Sacred and Profane: A Decker/Lazarus Novel (Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Book 2)

Check out current lists of popular mystery novels, and you'll find many written by authors whose first language isn't English, or who don't speak or write English at all. (I'm referring to those whose works are translated into English.) "International" detective stories and thrillers now crowd the bestseller lists as readers increasingly reach for novels that reflect unfamiliar cultures, languages, and settings. Scandinavian noir is only the most familiar example of this trend.But Chester Himes' Harlem Detective series proved early on that America also offers settings most readers would find exotic, too. So did Tony Hillerman's novels set in the Navajo Nation. And though Faye Kellerman's work is less well known than theirs, her Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus series richly deserves equal attention.Novels that highlight Orthodox Jewish religious practicesMost Americans, including a large number of American Jews, are unfamiliar with Orthodox religious practices and beliefs. In Sacred and Profane, and in its predecessor, The Ritual Bath, Kellerman brings those practices and beliefs into the spotlight. The picture she paints of an insular culture is compelling. And it doesn't hurt that she writes well and has mastered the techniques of mystery and suspense fiction. Equally important, Kellerman demonstrates a deep understanding of human psychology; her portraits of Peter and Rina are unusually well developed. Both books are superior examples of the genre.In The Ritual Bath, we met LAPD Detective Sergeant Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus as they come together around a brutal rape at an isolated Orthodox community called the Yeshiva Ohavei Torah. Rina is a widow, still in her twenties, with two young sons. Peter and Rina are both heavily involved in the investigation of the rape and subsequent events. The two fall in love despite their dramatic religious differences. But what they fear is that "marriage doesn't reduce differences, it magnifies them.""Decker found faith hard to come by"Now, in Sacred and Profane, set six months after the events in The Ritual Bath, Peter and Rina are struggling with those differences as their love deepens. Their relationship is "ambiguous. He and Rina were in love but not yet lovers." To make it possible for them to marry, Peter has agreed to become a Torah Jew. He is studying Hebrew and the Jewish Bible with the Rosh Yeshiva (the head rabbi). Although he is learning quickly, Peter doesn't fully share Rina's and the rabbi's faith. "Seeing life through the skewed eye of a cop, Decker found faith hard to come by." And that doesn't bode well for their future.As Sacred and Profane opens, Peter is on a camping trip in the wilderness with Rina's sons when the older boy stumbles across two charred skeletons. Thus begins an increasingly fraught investigation into the identity of two murdered young people—an investigation that will bring Peter into contact with the most extreme aspects of human depravity. What he finds will test his sanity and his relationship with the woman he loves.About the authorFaye Kellerman has written thirty-three novels to date, including twenty-five in the Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus series. She holds a B.A. in mathematics and a D.D.S, although she has never practiced dentistry. Both her husband, Jonathan Kellerman, and two of her four children are successful mystery novelists.

I decided to try a Faye Kellerman book after enjoying several of Jonathon Kellerman's books. Guess what? So far, I find Faye's books (I've read 3 to date) more compelling, more fun and just as well (if not better) written. Her ability to inject with great prowess both humor and seriousness into a mystery-romance-socioligical story is amazing. I am reading every book, in the order written, before I go back to Jonathan's--or any other-- books.Thank you Faye, Jonathan and Amazon!

There I was, reading along at a gallop, turned a page, and WHAM! It was over. Next thing I saw was the excerpts for "THE BEAST"! So I can't deny I enjoyed the book immensely. I have it a rating of 4. It was really good. If you like to read and you like to learn bits of things as you read, you would enjoy all of the Kellerman/ Lazeruss books, either singly or written together. I recommend them.

I am now on a roll with the Decker/Lazarus series having finished Sacred and Profane today and buying the next book in the series a few minutes ago. I really like both Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus and how real and deep their personalities are. Faye Kellerman writers very well developed characters who, in my opinion, are even more important than the crime being investigated. In this book, the crime takes us into the underworld of L.A.'s sex and porno trade which is very disturbing but not to the point that I was "put off" or wanted to lay the book down. I read it in two days and can't wait to read the next one.

I'm a fan of police procedurals, cozy mysteries, and who-dunits wherein the bodies left behind by crimes of passion and duplicity are almost tangential to the tale because the protagonists, detectives, survivors, and gumshoes are people for whom we cheer and fear. Faye Kellerman's books fit the criteria. This one in particular. A bit of grit, a lot of heart, and people about whom readers care.

This book took us through many levels of issues. First Peter Deckers army friend accused of raping & slashing the face of a prostitute. Peter bails him out of jail and then sets out to try to clear him of the charges, even though he still has his doubts. His investigation into the underworld of prostitution. In the itnerim, Decker finds a small child and must find the parents, which leeds to finding part of the family have been slaughtered including the childs mother and going into the reason why. Deckers fiancee is back in the picture, but he does not like her being sxposed to his accused rapist friend. I know it sounds complicated and it is. Decker and his friend must deal with trials they suffered during the war. A thourally wonderful book. Would recommend it highly.

Book two in the series has a relatively dull ‘detective mystery’ element but develops the complex relationship between the two leading characters significantly and well. The detailed exploration of Jewish culture and practices may irritate some readers but the resulting compromises through which they cement their marriage are believable and set up later, more exciting novels in the series.

I have read every book in this series to date. Until 2011 I had read them in paperback format as they were published. I have decided to read them from the beginning again on my Kindle. I purchased this Kindle copy in November 2014 and am shocked at the poor proof reading.I am just hoping that the rest of the series has been better proof-read. It is very irritating.The story is every bit as good as when I first read it, but I am constantly reading words double entered and it is very off putting

being a reader of her husband's(jonathan kellerman)thrillers i thought i'd give it a go and was pleasently surprised.her style is completely different,not so formal and less technically descriptive,but well researched (the covering of the jewish life style was quite interesting) and gripping at the same time.another thing that was putting me off was knowing that the two main characters of the series meet and become a couple,as i'm not into romances at all.however their budding relationship was so well written and the characters so likeable that i actually found this aspect of the story just as gripping!so shame on me for being so narrow minded!basically if your'e a fan of crime/thriller/murder novels i don't think you'll be disappointed. faye has an easy reading yet distinctive style (that is rare among the hundreds of crime writers around today)and this is an impressive debut novel. i'll definitely be ordering the rest of this series.

Los Angeles detective Peter Decker has been dating orthodox Jew Rina Lazarus for a few months now, things are going well but Decker knows he must gain the trust of her two young sons and learn more about the Jewish faith before he really has a serious shot with Rina. So Peter decides to take Rina's two young sons Sammy and Jake on a camping trip to the foothills above L.A. Everything is running smoothly until the two young children stumble upon the charred remains of two young women.Instantly Decker is thrown into the case to discover the identities of these young women. It's a case that will take him into the underbelly of Los Angeles where drugs, abuse and prostitution are rife. We're also following Rina as she copes with the health of her sons as they battle nightmares after discovering the bodies and as she struggles to decipher where her relationship with Decker is heading.This is yet another stonking read from Kellerman following her debut:  The Ritual Bath . Her characters are beautifully real and readable with a fast moving and compelling storyline. The Ritual Bath

I enjoyed this book except for there being so many references to the Jewish faith that I had to keep re-reading and using the dictionary to understand who was being talked about. There were quite a few errors in the book where words were being repeated from the end of the sentance above which was rather confusing. Also I thought it was going to be a mystery/thriller but turned out it was more about Decker's love life, or lack of. Just hope that the next books are more about the title rather than Decker and his family.