“The Ritual Bath” by Faye Kellerman / Friday, September 28, 2012 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

Today’s featured book is The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman.

A woman is brutally raped at a remote, sheltered religious institution.

Why Clay Stafford chose this book:

From 1986, this book started the Faye Kellerman phenomenon. Taking place at a remote, sheltered yeshiva (Jewish educational institution) community in the Hollywood Hills area of California (Jewtown as the police call it), a young bride-to-be leaving the ritual bath (the mikva) is brutally raped. Hard-boiled detective Peter Decker of the LAPD (a Jew by birth, but a Baptist by adoptive parents) arrives to find a community of noncooperative witnesses focused more on Jewish religious law than catching the actual criminal. It becomes frustrating for Decker to say the least. Full of information and conflict on many levels. A great crime-solving mystery with believable character dynamics between the cop and the deeply religious Jewish woman who heads the facility, the only person willing to assist him, and possibly the next crime victim. You’ll finish the book knowing much more than you ever thought you would about Jewish tradition and ritual; it’s one of those books in which you will gain even more from a subsequent reading. I dare you to read this one and not want to follow it up with all 19 books currently in the series.

From Amazon:

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

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join ourFacebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville