As mysteries go, this one was interesting, primarily for the unusual setting and balanced thoughtful characterization. It was a lovely view of a Jewish orthodox community that otherwise is very seldom seen and handled with great knowledge and sensitivity for the most part. I just had a problem with the absolute JAR of herrings of sensitivities we are supposed to swallow side-by-side and interspersed with the nuanced care of some of the exact same characters, some different when they just don't go. I mean, Judith is the mother from hell: she shrieks, she screams, she yells, she is obnoxious, insensitive, ignores her family in favor of her clients, yet one of the most sensitive of men sees her inner loveliness and can fall for her. She appalls herself and in the space of one page is, er, reformed. The quick turnarounds can be fun, but they can also be wearing if used too often. Still I don't know, or I missed it: what herring was with Rachel?
Mikvah: A body of water used for ritual immersion in Judaism.
An attack at a local mikvah rocks a small Jewish community, leaving a holocaust survivor dead and the wife of a popular rabbi clinging to life. Peter Stem, a reclusive church employee has been arrested at the scene and taken into custody in what appears to be an anti-Semitic attack against two helpless women. Advocating for Peter is his employer, Father Herbert McCormick, a blind priest, who refuses to believe Peter capable of this or any crime. Using his personal relationship with John Collins, the arresting officer whom he has counseled in the past, Father McCormick steers the investigation in a new direction, one that requires the help of a renowned psychiatrist-a man who has a growing interest in both Peter's case and the Rabbi's mother-and will ultimately reveal a bigger secret than any of them could have imagined.
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