The Ritual Bath

The First Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

By: Faye Kellerman

Narrated by: Mitchell Greenberg

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 that they threaten to come between the hard-nosed cop and the deeply religious woman with whom he has become irrevocably linked.

©1986 Faye Kellerman (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Phenomenal!" ( Murder Inc.)
A Master of Mystery" ( Cleveland Plain Dealer)

big fan

I have enjoyed all the faye kellerman books, a few CD'S and I am now collecting all the audible books for this series. Thank you for such great syories.

A little bland

Although I found the culture of the Hasidic Jew interesting I thought the story overall was a little bit bland.

An entertaining listen

Bought this on a lark and wasn't disappointed. The story kept moving and drew me in.

What a surprising place for a murder! The view into a culture that I've only "bumped into" here in Baltimore - devout, Judaism - was fascinating. The characters were all believable as well as engaging.

I'd recommend this book to a friend.

Just Fine. Nice Read. Want The Next Decker/Lazarus

Okay, "Ritual Bath" did not blow my socks off. But they're rolled down some. Enough that I want to read how the relationship between Rina Lazarus and Peter Decker grows. Kellerman gives Mitchell Greenberg a lot to work with yet he does it good, keeping the large cast of characters well defined throughout.

And this – is– a relationship novel with the chemistry between the leads a flirty magnet to readers who enjoy this sort of adventure. Frankly I don't know how Rina will become part of these continuing adventures… and that mystery's got me intrigued enough to get "Sacred & Profane", the next in this series, just to find out.

Kept my earbuds in my ears

My first Faye Kellerman and it won't be my last. Just logged on to purchase another in the Decker/Rina series. Love the insight to the Jewish Religion, the detective/mystery and the romantic twist as well.

Very Jewish

Where does The Ritual Bath rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Somewhere in the middle

Who was your favorite character and why?

oth the main male and female characters were very strong. Sorry I forgot their names - I've listened to three more books since this one.

What about Mitchell Greenberg’s performance did you like?

He has an excellent ability to create separate voices for each character, and his pronunciation of Hebrew words seems authrntic.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Overall, the plot moved me most. It was very well thought out.

Any additional comments?

Jewish people would appreciate this book much more than me. The Hebrew terminology distracted me from the plot.

An engrossing and informative mystery

What made the experience of listening to The Ritual Bath the most enjoyable?

Learning about the culture of Judaism was a major plus to the story

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

There was an urgency to find the perpetrator in a closed community

What about Mitchell Greenberg’s performance did you like?

Mr. Greenberg conveyed the dignity and suspense inherent in the book. Perfect pitch

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It kept me up all night

Any additional comments?

Will definitely purchase more in this series

Not my normal type of story, but enjoyable

A romantic crime story, with a conservative Jewish community and woman as the heroine. Excellent narration

This book has stuck with me

For some reason, it's just stuck with me. I find myself thinking about it. It's not that great a story, and in places it's sort of contrived, but it's got that indefineable something that makes a book memorable; at least for me.

The Narator did a wonderful job, I thought. And those Jewish terms and words can't have been easy to get right. But then, I'm only assuming they were right, being a WASP, myself. Still it all came out to me as authentic.

`I guess I'm going to have to listen to more books that feature this pair.

Yes!

If you like the Decker/Lazarus series of mysteries (and I do), this is the first one and I had somehow missed it when it first came out. Listening to it now that I have several under my belt was really a pleasure as we watch how the whole thing began between these 2 people, as well as get a well-done mystery