“Invisible City” by Julia Dahl, Minotaur Books, 2014
In her first novel, investigative reporter Julia Dahl writes about the death of a Hasidic woman in Brooklyn. Her protagonist Rebekah Roberts is also an investigative reporter covering the case of this woman discovered in a junk yard. Rebekah is a young woman who is new to New York and clueless about the world of Orthodox Jews. However, Rebekah’s mother was a Hasidic woman who temporarily fled the confines
of her community, had a baby with a Christian man and then abandoned her lover and child to return to her family. So as Rebekah tries to discover who murdered this woman, she is also discovering her heritage.
Dahl is a wonderful writer who will have her readers on the edge of their seats. As Rebekah stumbles from one discovery to the next, she learns more than she wants to know about the murder, her own missing mother and a few other deaths as well. Even up until the last chapter, the author springs surprises on her readers. In the end, Rebekah still has a job, and the reader hopes that she will investigate more murders for her tabloid newspaper and eager readers.
“The Doppelganger’s Dance” (An Ezra Melamed Mystery) by Libi Astaire, Aster Press, 2013
Kansas City’s own Libi Astaire returns with a new Ezra Melamed mystery. Astaire, who is now a resident of Jerusalem, grew up in Johnson County and graduated from Shawnee Mission East, attending Kehilith Israel Synagogue. Her American name is Linda Feinberg, and her clever, well-researched Ezra Melamed mysteries are set in London during the Napoleonic Era. In this volume, a young violinist named David Salomon finds his music being played all over London under the name of another composer before he has had the chance to perform these compositions. Is he going crazy?
Ezra Melamed investigates with the help of a gang of orphaned Jewish pickpockets led by General Well’ngone and the Earl of Gravel Lane. And he discovers a very complicated solution. Astaire’s portrayal of Jewish London is enchanting and her mysteries are well-constructed, thoughtful creations. The latest entry continues her string of delightful Regency mysteries. And for readers addicted to these mysteries, there are also two very short delightful Melamed mysteries available: “General Well’ngone in Love” and “Too Many Coins.”
“Starstruck” by Yael Levy, Crimson Romance, 2013
Yael Levy, sister-in-law of the JCC Director Jacob Schreiber and his wife Edna Levy, again explores romance in the religious communities of New York City where marriages are arranged, and don’t always work out. In this novel, her protagonist Abby Miller is married to a young doctor who never has time for her or their children. She wants to publish a romance novel, but instead she discovers a severed hand in a playground near her home. She refers the information to her unmarried friend Sarah who works in the DA’s office. Then there is another friend of Abby’s whose abusive husband refuses to give her a “get.”
All these women’s problems converge on the TV stage of a soap opera performance in a wacky but ultimately satisfying conclusion. For silly, kosher romance, Yael Levy is a writer for a pleasant summer read.
Andrea Kempf is a retired librarian who speaks throughout the community on various topics related to books and reading.