Helpful Score: 2
Along with solving a mystery, the reader learns many Jewish traditions.
Shirley E. (luvantiques) -
Helpful Score: 2
The first of the Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus novels....If you've read any of the others and wondered how these two got together, this is their story. Kellerman tells a great story, one of those books that you don't want to put down, she draws you into the story and the people's lives. Lots of background into Jewish beliefs and customs. The story line is well-drawn and tense. I've become a Kellerman fan.
Helpful Score: 1
This is an awesome book! Detective Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus meet for the first time in this book. This book has a few Jewish words, although they are easy to comprehend.
Helpful Score: 1
Read this some time ago, but remember it fondly.
Helpful Score: 1
Peter Decker is a divorced LAPD detective who has the misfortune of picking up a rape case in a Jewish community. Why is this a misfortune? He is already working a rape case that has the police force scrambling. Rina Lazarus is a Torah Jew, and it is a good friend of hers that has been brutalized while walking home from the mikvah (the bathhouse where a cleansing ritual is performed). Together, they form an unlikely alliance to find the rapist.
One of the things I liked about this book, beyond the main story, was the side story of the attraction between Decker and Rina. In almost any other book, this would have been easily resolved by the end. So what if Rina was extremely religious and could not consider being with anyone outside her religion? So what that Decker was a Gentile with a Jewish ex-wife and a Jewish daughter? Normally, these obstacles would be overcome. Not so here (and no, I am not giving away the ending with this). Kellerman is very good at keeping Rina true to her religion but yet letting her feel the angst of developing feelings for Decker.
The book was a good read. My one complaint would be that when characters made comments in Hebrew, it would have been nice to have a translation instead of my having to guess what was being said by using the context of the passage I was reading.
I am hoping that the next book of this series keeps up with the quality of this one.
One of the things I liked about this book, beyond the main story, was the side story of the attraction between Decker and Rina. In almost any other book, this would have been easily resolved by the end. So what if Rina was extremely religious and could not consider being with anyone outside her religion? So what that Decker was a Gentile with a Jewish ex-wife and a Jewish daughter? Normally, these obstacles would be overcome. Not so here (and no, I am not giving away the ending with this). Kellerman is very good at keeping Rina true to her religion but yet letting her feel the angst of developing feelings for Decker.
The book was a good read. My one complaint would be that when characters made comments in Hebrew, it would have been nice to have a translation instead of my having to guess what was being said by using the context of the passage I was reading.
I am hoping that the next book of this series keeps up with the quality of this one.
Helpful Score: 1
This is the first in a series-check on the Faye Kellerman web site for the order in which the books were written. The mysteries are all different but to follow the Peter-Rina story you'll enjoy them more in order. There are carry-over characters-cops, Peter's daughter (with a wonderful story of her own), Rina's kids, etc. I enjoyed these books perhaps even more than those written by her husband, Jonathan Kellerman. Enjoy.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was more enjoyable than I thought it would be, especially since the plot wasn't my normal cup of tea. I really liked Faye Kellerman's writing style and how it flowed. I think I could read any book by Faye Kellerman and probably not lose interest. I was very skeptical during the first chapter about reading a novel blending Jewish mores and the typical American murder mystery, however I was easily sucked in by Kellerman's style and how she didn't go overboard with trying to make the reader "appreciate/respect" Jewish customs. The book was not only entertaining, but I felt wholesome upon finishing the book because I walked away learning more about the different Jewish religions. All in all a great read! I finished it in a matter of hours. :)
First of the series.
This is a soft cover book.
The FIRST book in the series featuring Peter Decker, LAPD detective and Rina Lazarus, his wife in Los Angeles, California.
Good story line with insight into Jewish life of a yeshiva. Will continue to read the series.
This is the first book I have read from this series or this author. This book tells of a Jewish settlement in the US where a rape & then a murder occurs. The detective investigating meets a beautiful widow & they both have mutual attraction for each other. This is made more difficult by the fact that the woman will not date anyone out of her faith.
Great book, believable characters. Can't wait to read more from this author.
Action-packed, exciting, suspenseful and interesting to boot. A must for Faye Kellerman fans.
very nice read
This is the first book in the Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus mystery series. Peter Decker is a LAPD detective called in on a rape case at the local yeshiva, an Orthodox Jewish enclave. As Peter is drawn into solving the case, he is equally drawn to the young widow Rina Lazarus who offers to help him navigate the world of the yeshiva.
This is a class A mystery with an added bonus of taking you into a world few have ever seen. A truly great read.
This is a class A mystery with an added bonus of taking you into a world few have ever seen. A truly great read.
This book made me go out and buy the rest of the series.
Michelle S. (Shellyphaunts) reviewed The Ritual Bath (Decker/Lazarus, Bk 1) on + 7 more book reviews
First in the Peter Decker series. The characters are refreshing, the story is interesting, but tends to drag just a bit. Still a good book and easy read.
Faye Kellerman.
From the book cover, "Someone has declared unholy war on the holiest of places...The quiet ordered world of a yeshiva in the California hills is shattered by an unspeakable crime: a woman is brutally raped as she returns from the mikvah, the bathhouse where women perform their cleansing ritual.
Detective Peter Decker of the LAPD has never heard anything like it, and he's relieved to find Rina Lazarus there as a witness. Calm and intelligent, Rina is the only one in the community willing to cooperate with Decker, as she tries to steer him through the maze of religious laws that thwart his investigation at every turn.
But as the trail grows cold, Decker's only getting closer to Rina and not to the rapist - or is he? Maybe Rina was the intended victim all along. And the rapist may not stop with rape the next time..."
This is the excellent first novel by Faye Kellerman, as interesting and informative about Orthodox Judaism, as it is thrilling and fast-paced. Kellerman's Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus mystery series presents intelligent and absorbing murder mysteries.
Detective Peter Decker of the LAPD has never heard anything like it, and he's relieved to find Rina Lazarus there as a witness. Calm and intelligent, Rina is the only one in the community willing to cooperate with Decker, as she tries to steer him through the maze of religious laws that thwart his investigation at every turn.
But as the trail grows cold, Decker's only getting closer to Rina and not to the rapist - or is he? Maybe Rina was the intended victim all along. And the rapist may not stop with rape the next time..."
This is the excellent first novel by Faye Kellerman, as interesting and informative about Orthodox Judaism, as it is thrilling and fast-paced. Kellerman's Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus mystery series presents intelligent and absorbing murder mysteries.
Really enjoyable first book in the series. I like the way the relationship between Peter and Rina is beginning to unfold.
Couldn't put it down!
Eadie B. (eadieburke) -
This is the first book in the Peter Decler/Rina Lazarus series and I found it very interesting. In was a great introduction to the Orthodox Jewish lifestyles. The author is very good in grasping the reader's attention and keeping one involved with the storyline. Each chapter flows into the next. The characters felt real, the plot was believable and it was written in such a way that it made it difficult to put down. I am now looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
The first Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus novel; Someone has shattered the sancturary of a remote yeshiva community and brutally raped a woman returning from the bathhouse where the cleansing ritual is performed.
Had not read Kellerman books before. Once I understood some of the Jewish terminology it was a great read.
In Faye Kellerman fashion, this book was a wonderful kid of mystery without the bloody and gory details that many use when writing death scenes. I also enjoyed learning that there are different 'sects' among the Jewish faith. The ending seemed a bit rushed - - pull the mask off, expose the villain, the end. But still an enjoyable book.
Good detective and romance wrapped into one story.
Great light reading. Very likable characters.
First book in the Decker/Lazarus series. Very entertaining read!
Detective Peter Decker is stunned when he gets the report. Someone has shattered the sanctuary of a remote yeshiva community in the California hills with an unimaginable crime. One of the women was brutally raped as she returned from the mikvah, the bathhouse where the cleansing ritual is performed.
Great mystery!
Det. Peter Decker of the LAPD is stunned when he gets the report. Someone has shattered the Sanctuary of a remote yeshiva community in the California hills with an unimaginable crime. One of the women was brutaly raped as she returned fom the mikvah, the bathouse where the cleansing ritual is performed.
The crime was called in by Rina Lazarus, and Decker is relieved to discover that she is a calm and intelligent witness. As Rina tries to steer Decker through the maze of religious laws the two grow closer.
The crime was called in by Rina Lazarus, and Decker is relieved to discover that she is a calm and intelligent witness. As Rina tries to steer Decker through the maze of religious laws the two grow closer.
great book, gives you good insight into Judism while keeping you in suspense
Interesting insight into Jewish customs with lots of mystery included. Thoroughly enjoyed
This is the 1st book in Faye Kelerman's series of books with her characters Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus
