Mystery Midrash: An Anthology of Jewish Mystery & Detective Fiction — Lawrence W. Raphael

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.