Jupiter's Bones

August 2, 1999
In her 11th Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus mystery (Moon Music, etc.), Kellerman develops the theme of parent-child relationships along two fronts. Before Father Jupiter became the head of a religious cult called the Order of the Rings of God, he was a renowned astrophysicist named Dr. Emil Euler Ganz. Though Jupiter has long been out of touch with his family, when he dies mysteriously his estranged daughter, Europa, becomes a pivotal help to LAPD detective Decker's investigation. Jupiter's death looks like suicide--until the autopsy reveals small amounts of arsenic in his body. Then two of the four remaining cult leaders are killed, prompting the cops to suspect that a serial killer is lurking among the group's members. When the police and FBI try to storm the cult's compound, Brother Bob, Jupiter's old attendant, wires the buildings and threatens to blow up everyone, leaving Decker to figure out how to save the lives of the compound's 96 children. Meanwhile, because of the pressures of the case, Decker is failing to give his two teenage stepsons the attention they need to weather the upheavals of adolescence. He relies on the help of his wife, Rina, to understand the rules of the boys' Jewish orthodox upbringing, but there are aspects of their lives he must take the time to find out on his own. Kellerman writes spine-tingling suspense and defines her characters well, but the scenes in which experts lecture the cops on physics and cult psychology are overlong and sometimes superfluous. Although the Decker/Lazarus family relationship strengthens in this novel, this is not the strongest of the series.

Norman Dietz calmly and precisely narrates this fast-paced thriller about a pseudoscientific cult, the Order of the Rings of God, lead by Father Jupiter. Dietz easily reads the Hebrew phrases used by LAPD Lieutenant Decker and his family, and listeners will learn a great deal about Orthodox Judaism. Kellerman provides many details about Decker, and Dietz's vocal characterization makes him flesh and blood. Other characters like Guru Bob and Pluto are also given distinct voices with accents, speech patterns, and natural pacing. This tangled and gruesome web of intrigue and murder climaxes when Decker's professional sidekick, Marge, effects a terrifying eleventh-hour rescue of the cult's children. Dietz's dramatization adds to the raw, explosive pain of the final standoff. S.C.A. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine