Summer is a lazy time for many of us even if we’re not lucky enough to have the summer off or extended vacation time. It’s a time to put aside our serious reading and look for those “beach reads” like romance, mystery, and light novels.
This vacation column will concentrate on some of the many mystery and suspense books of Jewish interest. These are all available in the Lampert Library for your summer reading.
Chabon, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union is a murder mystery set in the fictionalized homeland of Alaska.
Dahl, Invisible City introduces journalist Rebekah Roberts who searches for the truth about a murder and an understanding of her own heritage.
Gur, Bethlehem Road Murder and others. Detective Michael Ohayon of Jerusalem works to solve serious crime – especially murder. Well written and thoughtful.
Kellerman, Day of Atonement and others. Rina Lazarus, an Orthodox Jewish widow, and Peter Decker of the Los Angeles police department work together (she unofficially, of course) to solve crimes. Suffused with Jewish values.
Kemelman, One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross and others is one of the classic early not too gory Jewish mysteries. Most readers say that Kemelman’s plotting, if not all the details, hold up well.
Lackberg, Hidden Child is a fast faced mystery centered on some Nazi artifacts found by Erica after her mother’s death.
Liss, A Conspiracy of Paper finds Benjamin Weaver taking a break from tracking down thieves (his bread and butter) to investigate the death of his father, a stock trader from whom he has long been estranged. There are other books featuring Weaver.
Meyers, The House on Mulberry Street and others follows generations of the New York City Tonnemann family as they solve crimes and get involved in the destiny of the city.
Mishani, Possibility of Violence and others features detective Avraham Avrahami who solves crimes not by deduction but by soaking up atmosphere and getting inside his adversaries’ heads.
Ragen, The Devil in Jerusalem is a horrific Jerusalem cult that Detective Bina Tzedek is tasked with unraveling in this most difficult case of her career
Raphael, Mystery Midrash: an anthology of mystery & detective stories and Criminal Kabbalah: an intriguing anthology of Jewish mystery & detective fiction for those who like their mysteries short.
Shohan, The Lineup “is a twisted tale of mistaken identity, organized crime, a disgraced detective looking for redemption, a tireless young reporter, and an innocent man with a not-so-innocent past.” (from the publisher)
Stavans, El Iluminado is a murder-mystery that digs into the history of the crypto-Jews of New Mexico, who went into hiding after their expulsion by King Ferdinand of Spain in 1492.
Wishnia, The Fifth Servant, set in 16th century Prague, features a fictional young student and the historical Rabbi Judah Loew who fight to save the community from charges of ritual murder just before Passover. Good combination of history, mystery and theology.
For Young Readers
Hess, The Girl in the Blue Coat disappears suddenly and Hanneke tries to find her. (YA)
Jaffe, The Mysterious Visitor: stories of the prophet Elijah who appears unexpectedly to work miracles (J)
Levy, The Travels of Daniel Ascher “takes the reader back to the occupation of Paris and France’s complicated history with its Jewish population. The narrative reads like a mash-up of Sarah’s Key and The Book Thief, and it adroitly straddles the line between adult and YA literature.” (YA) (PW)
Miklowitz, The Enemy Has a Face when Netta’s brother disappears and she thinks he has been taken by Palestinians, in “this suspenseful, heart-wrenching story that conveys both the facts and anger behind the ancient Middle-East conflict.” (J)
Image: “Reading” by Pedro Ribeiro Simões is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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