This was good but not great. The characters and unusual setting were good, but it didn't quite come off as realistic to me. It was an interesting story but it stayed a story and didn't become real. ( )

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 friends, recently widowed Rina Lazarus, calls the police and she is also the only one among the religious villagers who seems to be willing to cooperate with the authorities. No wonder that the dashing, 6+ foot, freshly divorced policeman, who is in charge of the case, feels closer and closer to Rina. With some twisting and turning the story unstoppably and pretty calculably rushes towards its happy ending (that includes solving the rape plus murder case on the sidelines as well).

One of the the good things of the novel is its environment of course: it is trying to destroy a common prejudice that the followers of any orthodox religion must be weirdos but at least totally self-centered people rejecting other religions and outsiders. The community of Jewtown (as it is called in the story) is pretty confident but friendly and relatively open; boys are playing with G.I Joe action figures, their parents buy stuff in Target, a lot of them subscribe to 'secular' magazines and newspapers, they watch regular TV channels, drink Coke, and so on. True enough, if they go to a ball game, they are strictly banned to eat a good ol' hot dog (instead, they carry their kosher snacks), observe Sabbath very seriously (no electricity use, no work), follow a precisely described dress code anywhere they go, and of course keep the regulations of the ritual bath.

The title ('The Ritual Bath') can have several meanings, among them some symbolic as well: first of all of course the actual central element of the story, but we can take it as a symbol for Peter Decker on different levels: it is this case that puts him out of his past's misery (the residues of a divorce), but also, it is this case that connects him with his real spiritual self as well. The events also help Rina to understand what she wants from the rest of her life - as so far she has beeb burdened with her past too.

Kellerman writes good dialogs most of the time (for instance there is some mannerism in the beginning when Marge - one of the police officers - talks, etc), approaches her topic quite tactfully and empathetically and develops the Peter-Rina relationship very nicely and realistically (OK, 75% realistically...) With this being said, the novel is hardly more than a plain, although well-written romantic (romance?) story. The mystery part is forgettable but page-turningly (is there such a word?) enjoyable (I figured out the rape incident at about the 50th page or so, and it is not getting better later). For me the most annoying parts are when the text becomes an encyclopedia entry on the kollel life or on other orthodox Judaic cultural issue.

The Ritual Bath is fun to read, easy to read and easy to forget. Perfect beach book. ( )

The only other book I've read in this series was #9 or #10, so it was nice to see how Peter and Rina's relationship started. I found myself sucked into this pretty quickly, and Kellerman kept me guessing until the end! I did find myself wishing for a glossary from time to time, as my knowledge of this form of Judaism is pretty lacking. ( )

This is the first of the Decker/Lazarus series. Gives a good insight into the laws of Orthodox Jews and I found it very interesting. I love Faye Kellerman books.

Back Cover Blurb:
Sergeant Decker is called to investigate a rape charge in a isolated Orthodox Jewish community. Riva Lazarus, a young widow who found the victim, guides Decker through her suspicious community as all the signs point to the rapist's first crime not being their last. ( )

Pacing: Fast paced with a few leisurely interludes; quick read; Characterizations: Primary appeal element; series characters; down to earth, but eccentric because uncommon; strong secondary characters; motivating tertiary characters; sympathetic; emotional involvement; reader identification; introspective; Story Line: Character-centered; lots of issues discussed; fair amount of action; multiple plot lines; resolved episodic ending; open series ending; plot twists; thought provoking; layered; ambiguous – although not the crime aspects; multicultural; domestic; community-centered; plausible; Frame: Strong multicultural aspects; a lot of Judaism and Hebrew; would not try to read, but recommend listening; bittersweet love story; bleak moments; foreboding moments; heartwarming moments; menacing; suspenseful; police procedural; detailed setting; small almost rural community on the edge of very urban center; isolated; small-town community feeling; conversational style; vocabulary strong in Hebrew/Jewish elements; Los Angles; “Jew Town” community – small college like community of yeshiva
investigation somewhat dated (1986); emotionally feels very dated because of isolated community

Detective Peter Decker gets drawn into a sheltered Orthodox Jewish yeshiva when a woman is raped outside the mikvah. His emotional and physical attraction to Rina Lazarus keeps him focused on the yeshiva as it is vandalized, Rina is terrorized, a murder is committed, and Rina is hunted by the rapist. Meanwhile, her religious beliefs and the community’s isolationism makes investigation nearly impossible. ( )