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Summary: Peter and Rina are back!
Review: Jupiter's Bones is classic Faye Kellerman. There is plenty of mystery and Peter works through the puzzle with the assistance of his partner Marge and supported by his wife Rina. The twists and turns kept me guessing and predicting. The challenges presented by Rina's sons were so typical of teen age boys - and Peter's handling of the situation was well done. Marge's heroic rescue of the children from the compound make me hope that if Ms. Kellerman decides to leave Peter and Rina again, that she will further develop Marge's character. Both my husband and I finished the book in one sitting - don't start it late at night. It's hard to put down.
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Summary: Cults and Mystery
Review: What is it with all the cult-oriented mystery novels lately? Between this and Death Du Jour (Kathy Reichs) it seems like we're in a spurt of post-Heaven's Gate paranoia. Cults are bad. We get the message.This is not Faye Kellerman's best book. It's not even close. As far as the mystery itself is concerned, this book would only rate 3 stars at best. The situation feels more than a little contrived in a number of places and the ending is overly sensational. I also think a lot of diehard Peter Dekker fans may be turned off because we see rather significantly less of Rina than we usually do. What saves the book and made it (in the end) a good read is the care with which Kellerman handles her family unit of Rina Lazarus and Peter Dekker. The trials of Peter and his maturing step-sons contain enough realism and conflict to keep the reader firmly hooked. Kellerman provides enough resolution to leave us satisfied, but nicely sets up the seeds of future problems for later books. Along the way she manages to do some fairly intelligent musing on the differences between orthodox religious adherents and cult members. Worth a read, particularly if you like the series.
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Summary: Lots of Suspects, Including a Gaggle of Gurus
Review: L.A. Police Lieutenant Pete Decker is called in to investigate the death of a cult leader, the charismatic Father Jupiter of the Order of the Rings of God, the former famous astromoner, Dr. Emil Ganz. There are suspects galore. Ganz had made a lot of enemies when he was a scientist and his leadership of the cult was coveted by some of his followers. Added to that are the relatives of people who have been lured into the cult. The police probably wouldn't even have been notified of Ganz's death, which had already been called a suicide by the other cult leaders, if someone hadn't told his estranged daughter. She, in turn, called the police. Getting into the compound and getting cooperation from the members is difficult enough for Decker, but it's complicated by a struggle for power by the four privileged attendants, who are; Pluto, Venus, Nova and Bob. Brother Pluto is livid with anger because of the invasion of the police into their sacred sanctuary. In addition to Jupiter's death, the police learn that two of the cult members, one a child, are missing. Pluto shifts between accusing the police and a cult deprogrammer of stealing these two from their happy home. And as usual in a Faye Kellerman novel, there's problems on the home front. It appears that Decker's younger stepson, Jacob, is smoking pot and messing around with his girlfriend. For many parents that might seem like a teenage phase, but for Orthodox Jews it's a big deal. Kellerman knows how to write a fast-moving, suspenseful story involving people the reader learns to care about. She also manges to educate the reader about her religion without seeming to preach. Somehow she does it, without it getting in the way of the story. All and all, a very good read.
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Summary: Best effort ever!
Review: "Jupiter's Bones," Faye Kellerman latest Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus novel is probably her best effort in the entire series. Here Decker and his detective associates investigate the death of a famed astrophysicist that became the leader of a pseudoscientific cult. For the non-scientific reader there might be too much physics involved but it is an important part of the book. Kellerman combines the mysteries of cult life, not to far from today's headlines, and the complexities of family life. She continues to bring their family into the story. After all this is where the roots of the series lie. Rina's teenage sons by her first marriage (her husband died) and the daughter she and Peter had several novels ago is now five years old. Those of us who have read the series in sequence have grown with them. I recommend this book and look forward to the next book, "Stalker", now in progress.
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Summary: Great Read!
Review: One of the best mystery/crime novels I have read. I think it would make a wonderful movie too.
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Summary: WRITER'S ARTHRITIS?
Review: After her last two books, I expected much more than JUPITER'S BONES delivers. While the book focuses on one of those Jonestown cults, Kellerman wastes no time in assuming that anything outside the Jewish realm is fair game to the typical barbs and jokes. While in this case, the barbs are justified, Kellerman's continued use of religious stereotypes and obvious religious prejudice, I still think Kellerman should focus more on her mysteries than her religious predilections.
In Ms. Kellerman's favor, she continues to develop her supporting characters, particularly Tom Webster, who is becoming one of my favorite characters as he is smart, witty, and intensely human. Marge's character gets more attention, and although her actions regarding Vega are just too Pollyannish, she remains an enigmatic figure. Why does she have trouble in her relationships? Hmmm..the focus on Sammy and Jacob's problems is a nice touch, but they don't seem like real teenagers at all in Kellerman's hands. They always do the right thing and when they start wandering away from their religious background, Rina harnesses them back in, not all that convincingly either.
Kellerman has remarkably good skills in her writing; this one's too formulaic to be one of her best, but it has moments of real brilliance.
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Summary: Fine Writing, Great Entertainment
Review: Faye Kellerman is a very talented writer on many levels, and "Jupiter's Bones" shows her skills in no small way. When the leader of a local cult is found dead in his "cell" of an apparent suicide, Peter Decker finds himself reluctantly on the case--only because at one time, "Father Jupiter" had been a world-renowned scientist. It looks like a cut-and-dried suicide, and only the man's former prestige requires a pro forma police presence to verify the fact. But of course nothing is as it seems. What seems to be the suicide of an aging patriarch, albeit a cult leader, turns out to be much, much more. And the disciples in this particular cult, most notably Venus, Pluto and Bob (yes, Bob!), are not exactly the godly unworldly beings they appear to be before their followers. Amid the white robes, robot-like followers, and spartan cells exists an undercurrent of intense evil that threatens to boil over at any moment. Kellerman freely borrows some of her plot from real-life cult situations like Jonestown, and says so (as Peter Decker frequently compares various situations within the cult to others from the past), so there is no attempt on her part to con the reader, something I greatly appreciated. While Decker tiptoes around the increasingly volatile cult situation, there is also a situation at home, one I found annoying because it had no resolution. The younger son, Jacob, is straining against the bonds of his very orthodox religion, and is starting to rebel. The way Decker and Rina handle this situation went against the grain with me--I find the two boys too good for the real world, and it bothers me as a reader. Rina's religion is a given, and makes her what she is, but it is also completely rigid where her boys are concerned. This is probably true to life, but does not make for a good plot line, because it is very hard to understand unless one lives within the world of the very religious. The worst part, though, is that the situation, which is very grave, is solved in one sentence at the very end of the book, or at least seems to be solved. Because of that, I took a point off what should have been a five-star story. On the other hand, the last 50 pages of this book had me completely mesmerized, unable to turn the pages fast enough. The ending was masterful, and left this reader, at least, questioning just how human the human race is. This is a good, solid read and I recommend it highly.
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Summary: Peter deals with a religious cult
Review: Police Lieutenant Peter Decker is called in on the death of a charismatic leader of a religious cult called the Order of the Rings. The deceased was a well-known astophysicist named Emil Ganz who had disappeared and then surfaced as Father Jupiter, the leader of the cult. His death is reported to the police by his daughter, Europa, who is not involved with the cult but who had followed her father's footsteps into his occupation. When Decker and the LAPD try to investigate the death, Jupiter's four lieutenants try to stonewall their efforts. Soon there is another death, and some disappearances from the compound where the cult lives. Decker and his cohorts are horrified as they uncover the secrets of the Order of the Rings. Peter's longtime partner Marge plays a pivotal role in an exciting rescue attempt at the end of the book where the action really peaks. Peter also discovers some long-hidden secrets about his stepsons, but as usual, his homelife takes second place to his professional one. This is another good entry to the Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus Series from the gifted writer, Faye Kellerman.
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Summary: Good, but..
Review: ..too much stuff in it! Just the mystery itself would have been fine. Now, all of a sudden, we have to deal with the problems of a blended family, religious conflicts, teenagers and sex, drug use, child abuse, and parenting styles. The average reader is confused by all the Orthodox Jewish references...However, it is very interesting and will hold your attention, definitely worth reading.
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Summary: This book is breathtaking!
Review: I was a fan of Faye Kellerman's husband, Jonathan, and I decided to give her a try. "Serpent's Tooth" was the first one I read. Then I started at the beginning of the Rina Lazarus/Peter Decker novels and read them all. "Jupiter's Bones" was definitely my favorite. It was enthralling. The storyline intrigues you from the start and then leads you into the web of the story. The climax was so exciting, I thought I was going to have a heart attack! The religious aspects of the story are very interesting, even to those that don't practice Orthodox Judaism. Contrary to what some might think, books like these that include the same characters in multiple novels don't all have to be read to understand the storyline. (Ms. Kellerman does an excellent job of explaining past events, so the reader knows what has happened.) I recommend all of Faye (and Jonathan!) Kellerman's novels. :-)
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