Coming in February!!! The Eighth Veil: A Jerusalem Mystery ….
A murdered servant girl is found in the palace of King Herod Antipas. The prefect, Pontius Pilate, is in attendance. The populace has already been buzzing over the brutal death of one of their prophets, John, known familiarly as the Baptizer, and scandal is in the air.
Pilate wants no trouble and insists that there be an independent investigation into the murder. But Antipas will have none of Pilate's men in the palace, and Pilate doesn't trust Antipas. So Pilate turns to Gamaliel, the chief rabbi and head of the Sanhedrin, and coerces him to do the detective work. Gamaliel is a Talmudic scholar, not a sleuth, and he at first struggles; however, he is soon won over to the assignment as he learns more of the dead girl's background and that of the other major players in the drama, particularly Antipas' foster brother, Menahem. Soon, Gamaliel, in Sherlockian fashion, begins to fit the pieces together, or, as his ''Watson'' Loukas says, ''strips the veils from his personal Salome.'' Pilate, in spite of his impatience with the pace and direction of the investigation, is rewarded when it turns out that the girl is not the mere servant that everyone had assumed.
Meanwhile, the Battle of Actium and the fascinating histories of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Herod the Great, Mark Antony, and Augustus Caesar become critically entwined with the investigation. And the figure of Jesus, the rabbi from Nazareth, with his ragged band of enthusiasts and his habit of annoying Caiaphas, the High Priest, moves enigmatically in the background.
Ramsay demonstrates once again that he is a superb storyteller, adroitly mixing the spy and small-town mystery genres and shocking us with one walloping big surprise midway through the book. An excellent entry in this still-young but steadily improving series. -- David Pitt, American Library Association.
Impulse
Seldom in crime fiction does one meet lead characters as likable as Smith and his long-lost friend/new love interest, Rosemary Mitchell. Both are "pushing seventy" but try to solve the various mysteries with the style, audacity and intelligence of a Sun City version of Nick and Nora Charles. Publishers Weekly
... a delightful escape into fiction at its best!
-- Teri Davis on Dorothy L
In his third published novel and first standalone, Frederick Ramsay proves himself to be an author worth watching.
--Woodstock Crimespree Magazine
Secrets is a marvelously plotted traditional mystery, set in the hamlet of Picketsville, Virginia and populated with vivid characters you grow to care about in the course of this tightly written novel. -- Julia Spencer-Fleming
With regional police procedurals like this one, Frederick Ramsay will not remain a secret to readers. -- Harriet Klausner
Artscape: Ramsay spins a
masterful tale full of suspense of the nail biting variety. His characters, both male and female, are well drawn, and the portrait of small-town life realistic. This is a first novel, a very good read.
Recommended Gloria Feit on DorothyL
"Well drawn, fast paced, an absolute must read for all mystery fans." -- Sun Life Magazine
A murdered servant girl is found in the palace of King Herod Antipas. The prefect, Pontius Pilate, is in attendance. The populace has already been buzzing over the brutal death of one of their prophets, John, known familiarly as the Baptizer, and scandal is in the air.
