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 Cali...
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reviews
Feb 01, 2012
Bridgette
rated it: 
Every so often, I am fortunate enough to stumble upon a series at its beginning. And since books in a series rarely improve as the series wears on, the first book is very often the best. It is there where the characters are still fresh and the author shows a high amount of creativity and originality.
Faye Kellerman has two claims to fame. The first (and most important) is her bestselling mystery series and the two extra-series novels (one a historical mystery and the other a mystical th More...
Faye Kellerman has two claims to fame. The first (and most important) is her bestselling mystery series and the two extra-series novels (one a historical mystery and the other a mystical th More...
Sep 29, 2011
Heather
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I liked the basic story of this book; the characters were well developed, I thought Rina and Peter both were realistic as were their conflicts with their feelings for each other. The crimes being investigated were a little convoluted to me, but only a little. I don't want to say too much, but there were some coincidences that I found a little too coincidental
I wasn't a big fan of the changing POV, but that's a personal preference, not a flaw of the book. I prefer staying in the heads More...
I wasn't a big fan of the changing POV, but that's a personal preference, not a flaw of the book. I prefer staying in the heads More...
Aug 02, 2009
Kinga
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The Ritual Bath is usually categorized as a mystery novel (it even won a prestigious award in this field, the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel in 1987), but is rather a contemporary romance novel in a whodunit environment. (And I am telling so without ever reading a so called main stream 'romance' work of any kind...)
On her way home from a ritual bathhouse ('mikvah') a young woman is brutally raped in a small, strict Orthodox Jew community, near Los Angeles. One of her fri More...
On her way home from a ritual bathhouse ('mikvah') a young woman is brutally raped in a small, strict Orthodox Jew community, near Los Angeles. One of her fri More...
Mar 07, 2011
Chandler
rated it:
Apparently "The Ritual Bath" is the first book in a series. It revolves around a Jewish community and its Mitvah where women go for their ritual cleansing baths. A young woman is raped after she leaves the Mitvah and there the story begins....
Rina, who runs the Mitvah, and Detective Peter Decker are front and center of this story--is Rina really the target of the rapist? Peter develops the "hots" for Rina and during the whole book she plays with Peter's emotion More...
Rina, who runs the Mitvah, and Detective Peter Decker are front and center of this story--is Rina really the target of the rapist? Peter develops the "hots" for Rina and during the whole book she plays with Peter's emotion More...
Oct 19, 2009
Awallens
rated it: 
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 comm More...
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 comm More...
Jun 21, 2009
Mum
rated it:
As mystery novels go, this was sort of middle of the road. In my mind the bad guy was easy to figure out early on, and while I kept reading hoping there would be some twist and I would be surprised and wrong, I wasn't surprised and right. It is not the easiest thing to read a book like this knowing the outcome, the whole purpose being the suspense, but it was still an interesting story and I almost think I liked the characters enough to see how their relationship develops as the series goes on
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Dec 11, 2010
Linda
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I gave this book a four because it's a good book, but wasn't what I was expecting. It was recommended as a mystery, but after reading the first 6 chapters it just didn't read like a mystery. I looked up the tags and it was tagged police procedural, but truthfully I found it lacking in that category also.
It's a wonderful book about the Jewish religion and the society problems they face in everyday living. It's also the beginnings of a love story between Peter and Rina. I found it More...
It's a wonderful book about the Jewish religion and the society problems they face in everyday living. It's also the beginnings of a love story between Peter and Rina. I found it More...
Aug 22, 2011
Marie
rated it: 
I have so many mixed emotions about this book. The author was recommended to me by several people and I had great anticipation before I even started the book. The genre of detective crime novel peaked my interest, as well as it being set in the back drop of an orthodox Jewish community. It read like a television show (not movie) and unfortunately the language of the criminals and detectives were too realistic for me. I did like one of the main characters - Nina Lazarus, the Jewish woman respo
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Jul 09, 2011
Smitha
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this is more of a romance than a mystery novel. I loved listening to the audiobook. The story focuses upon a rape committed in a closeted jewish community living in the outskirts of LA, when a Jewish woman returning home from her ritual bath is raped and left with multiple injuries, and she is discovered by another Jewish woman, a widow with two small boys. This is in the background of a serial rape occurring in the city outskirts. The story then unfolds to show the budding romance between the c
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Sep 21, 2008
Ginger
rated it:
This was another bookclub selection. I think my sister described it best when she said she could picture it as a made for tv movie. If you are into mysteries that are a quick read, you would enjoy this book.
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Dec 07, 2010
Kristen
rated it:
The first of a series. This is such an interesting series! It really has a twist no other author is exploring, namely the complex and misunderstood world of orthodox Jews. Peter Decker starts the series as a detective who falls in love with an orthodox jewish woman. As the story progresses, so does their relationship, until finally he must decide to what lengths he is willing to go to be with her.
This is not a love story, though. It is, first and foremost, a mystery novel. The c More...
This is not a love story, though. It is, first and foremost, a mystery novel. The c More...
Dec 07, 2010
Craig
rated it:
Faye Kellerman's debut of the Peter Decker/Rina Lazerus series has stood the test of time well, despite being a product of the mid to late 1980s.
References to the 1980s and cassette tapes aside, Kellerman crafts a solid mystery while elevating the book by making it instructive of the Orthodox Jewish subculture that surrounds a certain kind of Yeshiva school.
Balancing her portrayals of good and bad cops, good and bad Jewish folk and good and bad non-Jews keeps the book appeali More...
References to the 1980s and cassette tapes aside, Kellerman crafts a solid mystery while elevating the book by making it instructive of the Orthodox Jewish subculture that surrounds a certain kind of Yeshiva school.
Balancing her portrayals of good and bad cops, good and bad Jewish folk and good and bad non-Jews keeps the book appeali More...
Apr 08, 2011
JoAnne
rated it:
Faye Kellerman has created a mystery series based on two very original and likeable characters, Rina Lazarus and Peter Decker. The first book in the series is titled THE RITUAL BATH which introduces the characters to each other when there is a murder in the Jewish women’s bathhouse where Rina works. Police detective Peter is sent to investigate. This initial book begins the journey through their love, their lives, their marriage, and their children. It also includes religious traditions and phil
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Dec 22, 2011
Ariel
rated it:
This first book about a rape that occurs just outside the mikvah (A Jewish rital bath) 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 More...
I don't want to give away any of the story as many reviewers do so I'll just advise you to More...
Feb 04, 2011
Sharon
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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 inc More...
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 inc More...
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Mar 01, 2010
Hayley
rated it:
The first Faye Kellerman book I read was Stone Kiss and I hadn't realised when I read it that it was mid-way through a series. I loved that novel so was intrigued enough to accumulate all the other books in the series. I then fell out of love with mystery/thriller book and so that was pretty much that! I moved house recently and discovered all my Faye Kellerman novels and decided I would keep them and start again from the beginning.
I enjoyed this novel; it was interesting to fi More...
Aug 12, 2009
Liisa
rated it:
I am a little lost at how to describe my feeling towards "The Ritual Bath" by Faye Kellerman. To be honest, I can't even say with certainty if I liked it (and to the same hand, if I disliked it).
For me, it's a middle-of-the-road crime thriller. I found the Judaic slant off-putting as instead of becoming an interesting twist, it became so dominant in parts that it distracted from the story.
Although only three stars (and a shaky three at that) and not being overly More...
For me, it's a middle-of-the-road crime thriller. I found the Judaic slant off-putting as instead of becoming an interesting twist, it became so dominant in parts that it distracted from the story.
Although only three stars (and a shaky three at that) and not being overly More...
Jan 27, 2012
Trudi
rated it:
After having listened to a number of Faye Kellerman's Rina/Decker mysteries, it was nice to find out how they met. This is the first in the series. Peter is called out to a strictly religious Jewish neighborhood to investigate a rape. He meets Rina who turns out to be the actual target of the rapist. The two are attracted to each other, but Peter's religion (not a strictly observant Jew) gets in the way of their dating. During the course of the book, there is a murder (solved) and the captu
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Sep 30, 2010
Bob
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Again getting an older book, this is the first of the Peter Decker Rina Lazarus series where we find the two just meeting when Decker responds to a rape at the Jewish settelment where Rina lives and teaches. The settelment is plagued by vandalism and members are accosted by youth gangs while out shopping. Decker is working on the rape case and also on a seiral rapist case, but he is taken with Rina who is also attracted but is hindered by here orthodoxy from connecting with a non Jew despite her
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Mar 07, 2011
Unfortunately i was not able to finish this book. It wasn't because the book was badly written, or that the plot was bad. It was because Rina is an extremely religious woman who indoctrinates her children. Having been subjected to religious indoctrination myself, especially in religious (indoctrination) school it brought back to many bad memories. I would not recommend this book to people who were also subjected to religious indoctrination. Other than that it is a good book and i woud recommend
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Jun 16, 2010
Marcia
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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
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May 06, 2011
Barbara
rated it:
Well, I just found another series to read. This one involves Orthodox Judaism which is very dear to me. It is was interesting to read how a Yeshiva survives in the Los Angeles area. Although it was easy for me to figure out "whodunit" early on, how Peter Decker drew his conclusions was interesting and intriguing. There were parts that were graphic, but they were not of sexual nature. Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus are two compelling characters and you find yourself really liking them, e
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Nov 12, 2009
Karschtl
rated it:
I like starting a series of books with the first part. I do think this makes sense, since this is the book where the characters are properly introduced.
So despite having several books by Faye Kellerman for some time, I only started reading when I recently got "Ritual Bath". The book where Rina Lararus and Det. Decker meet.
I didn't know much about the series or the characters beforehand, I think I always thought that both would be with the police - a team like in all those T More...
So despite having several books by Faye Kellerman for some time, I only started reading when I recently got "Ritual Bath". The book where Rina Lararus and Det. Decker meet.
I didn't know much about the series or the characters beforehand, I think I always thought that both would be with the police - a team like in all those T More...
Jul 17, 2009
Kim
rated it:
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 Davi More...
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 Davi More...
Feb 03, 2011
This book had a lot of mixed reviews from our book group. It is a mystery novel that delves into several cultural and class issues which the author does not really appear to recognize and therefore does not resolve by the end of the novel. Many women were offended by the brutal rape and murder of the security guard. Our group did not find this to be a good book for a new chapter of Daughters. It did not delve into the spiritual aspect of observing the ritual of mikveh/ taharat ha-mishpachah/
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Sep 17, 2011
Decker and Lazarus make an intriguing duo and Kemelman does a great job of weaving in Orthodox Jewish wisdom and culture. This is one of the few crimes in the series that directly affect the pair, necessarily for them to meet. In subsequent books, the gritty, topical crimes run parallel to the drama unfolding between Peter and Rina. Some are truly disturbing, but the moral and religious dynamic shared by the couple is a sufficient antidote to the chaos and amorality around them.
Jan 22, 2011
Lora
rated it:
I just knew I'd enjoy this book and I did. There are many Jewish rituals that Christians are unfamiliar with. While I knew what a ritual bath was, I didn't remember all the significance and beauty of it. While the story was a tad bit predictible, and Rina a bit slow to show her emotions for Peter, I really loved it as they got to know one another. I thought his being Jewish was a bit too "convenient" but I know I will read more of Kellerman's books. And they are quick reads.
Feb 12, 2011
Britney
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I wasn't for sure what to think by the title of the book. It doesn't sound like your usual mystery title. I now understand why the author named it that. It was a very good book. At times I had a hard time understanding some of the language, because I am not familiar with Judism. It did teach me alot about some of the Judism ways. It was very interesting. The more I read the book the less I wanted to put it down. One of the main character Rina Lazarus frustrated me at times with her occasionally
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Aug 23, 2011
Poehippo
rated it:
Police procedural novels are always fun. They're definitely one of my top favorite genres. The two main characters have a way of becoming endearing for me. The cases are always unique and interesting. I recommend this to people who are okay with reading a longer series because you'll definitely want to know how things turn out with the characters after each installment. The only drawback for me, is the religious aspect. It can be a bit much at times.
Sep 08, 2010
Patricia
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After reading a Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus book borrowed from a friend I decided to go back and read the first book of this series. I really enjoyed this book. The rape/murder mystery that introduces the two main characters is quite compelling. The interesting thing about these stories is all the background of the Jewish faith and how it melds the two characters together - go figure. You'll understand why I said that if you read the book. Enjoy.
