Jupiter's Bones is about cults, the people who join them, and their leaders. It is a difficult book to get through because of the topic. Four stars were awarded here in this review. ( )

25 years ago Dr. Emil Euler Ganz disappeared. He used to be one of the best cosmologists in the world before his ideas got a bit crazy and by the time he disappeared, he was almost considered a washout and a hack. He resurfaced 10 years later, with no explanation of where he had been. But he never got back to science, instead he called himself Father Jupiter and started a cult.

The story opens when his daughter gets a call Ganz/Jupiter is dead in the cult's compound and the cult does not plan to call the police - and whoever called Europa Ganz thinks that she should. So she calls and Peter is assigned to the case - after all Emil Ganz is a celebrity, in both of his lives.

It looks like a suicide and everyone seems to like the idea. But then things get out of hand - a woman disappears from the compound, then a child is discovered to be missing and while investigating the missing people, Marge and Oliver stumble upon yet another dead body. And then things get really complicated when one of the remaining leaders of the cult start shooting at the police and closes the compound down, with all 200+ members inside, including children, and a lot of firepower. Everyone's nightmares are playing in real life again - the comparisons with Waco are writing themselves and Kellerman is not shying from them.

Meanwhile, back in Peter and Rina's household, things are a bit tense - the shadows of 8 years ago, the days when the two of them met and fell in love, catch up with the family - while we know what happened with Rina, the boys did not escape unscathed either - and it was about time for them to act out enough to finally pull that story back in the light.

Peter Decker is not a perfect man - he is short tempered and he does make mistakes. That's part of his charm. His handling of both the case of the cult and of the repercussions of what his sons reveal show that his heart is in what he does - even when he is unsure of what he can do or when he realizes the mistakes he had done. I missed Rina a bit in this book - she is there in the house, keeping everything going (including the extremely spoiled Hannah, now 5 years old) but she is not part of the crime investigation (and she is kept in the dark about the family drama).

It is a dark novel (and people can be idiots). If you are claustrophobic, some parts of the novel may be a bit of a problem. The "crazy cult leader" gets a bit of a spin here although it falls back to where it expect it to fall which is to be expected but still. A lot of people die and there are heart breaking moments but there are also survivors. By the end of the novel, Peter manages to solve even the problem he was never asked to - he figures out where Ganz had been for the 10 years he was missing.

We even get to see Alex Delaware from the other Kellerman series - well, hear about him anyway. He is not called by name but if you are reading both series, you will recognize his professional description when you read it.

It is not my favorite novel from the series but it is a solid novel albeit a bit cliched. I do wonder how much of the cliches are there because of all the true crime series we had been bombarded with in the last decade - this novel is from 1999 after all. ( )

Ungewöhnlich feindselig werden Lieutenant Peter Decker und seine Leute am Tatort empfangen, als sie zu der Leiche eines ermordeten Sektenführers gerufen werden. Verschanzt in ihrem Anwesen verbergen sich die Sektenmitglieder hinter einer Mauer des Schweigens und der Lügen, die erst bröckelt, als Decker der Tochter des Sektenführers begegnet, der Physikerin Europa. Gleichzeitig ist das Familienleben im Hause Decker stürmisch wie noch nie. Denn auch in der abgeschotteten jüdisch-orthodoxen Schule der Söhne gibt es Drogen, Pornos und Konflikte, denen Rina ratloser gegenübersteht, als ihr Mann.. (Klappentext)

If you like her books, you will like it. They are all fairly similar, but I enjoy them.

Bookcrossing: http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/8350134/ ( )

The founder and leader of a scientific cult is found dead and Decker is tasked with figuring out if it was a suicide or if the cult is hiding something much more malevolent. As usual in this series, the family parts are quite interesting and the characters very engaging. Unfortunately, this installment has taken the turn from mystery and police procedure and tries to become an action thriller and it's really not in Kellerman's scope as a writer. The action sequence at the end is so overblown that it brings to mind something like Mission Impossible, but with an unlikely cast and some details that are completely impossible since we're dealing with the LAPD and not a Hollywood production company. Only recommended to readers who already follow the series, but don't bother otherwise. ( )