. The twists and turns kept me guessing and predicting. The challenges presented by Rina's sons were so typical of teen age boys - and Peter's handling of the situation was well done. Marge's heroic rescue of the children from the compound make me hope that if Ms. Kellerman decides to leave Peter and Rina again, that she will further develop Marge's character. Both my husband and I finished the book in one sitting - don't start it late at night. It's hard to put down.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly dull, October 31, 1999

By 

LB (Manchester, MO USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jupiter's Bones: A Novel (Peter Decker & Rina Lazarus Novels) (Hardcover)

I bought this book to take on vacation. My ideal vacation is to relax and read books I know I will enjoy. Having read all the other Peter/Rina books, I thought I had a sure fire "good read" with this one.

First, in the more recent books, Rina has become basically just a potted plant in the background of the story. Give her something more to do or drop her name from the subtitles.

I found the book boring. In spite of cults and abductions - it was not an interesting story. I just didn't care what happened next. I forced myself through about 2/3's of it, but could go no further. The whole tenor and feeling of this series has changed. I guess change is inevitable, but I don't like the direction these books are taking. The care and attention to detail that was in earlier books does not seem to be there anymore.