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Confront murder, mayhem—and your own mysteries of being.
From a corporate giant's kidnapping of a rabbi, to the disappearance of the clarinetist in a klezmer band, to four rabbis' use of their text interpretation skills to help a detective solve a murder that one of them has committed, this unique collection of mysteries will enlighten you at the same time it intrigues and entertains.
While featuring enough death and deception to keep the detective protagonists on their toes, each story presents the uncertainties that are a part of contemporary Jewish identity—inviting us all to confront our own mysteries of being. Throughout the stories' tangled puzzles and suspenseful adventures, the characters solve not only the "whodunit"-type mysteries, but also struggle to solve the mystery of their spiritual lives.
Mystery Midrash will be a lasting delight for mystery buffs of all faith traditions.
Contributors include:
Joel Siegel • Lawrence W. Raphael • Toni Brill • Howard Engel • Richard Fliegel • Michael A. Kahn • Stuart M. Kaminsky • Faye Kellerman • Ronald Levitsky • Ellen Rawlings • Rabbi Bob Sloan • Janice Steinberg • James Yaffe • Batya Swift Yasgur
"A kosher treat. A Jewish angle on a genre of literature that so often employs Talmudic logic and the Jewish sensibility that wrong is wrong, and must be stopped."
—Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, author of Jewish Literacy and An Eye for An Eye, a mystery featuring sleuth Daniel Winter
"Intriguing tales of detection as well as meditations on Jewish identity, the stories in this book do what Jewish writing has always done: provide compelling narrative with your philosophy and philosophical challenges with your fiction. Like any Jewish story, the ones in this book can be read on many levels, but there is no argument, Talmudic or otherwise about the quality of this collection: Mystery Midrash is a mitzvah!"
—S.J. (Shira) Rozan, author of Stone Quarry and winner of Shamus and Anthony Awards
"Despite their Jewish themes, these stories have an ecumenical appeal: to Raphael, Mazel Tov!"
—Publishers Weekly Starred Review
"With a first class list of contributors and wonderful stories, Mystery Midrashoffers us a contemporary look at Jewish life, with a mysterious twist."
—Jack Dann, editor of Wandering Stars and More Wandering Stars, anthologies of Jewish fantasy and science fiction, and author of The Silent
Preface
Joel Siegel
Introduction
Lawrence W. Raphael
O! Little Town of Bedlam
Toni Brill
The Reading
Howard Engel
A Final Midrash
Richard Fliegel
The Bread of Affliction
Michael A. Kahn
Confession
Stuart M. Kaminsky
Holy Water
Faye Kellerman
Jacob's Voice
Ronald Levitsky
Poison
Ellen Rawlings
Lost Polars
Shelley Singer
The Good Rabbi
Bob Sloan
Wailing Reed
Janice Steinberg
Mom Remembers
James Yaffe
Kaddish
Batya Swift Yasgur