Customer Reviews

The Ritual Bath

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The first of eleven novels in the Peter Decler/Rina Lazarus series, The Ritual Bath, published in 1986, throws the two together for the first time when Decker is assigned to investigate a rape at the mikvah in the Orthodox complex where Rina lives with her two sons, Shumel (Sammy) and Yaakov (Jacob or Jake) . Decker and his partner Marge Dunn are shocked that such a heinous crime could take place at a Yeshiva, Jewtown as the police refer to it. As the novel unfolds and murder comes into play Rina and Peter are drawn to each other. As one would expect their relationship is frowned upon because she's religious, frum, and Peter is considered an outsider. Peter's biological mother was a Jew; but was given up for adoption at birth. Through an adoption agency mix-up he was placed with Baptist parents. He grew up as a Baptist. Magnificent treatment and presentation of Orthodox Jewish lifestyles! Realistic struggles and wonderfully developed relationships along side of the police drama/mystery. Faye begins Peter and Rina's life story here with romance and tenderness while helping Peter to discover his roots and begin to touch his spiritual beliefs.

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.

Police detective Peter Decker is called to an orthodox Jewish community to investigate the rape of one of the women who lives there. The call is made by the victim's friend, Rina Lazarus, whom Peter is attracted to immediately. Thus begins a wonderful mystery series which features a strictly religious orthodox Jewish woman, and a man who is indifferent to religion, but not to Rina. The tension between the two creates a wonderful dance of approach/avoidance and a question as to whether their beliefs or their feelings will reign supreme in their relationship. Decker becomes acquainted with Rina's two sons and does his best to protect her from any future sexual attacks by the predator who roams the yeshiva community. The rape occurred near the mikvah where the women go for spiritual purification. Throughout the book the reader is treated to a background of orthodox Jewish practices and receives a real education in this fascinating religion. The difficulties in the relationship between Rina and Peter are clearly defined, but the ending leaves room for further development in the other books of the series.

In this first in the series, Peter Decker is called to handle the rape of a woman inside a Jewish complex. Although I enjoyed the informative part of the book which dealt with the mikvah and the other rituals of the Orthodox Jews, the character of Peter Decker seemed one-dimensional and wooden. The attraction between Peter (and outsider) and Rina is an interesting twist when you condsider that Peter was given up for adoption and raised in a Baptist family although his birth mother is Jewish. However, Peter's and Rina's growing attraction for each other creates an interesting storyline, and hopefully the author will be able to develop this character (Decker) into someone who isn't quite so one-dimensional.

I went into the public libarry and was looking through the "New Arrivals" shelves when I happened to stumble upon "THe Forgotten" by Faye Kellerman. I read the description on the book jacket and decided it would be a good read. I plopped down my library card and took this new find home.

I was enthralled by the first three chapters. There was excellent characterization and dialogue. But I stopped reading the book after chapter 3. The reason...I meet these wonderful people, Peter and Rina. I wanted to know more about them. I wanted to know how they met and how they fell in love. And to learn the answer to these quesitons I read the Other Books By section in saw that The Ritual Bath was the first book in the Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus series.

I immediately returned to the library...no luck...no copy on the shelves. So I beat a path to my local book store and purchased my own copy. I DEVOURED it! The book is wonderful. It is full of wonderful characters and great dialog.

Start with this book and then read the whole series!

Happy reading!

Det.Peter Decker takes the call when a wife is raped while walking home after her mikvah within the grounds of a yeshiva near Los Angeles. With his partner, Marge Dunne, Peter comes face-to-face with his birthright, a secluded devout sect, a worldly rabbi & the woman who will renew his faith in life in more ways than one.

I was fascinated by what I found in Faye Kellerman's The Ritual Bath. She has composed a fully-fleshed mystery complete with the sacred & profane. "Jewtown", so called by everyone outside of it, has a reputation for easy pickings by burglars & vandals. Its very seclusion, created to enhance the practice of their faith, makes the yeshiva an easy target.

It's been 35 years since I lived in a Wisconsin retreat where a thousand people of the same faith stayed for the summer; coming in waves every two weeks. It's been that long since my days took on that lovely religious rhythm of prayer & play, fasting & feasting, study & sports within the community body. Faye Kellerman's The Ritual Bath brought back fond familiars.

When I discovered that Peter Decker was adopted & it hadn't bothered him much up until then; when he has to question Rina Lazarus in the women's mikvah & is surprised by her good looks, powers of observations & her reluctance to be there alone with him; when he meets Rav Schulman, the Rosh Yeshiva, & they strike up a smoke & a cordial connection; when Peter & Rina struggle within themselves, curious about each other - she, a widow with young sons to raise & a religion to practice; he, divorced for years with a teenage daughter for the summer & no spiritual calling...I couldn't stop reading.

Then Rina is harrassed by a quartet of youths outside a supermarket & Peter's on call for that. Suddenly she's calling him from the mikvah where someone is trying to get at her through the locked door & windows. The newly hired & much liked security guard is nowhere to be seen.

By this time they both realize she has been the target all along & none seems to know why. By now Peter Decker's heart has become engaged &, if Rina could admit it, so has hers.

Faye Kellerman offers us a rich, evocative tale - yes it is set about a mean & dirty act by wilful & destructive people. Real life is like that, isn't it?

Very well done, I really liked this one! An unusual, absorbing, erudite read of mysteries within mysteries. Delicious!

Faye Kellerman is well known for her thrillers, and "The Ritual Bath" is the first of the Peter Decker/Nina Lazarus series. This book is both attractive for readers who appreciate the "thriller" as well as for those who are not familiarized with this type of gene. F.Kellerman elaborates on two parallel plots, the first one being the crime itself (a woman is raped close to the mikvah) and the love relationship between two individuals of different religious background (Rina Lazarus the orthodox Jew and Peter Decker the strong-minded police detective). The latter plot is more artistically developed and takes precedence over the first one. The setting is a small Jewish orthodox community on the outskirts of Los Angeles and the meaningful descriptions of orthodox rites are embodied with great moral content. Well elaborated, main characters with strong structured identities, a most enjoyable reading.

In this, the first Pete Decker book, Faye Kellerman displays deft proficiency in both characters and settings-two of the most important facets of a detective novel. It's not only the first Decker book, it's also Kellerman's debut, a truly amazing fact when evaluating how sure-handed she is.

The story centers around Detective Decker investigating a rape at a mikvah at an Orthodox Jewish School (yeshiva) in Southern California. Concurrently, there are a series of rapes being committed nearby and it's not clear if they are connected. From the beginning, Decker finds himself drawn to Rina, a teacher at the school whose strict religious convictions won't allow her to even entertain the notion of dating a goy like Decker. But she, too, finds herself attracted to the unattainable in Decker. The book plays out as much about the mystery as the subtle love story between the two who can never consummate despite their mutual feelings. Best of all, it's satisfying in both aspects. The mystery is suitably filled with possible suspects though no obvious red herrings and the love story plays out slowly and realistically. Helping things along dramatically is the setting of the yeshiva, an environment most will find quite foreign. But Kellerman understands this and through the Decker character, makes understandable and even beautiful. The love affair is extremely satisfying, despite the book ending without real resolution between the two, making the reader want to follow the couple in their next moves. Something I will surely do.

I rarely read mysteries, but this one really kept me captivated. Perhaps it was my familiarity with Orthodox Jewish traditions, which Kellerman portrayed more realistically then any other secular writer I can think of, that made it so personally intriguing. The story itself evolved so well. Really ended up not being able to put it down.

I read this book knowing nothing about the background (this is the 1st in an eleven book series) and found it an easy, enjoyable, different read. The scene is something I'm completely unfamiliar with (A yeshiva community) so it was interesting to read about the rituals, their importance, and the people's commitment to their beliefs. The crime and the mystery ranked right up there with other good mystery novels. The main characters, Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus are interesting, but not riveting. The character development seems a bit slow, although they are both likeable and interesting. Once I knew there would be several sequels, it seemed to make more sense---no rush in explaining these people, there will be time for that later. Their attraction to each other was obvious, and the mini-mystery-within-the-mystery is how will Rina reconcile her religious beliefs with her attraction to this guy? Fortunately for us, Kellerman does not stray from the crime and into a world of romance. An engaging read that most mystery lovers will enjoy.