The Ritual Bath is a part mystery, part romance, and part police/crime novel. It follows the story of Rina Lazarus, who is a very strict Orthodox Jew and Peter Decker, a detective. There is a rapist on the loose in the small Jewish community and Lazarus and Decker try to piece the puzzle together to figure out who could be terrorizing their neighborhood.
Even though this book had a lot going on, it moved quickly and I didn't feel like any part of it was overlooked. The mystery of who was the rapist was compelling and it kept me interested. I kept trying to guess and was surprised by the result. There several possible suspects and Kellerman did a great job of not giving out too much information, but still dangling a carrot in front of me to keep me reading.
I also found the romance to be realistic. They moved at a slow but steady pace, and it felt like the two were truly taking the time to get to know one another instead of jumping into a whirlwind romance just after looking at each other. It was also refreshing to see Rina stick to her Jewish faith and values.
This book had the added bonus of teaching me a lot about the Jewish culture. I knew a little bit about it, but The Ritual Bath opened my eyes to a lot more. I like books where I can learn about cultures that I may have otherwise not gotten the chance to learn about.
The Ritual Bath is the first book in a series by Kellerman and I definitely look forward to reading more.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
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