by Megan Stoddard

Created on: December 03, 2010

“Sanctuary,” the seventh book in Faye Kellerman’s Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series, is quite a good read. Along with a good murder mystery (better, in fact, than several of the others in this series), it takes the reader from Los Angeles to Israel, providing extra insight into Israel, its meaning to Jews, and into Orthodox Judaism.

For those unfamiliar with the series, a little background is in order. Peter Decker is a Los Angeles homicide detective, and Rina Lazarus (now Decker) is his second wife. Rina having been previously widowed and Peter divorced, they both have children from their earlier marriages. Peter’s daughter Cindy, away at college, is barely mentioned in this book. Rina’s sons, Sam and Jake, ages eleven and fourteen, are present, as is their daughter, Hannah, a baby in this book.

Rina is an Orthodox Jew. Peter, raised Christian, learned as an adult that he was adopted and his birth mother was Jewish. To marry Rina, he became an observant Jew. Though technically Jewish by birth, he is still a naturalized citizen, as it were, not as familiar with the religion as people raised in it. Most of the story is told from Peter’s point of view, making it necessary for someone (usually Rina) to explain some of the nuances of Orthodox Judaism to him, and thereby to the reader.

“Sanctuary” takes a more in depth look at Orthodox Judaism than most of the other books in the series, as the religion plays an important part in the mystery. There are, as it happens, two mysteries, and they become intertwined.

Out of the blue, Rina receives a phone call from her school friend Honey Klein. Honey has married into an ultra-Orthodox community in upstate New York, a community where the prescribed lifestyle resembles that of an eighteenth century Jewish village. Though the two women have not spoken in years, Honey asks to visit Rina in Los Angeles, with her children, saying they need a vacation. Her husband will not be coming.

Meanwhile, Peter is called to investigate an odd disappearance. An Israeli/American diamond dealer, his wife, and their two teenage sons have vanished overnight. The husband’s sister calls the police the day after she last saw her relatives, deeply concerned. The boys’ school has not been notified of their absence. No one seems to know anything about where the family might have gone, or why. Peter, being Jewish, notices a clue the others miss: an incorrectly placed mezzuzah that turns out to have been a hiding place for crucial items.

A couple days after Honey’s arrival in Los Angeles, she and her children disappear. Their rental van is found abandoned not too far from the airport. Then Peter is contacted by the New York police. They are looking for Honey as a material witness in the death of her husband, who has been found murdered.

Peter’s missing persons case has meanwhile turned out to include homicide. Some of the family may still be alive. It looks increasingly likely that Honey, her family, and the survivors of the family Peter is investigating are in Israel. Rina’s familiarity with the country (she lived there with her first husband) and fluency in Hebrew are now necessary assets.

The investigation takes them both to Israel. The reader is treated to an up close view of the country, rather like being an armchair tourist. Gritty and realistic, the story continues through some hair raising adventures to a not unsatisfying conclusion.

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