The Ritual Bath
First in the Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Series
by Faye Kellerman
The Ritual Bath isn't the same genre as the later thrillers in the series. The primary focus is the
comparison of Rina and Peter's two lifestyles and how they splash together - a multifaceted romance that includes
violence, civil rights, religious dedication, revelation, and primers on Judaism and police procedures. I call it
a romance because if you take out any of the other features of the story, it can still stand on that. If you take
out the relationship between Peter and Rina, there is no story left to read.
Rina Lazarus is a widow with two young sons, living and working at Yeshivat Ohavei Torah near LA. Hers
is an awkward position because single women don't normally live at the all-male school. Respect for her dead
husband and the halacha provide for the family with Rina teaching high school boys and tending the
mikvah, the ritual bathhouse.
Enter Detective Peter Decker, goyem in this sacred Jewish community. A woman leaving the bathhouse is
beaten and violated on the grounds of the yoshiva. Peter and his partner answer the call and he feels drawn
to the calm, beautiful witness with the long, dark hair. He is attentive to the case, and soon even more attentive
to Rina.
I have been reading Faye Kellerman's Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus series for several years, but it wasn't
until the re-print of The Ritual Bath that I realized I hadn't read it from the beginning. I can't say that
I would recommend this book to others who started the series in the middle, as the story has been touched upon in
later works. For others, what are you waiting for? |
The Book |
Avon |
Reprint edition June 26, 2007 |
Mass Market Paperback |
0380732661 / 978-0380732661 |
Mystery / Police Procedural |
More at Amazon.com |
Excerpt |
NOTE: Dirty words and racial slurs |
The Reviewer |
Beth E. McKenzie |
Reviewed 2008 |
NOTE: |
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