The Rabbi Ben Series (Volume 1)
Meet Rabbi Ben, master of Torah, Talmud and Taekwondo, kick-ass computer whiz and a quick study on the dark side of human nature. A knight errant and roving troubleshooter, Ben’s clientele invite him into situations where police are unwelcome and discretion is paramount. When three million dollars mysteriously appear in a California synagogue’s bank account, its lay leaders wonder if their prayers have been answered—until the money evaporates as mysteriously as it appeared. Where did the millions come from? Where did they go? Ben is hired to get some answers. About the time Rabbi Ben discovers that little is as it seems at Temple Beit Joseph, he’s arrested for the murder of the synagogue’s beautiful administrator. Released for lack of evidence, he plunges into a murky, hall-of-mirrors world where friends become foes, no one can be trusted and his new best buddy tried to send him up the river. Ben’s investigation leads him to a decrepit cemetery, an opaquely mysterious private bank, a shofar-blowing, part-Korean (but all-Jewish) cabinet-maker, a ruthless gang-banger, and the ultimate in money laundering techniques. Along the way this heroic-but-very human character survives a hit-and-run murder attempt, defuses a bomb in his living room and wriggles out of his intended early grave. Wonderfully written, The Tattooed Rabbi’s penetrates the synagogue’s inner sanctum and illuminates 21st Century Judaism, but its terrific, twisting plot and compelling, finely-drawn characters are accessible to every reader. You don’t have to be Jewish to be enthralled by Rabbi Ben’s audacity, inventiveness and courage.
