The Ritual Bath

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.