The 11th book in the best-selling Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus crime-solving series finds LAPD Lieutenant Peter Decker on a dangerous search for the truth behind the mysterious death of Dr. Emil Euler Ganz, also known as Father Jupiter. A once-preeminent astrophysicist and world-renowned professor, Dr. Ganz vanished for 10 years and reemerged as the ironfisted founder of a pseudo-scientific cult called the Order of the Rings of God. When Dr. Ganz is found dead with a fifth of vodka and a bottle of pills at his bedside, Decker, his wife Rina, and his team of homicide detectives must surpass a series of disturbing forensic evidence, mangled corpses, hidden pasts, and deadly secrets before even more lives are lost. Publisher's Note Once Dr. Emil Euler Ganz was a preeminent astrophysicist with a worldrenowned reputation. But then he vanished without any warning to his family or colleagues. Fifteen years later, he reappeared as "Father Jupiter," the founder and charismatic leader of the scientific cult, The Order of the Rings. And now he's dead--a vial of sleeping pills and an empty bottle of vodka standing near his lifeless body. Was Ganz's death an accident? Suicide? Or did someone hasten Jupiter prematurely out of this world? These are the questions LAPD Lieutenant Peter Decker and his Homicide team are determined to answer as they enter the cult's fortresslike compound. But the dead leader's four "privileged" attendants make it clear that the police are not welcome there--and the mysterious disappearance of two of the Order's members, including a child, turns an already uncomfortable situation even uglier and more incendiary. Decker will need more than the wisdom and support of his wife, Rina Lazarus, to defuse a ticking time bomb of jealousy, greed, bizarre hidden pasts, and deadly secrets--one that could explode at any time into mayhem so pernicious that it threatens to destroy a multitude of misguided lives--and scores of helpless, innocent children as well. Industry reviews "[A] well-tangled web of intrigue and murder, with Rina's Stepford Wife-like devotion the only mystery left unsolved." Ascher-Walsh "Writing that borders on the slipshod in places, though the whole is greater than its parts. And, as usual, Decker, Rina, and their children will generate sufficient interest to keep series fans happy." This is a pre-owned hardcover book with DJ. Book is in very nice condition with no stain, tears, or creases. DJ is near mint. Faye Kellerman 1999 First Edition Size Length: 437 pages Height: 7.0 in. Width: 4.5 in.