The Ritual Bath

Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus #1

by Faye Kellerman

Detective 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 brutally raped as she returned from the mikvah, the bathhouse 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. She is also the only one in the sheltered community willing to speak of this unspeakable violation. As Rina tries to steer Decker through the maze of religious laws, the two grow closer. But before they get to the bottom of this horrendous crime, revelations come to light that are so shocking, they threaten to come between the hard-nosed cop and the deeply religious woman with whom he has become irrevocably linked.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Jewish, Audiobook

335 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 30, 1986

About the author

Faye Kellerman was born in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in Sherman Oaks, California. She earned a BA in mathematics and a doctorate in dentistry at UCLA., and conducted research in oral biology. Kellerman's groundbreaking first novel, THE RITUAL BATH, was published in 1986 to wide critical and commercial acclaim. The winner of the Macavity Award for the Best First Novel from the Mystery Readers of American, THE RITUAL BATH introduced readers to Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus, termed by People Magazine "Hands down, the most refreshing mystery couple around." The New York Times enthused, "This couple's domestic affairs have the haimish warmth of reality, unlike the formulaic lives of so many other genre detectives."

There are well over twenty million copies of Faye Kellerman's novels in print internationally. The Decker/Lazarus thrillers include SACRED AND PROFANE; MILK AND HONEY; DAY OF ATONEMENT; FALSE PROPHET; GRIEVOUS SIN; SANCTUARY; as well as her New York Times Bestsellers, JUSTICE, PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD - listed by the LA Times as one of the best crime novel of 2001; SERPENT'S TOOTH; JUPITER'S BONES, THE FORGOTTEN, STONE KISS, STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS, THE BURNT HOUSE, THE MERCEDES COFFIN and BLINDMAN'S BLUFF. . The novels, STALKER and STREET DREAMS, introduced Kellerman's newest protagonist, Police Officer Cindy Decker. In addition to her crime series, Kellerman is also the author of New York Time's bestseller MOON MUSIC, a suspense horror novel set in Las Vegas featuring Detective Romulus Poe, as well as an historical novel of intrigue set in Elizabethan England, THE QUALITY OF MERCY. She has also co-authored the New York Times Bestseller DOUBLE HOMICIDE, with her husband and partner in crime, Jonathan Kellerman. She has also written a young adult novel, PRISM, with her daughter, Aliza Kellerman

Faye Kellerman's highly praised short stories and reviews have been anthologized in numerous collections including two volumes of the notable SISTERS IN CRIME SERIES, Sara Paretsky's, A WOMAN'S EYE; THE FIRST ANNUAL YEAR'S FINEST CRIME AND MYSTERY STORIES; THE THIRD ANNUAL BEST MYSTERY STORIES OF THE YEAR; WOMEN OF MYSTERY AND DEADLY ALLIES 11. Her personally annotated collection of her award winning stories, THE GARDEN OF EDEN and OTHER CRIMINAL DELIGHTS, was published in August of 2006. H
Her other hobbies include gardening, sewing and jogging if her back doesn't give out. She is the proud mother of four children, and her eldest son, Jesse, has just published his fourth novel, THE EXECUTOR, from Putnam. She lives in Los Angeles and Santa Fe with her husband, Jonathan, their youngest child, and their French Bulldog, Hugo.

Reviews

[Brina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been looking for "that perfect detective series" to get involved in since I have read every V I Warshawski book ever written. The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman is the first book in the Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus series (thank you Magpie67 for the recommendation). We meet Rina, a widow of two years who still lives at her husband's yeshiva. She is the Mikvah (ritual bath) attendant and math teacher while trying to be both mother and father to her two boys. One night while at the Mikvah, her friend is raped on her way home. Enter detective Peter Decker, LA's top rape and murder detective. Already spread thin trying to solve the Foothill rape case, Decker takes on the Jewtown rape case as well. What ensues, is a developing relationship between Lazarus and Decker who, of course, fall for each other despite crossing religious lines, or so we think. Getting acclimated to the cast of characters, we meet Rina's sons, Decker's daughter as well as his police buddies, and the Rosh Yeshiva (head rabbi of yeshiva) Rabbi Shulman, who is also a lawyer.
Kellerman does a fine job explaining the laws of Torah Jews to non Jews and non-orthodox Jews. This is difficult to do without sounding too preachy, but she weaves the sound bites into her prose flawlessly. Where I have been to not know about this series, I have no idea. The good news is there are currently 23 books in the series and I'm guessing more to come. I have already ordered book two from the library and am in this one for the long haul. A fun read, I recommend to those detective lovers who haven't discovered this series yet.

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 2 out of 5]

What to do.....

For me, an atheist, I am offended by the obvious purposeful crippling of being human by the rituals of ANY religion. Since the beautiful widow and mother of two boys Rina Lazarus, love interest of the detective Peter Decker, is an Orthodox Jew, I am grinding my teeth even while I am admiring this interesting beach read of a novel.

This is book one - how they meet, so I knew I had to start here. However, I'm uncertain about continuing. Usually I give a series at least three books reading time to see if it interests me. The first in any series is usually either something that passes good enough, or it is brilliant. 'The Ritual Bath' is good enough. It is pure mystery genre, heavy on romance, but not a Romance genre. There are ugly police situations, though minimized in description.

The inside look at Orthodox Judaism, at least one brand of it, was interesting. But once again, the emotional suffering that religion causes and the absolutely mysterious devotion of its adherents in spite of that was outlined so clearly, reading this novel for me was like being in a grocery store and watching a father take off his belt and start beating the shit out of his mischievous four year old.

What the Ritual Bath is: when a woman has her period, the husband and the wife cannot have sex for twelve days. After 12 days, the wife must 'purify' herself with a bath in a kosher mikvah, a bathing tub or hole, in this case a nice Roman tub, first clipping her nails, brushing her teeth and removing all loose hair and foreign objects such as dentures, and submit to a minute centimeter-by-centimeter skin examination of her naked flesh by another woman.


Page 260: "She was being terrorized by a ghoul who not only threatened her physical safety, but held her spiritually imprisoned." This is in reference to a ski-masked rapist stalking Lazarus. Yet, she is completely blind to the spiritual imprisonment of her orthodox religious practices and the orthodox community she lives in.

I've copied examples below:

Page 1: "it had been a busy evening because of the bride. A lot of to-do, hand-holding, and explaining. The young girl had been very nervous, but who wouldn't be about marriage? Rivki was barely seventeen with little knowledge of the world around her. Sheltered and exquisitely shy, she'd gotten engaged to Baruch after three dates."

Page 2: "Of all the religious obligations that Rina had decided to take on, the covering of her hair was...."

It is over 100 degrees F in Los Angeles, yet the women have to wear hot wigs or kerchiefs, along with long skirts and shirts.

Page 43: "Matt knew she left the door open for religious reasons...."

Page 45: "Rina's (seat) was in the front row of the balcony--the women's section."

Page 52: "I can't eat in a restaurant because the food's not kosher."

Page 74: "Rina ignored her and walked over to Decker who led her to an isolated spot beyond the crowd. She felt Chana's eyes boring in on her. She was pleased when, a moment later, Marge and Hollander joined them. That made it look better."

This scene disgusted me. Decker, a police detective, had just saved her life from a stalker with a gun who had fired at them both at the ritual bath house. The bath house becomes full of people from the Jewish community, called a yeshiva, all milling about, along with all kinds of cops, and the rabbi. Yet the Jews who are present continuously disapprove of all contact between the Jewish women present and ANYONE else, feeling there should be NO contact or conversation whatever the situation.

There are dozens of following examples in the book of rigid disapproval and threats of social isolation if Rina continues to meet and talk with police or anyone outside the enclave, even after another woman is raped and yet another woman is horribly murdered. In other words, the good orthodox believers would rather Rita be raped and murdered in good standing with God than have police protection or talk to male officers. Her soul's purity is more important than broken bones or a torn vagina or ripped up anus or surviving. This is SO fucked up.

Page 191: "She took a stack of paper goods and some plastic utensils out of a bag she'd brought from home, having explained to Peter that his dishes and flatware weren't kosher even though they'd been sterilized in a dishwasher."

Page 126: "With him were two teenagers....She was dressed in short shorts, a midriff tank top, and sandals.....His dress was identical to the girl's. They had their arms looped around each other. (Decker, and his teen daughter and her boyfriend are going out with Rina, a widowed mother and her two boys, to a park for a picnic.) Immediately, Rina wondered if she hadn't erred in her judgement. Although she couldn't shelter her kids forever, perhaps it would have been wiser to expose them to the goyim at a less impressionable age." (Besides the shorts, she is disturbed by the public affection.)

Really? This is our heroine? A bigoted, small-minded, rigid, mind-controlled, fearful of all touching, laughing, running, eating, clothes, shoes, dishes, silverware because of purity issues, religious fundamentalist? Fearful of breaking or forgetting a step in hundreds of rituals in dressing, eating, standing, sitting, bathing, cleaning, praying, reading, which body part can contact which ordinary necessity of living, such as which hand you can use to drink a glass of water, where and when you can drink a glass of water, in front of who, what order of heirarchical importance a group of men, women and children are permitted to drink....etc etc etc.

It's funny how religious people always bring up bigotry and intolerance and prejudice in the context of people not wanting to live like they do, while at the same time making it clear they can't tolerate being with or eating with people who don't want to live like they do in the name of soul purity.

Somewhere I read that People of the Book (Christians, Jews, Muslims) have each in their history written discussions about scratching their noses on Sunday, Saturday and Friday, depending on which religion's Holy Day we're talking about. What is the point of writing a hundred page analysis of whether scratching your nose on Sabbath is ok or not? Why is scratching your nose a matter of fear of hell and distress? And worse, why do such people try to convince the rest of us to live like them, or in failing to convince us, isolate themselves from us because we are "unclean" and "impure" and consider unbelievers evil satanics? Yet, they often call the rest of US prejudiced?

Excuse me, but WHY am I supposed to respect and tolerate religious rituals when those rituals are abusive, painful and intolerant of nonconformity and common sense; for example, all of these stupid and sometimes dangerous rituals because of menstruation?

I can't begin to fathom the religious mind, and Rina is one of the most stupidest heroines I've been introduced to in a series.

If you don't mind reading mixed into the normal mystery genre plot a lot of foot binding nonsense in the name of religious purity, then this is an ok read.

I'm going to read two more Rina books, and then I'll decide if I'm going on with the series.

It's amazing that religious Jews, Muslims and Christians kill each other so much when their customs are indistinguishable from each other's rituals, with minor differences. But then, Christians went to war with each for a hundred years over crazy hair-splitting Bible interpretations such as saying the doxology.



Edit: revisiting, ranting and frothing, several weeks later. I've read 4 and 1/2 books in the series, and I'm done. For me, and of course this is just my opinion (I have seen how everyone loves this series) this series totally sucks. I originally rated this 3 stars because I felt it was a 2 and a half star, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt and rounded it up. I'm rolling it back. Why do I hate this series? I'm a feminist.

Everything about this couple is pure Archie Bunker and Edith, the characters of 'All in the Family'. Essentially, the people who developed the TV show 'Archie Bunker' were laughing at Bunker. The whole show was about showing what an idiot and a fool a guy like Archie Bunker is. I agree with that view of Archie being an ignorant ass. I think women deserve all the same rights as men, and I think women and men should be given the same amount of respect, same job pay for the same work, and the opportunity for the same jobs if they can physically handle the job.

I don't know what Faye Kellerman actually believes, and for all I know she simply wanted to write and make a living, but I despise her Decker character. He is a 1950's Neanderthal who believes in the very old fashioned standards about the roles women should have and the roles a 'real' man should have. In the above novel, his ideas about women and men and their roles was not so evident. However each progressive book in the series contains more and more of his thoughts on the matter - I could quote dozens and dozens of sentences showing his thinking from each novel - and it is obvious Decker believes men should be emotional stones to their wives and friends, even if they can't pull it off. Worse, he is a touchy, defensive, quick-to-rage guy, all a-quiver to the slightest insult to his male honor, even if there is nothing of that nature going on. In every conversation, his radar appears to be looking for insults to his male superiority. I know FK gave us Marge, Decker's female partner, but she is no equal working partner. He admires her most for her doe-like eyes and man-like strength. Give me a break.

From 'False Prophet', page 56: Althea, a manager, is upset that Decker didn't explain why he needed telephone numbers and home addresses of employees. She didn't know her employer had been beaten and raped. Would YOU give out such information to a strange man who simply burst into your office? This is Decker's feelings after Althea, upset, says why didn't you say that before? "She was scolding him. But she was giving him what he wanted so Decker let it pass."

What a effing asshole. Decker is a moron. I absolutely hate him. He's a thick-skulled jock, a self-centered, emotionally tone deaf believer in old American white male values.

Maybe FK doesn't buy into her character's value system, but I also began to hate her writing in the Decker/Lazarus series novels which follow. The author's consistent tone deafness to how real people would feel in real life to the situations she fictionally creates for her characters is not simply risible, but hilariously wrong. The manner in which her characters respond emotionally to stress, fear, violence, and destruction is similar to a writer creating a situation where her character gets his jaw blown off by a bullet, then in the next second that character is concerned by how he's going to chew meat instead of the pain and mutilation. They are void of depth or complexity, and they simply follow the rules of the role they are inhabiting in the most stupid one-dimensional thinking possible, with self-centered pride blinding them to anyone else's concerns. I realize there are real people out there like this, but I'm talking about how the author seems to read people, so it appears that she IS writing what she knows.

The author's stories all revolve around Pride and Respect in the old-fashioned, male-centered way, with fhe blue-collar white man being the King of all living that is important and the only one who matters. In my experience, blue-collar males DID try to recreate the world this way in their homes and neighborhoods, and I grew up despising it. The fruits of such a world belief was not a happy, chubby cheeked sweetness and wholesome family life, but secret child and wife abuse, as well as sexual perversions, excess drinking and drug use.

If I was to classify the reader she is aiming at, it would be the folks who believe in the Archie Bunker world view, despite the aunt who is abusing diet pills and has had secret abortions, or the uncle who raped the little boy next door, and the wife who is drinking too much but nobody mentions it, yet everyone in the family dresses nice and sits down to dinner and is rosy-cheeked with combed hair, all obedient to whatever dad says, fulfilling their roles as Mother, Son, Daughter - no back talk or opposing views, no blue jeans or pants on the girls, no jewelry on the males, sitting up straight, no allowing of any personal preferences or individuality, everybody forced into stereotypical family roles whether they like it or not, punishment that is excessive, shaming that must be overwhelmingly soul-crushing, no individuality whatsoever. FK seems to actually be promoting this viewpoint. She is not explaining, not satirizing, not disagreeing, not being a camera simply showing, but she is actually editorializing how despite the problems and evil of the world and within families, rigid group-think and male hierarchical, religiously-enforced family roles is best for approved family life.

I not only disagree with it, I believe many family horrors are caused by the suppression of individuality. Rigid group think of any kind is the cause of much self-loathing and secret self-destructive behaviors.

[Tooter · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. This is our introduction to the two characters that I know will go on through at least 8 books as I read the 8th book first...

Here we see the introduction of the characters and the story line. Many continuing mystery series have some kind of "hook". Here it's the fact of Judaism, maybe in the tradition Harry Kellerman's Rabbi? (By the way as far as I can find Harry Kellerman is no relation to this author or her husband).

Anyway, the writer's orthodox faith is part of the story here and she incorporates it into the story very well. I'm not a fan of romance and while the budding love story of our two main characters is a big part of things here it doesn't draw away from the novel.

Well characterized and well written. I'll say I didn't like it as much as the first book I read by Ms. Kellerman but that may be a good thing. As noted the first book i read was the 8th in the series. That may indicate that they improve as they go, right?

What we have here is a mystery thriller about a rapist stalking women in the hills. Then a woman is attacked at the local Mikveh. Are they related? Is there more than one rapist?

Then it escalates to murder.

Well written. See what you think.

[Eline Van Der Meulen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Het rituele bad vormde voor mij een aangename kennismaking met het duo Decker en Lazaris en ik ben benieuwd of Decker zijn versierpogingen verder zal zetten in de volgende delen. Kellerman heeft er alvast een lezer bij!"
https://elinevandm.wordpress.com/2019...

[Matt Horowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had gotten this book (and #2) when a very old copy was being thrown out at the temple library I worked at and it promptly sat on my shelf for two or three years. I can't finish one book without immediately starting another (even if it's only the first couple of pages) and I found myself (late) one night with a finished book and no idea what to read next. So I picked this up and ended up reading almost half of it before going to bed.
The next day and despite working at a bookstore I drove around tracking down all the rest. They are excellent. The first book opens with a murder at a bathing house on a yeshiva in Los Angeles. Peter Decker arrives to investigate and meets Rina Lazarous and her sons. I learned a lot about my heritage by reading these books. The mystery itself was very engaging. Peter & Rina (& their family & friends) are all great characters that come to life off the page.
The stories are pretty harsh (stay away Mandy Patinkin)and sometimes just the heavy load of human misery can be overwhelming... But at it's heart is this amazing couple that gives me hope in both humanity and myself.

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title, The Ritual Bath, refers to the Mikvah. A Jewish, purifying bath that has been used for centuries and remains a tenant of Orthodox Jewish life. The plot revolves around Rina, a religious woman who runs the Mikvah in a cloistered Yeshiva community in LA.

It's a mystery novel that begins with a violent rape outside the Mikvah. We meet Detective Peter Decker who teams up with Rina to solve this crime and ends up caring too much for the religious Jewish woman whose beliefs will not allow her to pursue their relationship.

Kellerman gives the reader an opportunity to experience the beauty of the observant lives of religious Jews. At the same time she does not shy away from the antisemitic speech, racist taunts, or physical violence that victimizes them.

I hope that those who read this book appreciate the beauty and decry the hatred.

[Gwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't care for this book at all. It's not the worst thing I've read for mystery book club, but the easily solved mystery (with absolutely no real logic behind the crime) and the ridiculous characterization made me toss the book aside once I finished, thinking that it was a waste of time.

I disliked Decker: misogynistic (both in the belittling and sexual predatory meanings), patronizing toward women, a "sympathetic" backstory now with more Jewishness! (to give him "depth," I assume), and an over-the-top "good guy" persona. I hated how he immediately had sexual fantasies about Rina--even before he knew she was widowed. I didn't find that he liked her for her, just as an object.

As for Rina, she was an extremely milquetoast character: rather bland, little depth, and with a scant backstory (or perhaps this comes in later books?). Things happen to Rina--she does not do things. (Cf Peter, who is always a man of action.)

I could have also done with out the "fat as a descriptor" trope that Kellerman seems to love: Marge (Peter's partner), Florence (the murdered security guard), and Shirley at the LAPD were all reduced to their weight when it came to character descriptions.

With the setting, Kellerman tried to have it both ways: depict life in a yeshiva but without providing enough of an explanation to have a reader understand the physical and religious setting. Thank goodness for Google. Without having the ability to look up Hebrew phrases and aspects of Judaism at my fingertips, this book would have been incredibly frustrating to a reader not well versed in the minutiae of Judaism, especially in the pre-internet days of the 1980s. (I know a fair amount on the topic, but I was Googling about every 5 minutes.) At the beginning, Kellerman tried to help a reader out by having Decker and Marge stand in for the uninformed, but she dove into Dorothy L. Sayers territory later on, with untranslated Hebrew dialogue and religious allusions.

Kellerman could have had a well-written, interesting series here, but I don't think this first book in the Decker/Lazarus chronicles starts it off well. A series about religious understanding between an Orthodox Jewish woman and a man not raised Jewish, their developing relationship in light of prior relationships and family life, solving crimes amid the trials of 1980s LA? That would have been great! But Kellerman's writing and characterization as yet seems to clunky to achieve this. (Am I wrong? I am happy to be wrong about the rest of the series.)

[Marco · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeah, right. Frustrate the police by not cooperating, then blame them for not solving the crime. And that's not all that bugged me about this yeshiva community. What a difficult, tiring and annoying bunch.

I felt little sympathy towards these people. And Rina Lazaris is the queen of them all. Biggest mystery of the book is what Peter sees in her. I sure as hell didn't see it.

The other mystery, a rape case, well, there's barely any investigating going on in the first half of the book. Besides two incidents it's mostly about the orthodox Jewish way of life and the oh so awkward romantic dynamics between the two leads. So yeah, tough start.

But then a grisly murder takes place and Peter Decker actually starts acting like a detective. He improves. She doesn't, unfortunately. A burden to the very end.

I wasn't too fond of Faye Kellerman's style either. So on the nose. So ungainly. Lacks nuance and such. No, I don't see myself returning to this series. Unless someone has a (very) good reason, of course.

[Penny Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent start to this series. I really enjoyed all of the details about Orthodox Jewish life.

There is disturbing material, but not graphic enough to keep me from reading more.

I read this series years ago, and now I'm re-reading for fun.

Grade: A

[SheriC]

This book was clearly written to appeal to someone very different from myself. Didn't get through enough to feel like it would be fair to give it a star rating, although I will say that the writing was uninspired enough to make the experience as interesting as performing the multitude of chores that the main character is engaged in during the first several paragraphs.

Audiobook, borrowed from my public library via Audible. Michael Greenberg sounds as bored reading it as I felt listening to it.

[Tasha Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of her better books. Trying to describe orthodox Jewish concepts to non-Jews is always hard. Ms Kellerman does fairly well with this book.

[Krisi Keley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Closer to a 3.5, but a difficult one for me to rate as far as "enjoyment" because of some of the subject matter - reading about rape and extreme prejudice is difficult to "enjoy" as such. An interesting crime mystery with well-developed characters though, and I did really enjoy learning more about Torah Judaism and other varying Orthodox Jewish views and traditions. I also thought the author did an excellent job of portraying some of the difficulties of trying to live one's faith in a culture that can be very intolerant to the idea that a person's spiritual beliefs/worldview inherently affect every part of his/her life and aren't something a person can or even should (as often seems to be the modern view) take a little time out to go do "privately" - that is, something reserved for a supposed religious sphere only or to be adhered to only when those beliefs don't clash with the given culture's self-assumed better or more "normal" view. As this is the first novel in a series about the two main characters, it would be very interesting to see how the relationship between Rina and Peter develops in light of their different views. A language warning for readers sensitive to that - it's realistic and not profuse, but it is there - and the sometimes vivid portrayal of sickeningly hateful anti-Semitism can be difficult to read.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid 4.5 stars and two thumbs up!

This is actually my second Faye Kellerman experience, and it won't be my last. The first was the combined effort of Faye and her husband, Jonathan.

I stumbled a bit through some of the book, but I think it was because I was learning so much about the Jewish culture and their language. I find myself the wiser for all of this.

A very good police procedural with an element of surprise at times. Very well written, I encourage others to take the chance and read at least this first book in the series.

From the blurb: Detective 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 brutally raped as she returned from the mikvah, the bathhouse 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. She is also the only one in the sheltered community willing to speak of this unspeakable violation. As Rina tries to steer Decker through the maze of religious laws, the two grow closer. But before they get to the bottom of this horrendous crime, revelations come to light that are so shocking, they threaten to come between the hard-nosed cop and the deeply religious woman with whom he has become irrevocably linked.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a lot of promise in the beginning and I felt connected, drawn to, and cared about the main characters. One of the reasons I'm feeling much disappointment and sadness is because the author was adept at getting me at least emotionally involved with her characters. I was also excited about reading this book for personal reasons. The novel explores and does a good job of explaining many unknowns about one of the many types of Judaism. The author did this in an interesting and engaging way. She painted a decently picture of the beliefs, laws, customs, rituals, and more that gives the reader a basic understanding of what it is and means to be one type of a Hasidic Jew, and what it's like to be a part of a closed religious community. I said basic and decent above because I am very familiar with many aspects of ultra orthodox Judaism and other forms as well. This is part of why I was drawn to this book. I was very also very interested because the author's story thrust together those in the fervently religious community with the "outside" world. Somewhere along the way the author lost her way. What had been a tight plot and character driven novel drifted into repetition and for me, everything and everyone became flat and one dimensional. I kept hoping that the author would find her way again but she didn't. The ending fizzled out, falling off a cliff, and barely making a sound.

[The Girl with the Sagittarius Tattoo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay; a little dated, but not too bad. The interesting thing with this series is the pairing of Detective Peter Decker with Rina Lazarus, a Hasidic Jewish schoolteacher. Typically a series will team up a cop with a forensic specialist or a medical examiner, so it will be interesting to see how this series develops Rina's character.

In this first book, Rina calls the police to investigate a sexual assault that has taken place inside her insular community. The citizens are distrustful of the police "outsiders," so Decker has to work twice as hard without their cooperation. With a rapist known to be attacking nearby areas, Decker has to consider whether this case could be related to those crimes. In the meantime, Decker and Rina are dealing with a mutual attraction, complicated by Rina's staunch rule of only dating Jewish men.

The mystery wasn't too-too hard to figure out; I was in the right ballpark with it, but not exactly the right person. A solid series starter.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in a mystery series starring LAPD Detective Peter Decker and his romantic interest, Orthodox Jewish widow Rina Lazarus. I absolutely loved this book. Peter and Rina are both well developed, as is the description of life in a yeshiva. The plot (involving rape and murder in a place where Rina and other women feel most safe) is disturbing, but the chemistry between Peter and Rina is light and natural in the most dark and unnatural of circumstances. Highly recommended, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

[Terry Cornell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read! I read the second book in the series first, and now went back to read this one. It does give more background to the main characters, and leads directly into the second book. Some parts are a little predictable, but Kellerman has enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. I felt the ending was a bit abrupt without much follow-up, but I'm excited to continue on to the third book 'Milk and Honey'. Again I love the setting in Southern California and learning about Jewish culture.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fell in love with the Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series well into the series with "Grievous Sin"...love the characters & religious overtones...as a Roman Catholic, I appreciate the traditions of religion & thus enjoy the many side journeys into the traditions of Judaism...so, I went to the beginning where they met...it certainly isn't a "meet cute" as Decker arrives at Rina's late husband's yeshiva to investigate a rape on its grounds...great stuff!

[Felix · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a thriller or police procedural, it just about passes muster. However, the characters were sufficiently interesting for me to order the next book in the series to find out about their further adventures.

[Laurie • The Baking Bookworm]

I read until page 80/335 and I’m not into the characters or the plot which has lack of tension. And even though the focus is on the two main characters, I find them both quite bland. No rating because I DNF’d it. It just wasn’t for me.

[Cyberpope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my review of all the Rina/Peter Decker series.

They can be read in any order, but I recommend reading this one first.

This series I contrast to Faye Kellerman's husband writing by noting that Faye's are more about character development than hardcore procedural details.

I like both, in their place, but probably prefer this series of the two.

Rina is an orthodox Jew who meets Peter during a very painful investigation that clashes strictly practiced Orthodox Judaism with Peter's more prosaic lapsed Catholocism.

Throughout this investigation, their personalities meet, meld, & they fall in love.

Rina, being very devoted to her religion, has the standard of only marrying a Jew.

Peter goes through the very difficult & long process of Orthodox conversion for her.

Throughout the series we see many positive-view tidbits of Orthodoxy practiced for the love of it, not out of duress.

Peter is an above-average homicide detective whose people skilles lead him on a rapid climb to Lieutenant where he leads an inimitable group of other detective characters.

This series shines, especially, in the familial & other interactions.

Peter relates to Rina, their daughter together, & Rina's two sons from her previous husband(deceased).

Peter Decker's daughter, Cindy, from a previous marriage(divorced) becomes a police officer, too, much to Peter's concern, but she does well, humbly & respectfully seeking assistance from her dad & his team, when needed.

She meets & marries a secularly Jewish nurse.

In Jupiter's Bones, Marge(Peter's longtime officer/detective partner) rescues a young teen who was part brainwashed by a religious cult; Marge adopts her, becoming a mom, later than most start this process.

Peter & Rina wind up fostering Gabe, a teenaged music genius, son of a high ranking mafia father, who has crossed paths, professionally with Peter in the past, but in his time of need for his son, he only trusts Decker with his only child.

In Gun Games(2012) Gabe meets & falls in love with a teenaged Persian Jew; this was a beautiful rendering of budding love from first meeting to a growing development & consummation, then tragedy!

If you read only 2 of Fatye's books, I very highly recommend Ritual Bath & Gun Games

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm very torn about how to rate and review The Ritual Bath. What usually pushes me to rate a book is how well it is written.

In that respect, I will go with 4-stars, because this book is very well written. What I find unusual is the amount of Orthodox Jewish life represented in what I thought would be a mainstream book. To someone unfamiliar with Orthodox Judaism, that may be a huge turn off.

A portion of the story hit me on a personal level, in an irritating way - that included an "all too convenient" plot twist. Due to that, I would have given this book a 3-star rating. And with that in mind, I do not plan to read any more books in this series. However, it's unusual for a book rating for me to be something I find personal, so I'm going with 4-stars.

Confused? Me too. Did I LIKE the story? I'm not sure.....

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read from what I thought was the July Jewish Book Group Mystery Read. Turns out they went with my nomination Ten Years Gone, which I am excited to also read. But I was 20% in so I kept going.

Quick easy read from 1986 about an LA detective investigating assaultive events happening at the Mikvah on the Yeshiva Grounds. Naturally she is a beautiful striking widow, and the plot device you can see a mile coming (and yet I somehow didn't expect it - duh!). I must say for those who have read it, I really loved the way it ended. It was sappy, in the most wonderful Jewish way. Wasn't romantic-sappy. Jewish sappy. Put a smile on my face. It was the last line that got me smiling. Made the whole book. Fine to glad that I read it after all. Now onto the next....

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Faye Kellerman read, another author recommended to me. I've read several of her husband's - Jonathan Kellerman - books and decided it was time to try her's.

This is the first book in the Peter Decker detective series by Faye Kellerman. Definitely enjoyed it and will read the others as I find them. I liked that she added a little about the Jewish traditions of a yeshiva. I enjoy learning about other religions and cultures. Was a mover and kept my interest. I pictured David Caruso as Decker.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent thriller with a great setting. I wish there were more books about orthodox Jews as I find them fascinating. It's like if Yentl were a thriller. My only complaint was that at times it felt more like a romance than a thriller. I could have done with a bit more thrilling and a bit less romance. But still good.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the series and my first experience of Faye Kellerman's work.
The book was very enjoyable and I will be looking to read more of her work shortly.

[Ken Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun mystery story, set in Los Angeles, revolving around violence at an Orthodox Jew yeshiva. The main character is a gruff (of course!) LA detective, Peter Decker, who is also trying to hunt down the Hillside Rapist, while solving a rape at the school. In his investigations at the yeshiva, Peter works with a young widow Rina Lazarus, a devout teacher who struggles with her attractions to the rough detective. The cultural conflicts (Jewish orthodoxy, LA street cop) is as interesting as the crime mysteries that swirl around them.

Can these two very different people find love in LA? And solve the crimes at the Jewish school? I don't want to spoil the ending but this IS the first of a series of Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus novels....

At times the book was slow, with descriptions of house work, settings and small interactions. Read it leisurely.

[Joi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good introduction to a series and makes me want to keep going. I was interested from the beginning. It interweaves a mystery and Jewish faith. It wasn't hard to follow and I found it interesting to learn new things about the faith. It tells the story of Peter Decker, a detective that is investigating rapes and murders of women of the Jewish faith. He meets the intended victim Rina and her family. He eventually has to battle between keeping his focus on the case and not his increasing feelings of Rina.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this whole series. I so learned a lot about Jewish history and the religious tenets.