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As seen in the Jewish Daily Forward!
What if the anti-Semites, racists, and terrorists wanted the final revenge following the Civil War? How do you stop them from committing the worst atrocity?
It’s 1866 in New York City. Civil War Vet and Detective Pat O’Malley’s biggest case returns him to the deep, dark South to search for the kidnapped wealthiest inventor and entrepreneur in America. But the widening gyre of anti-Semitism and racism pulls him down into the pit of hell itself. Disguised as an Oxford England Professor, O’Malley infiltrates the anti-Semites’ group and travels with his partners, Becky Charming and his father, Robert, down to a Collierville, Tennessee mansion.
At the crux of this case are a Jewish father and his five-year-old son, Seth. They have developed a unique bond that relies on Jewish folklore and a belief that they are Mazikeen, half-angel and half-human, born from the loins of Adam’s strange female cohorts during the 130 years he was banished from the Garden. Will O’Malley find Dr. Mergenthaler before it’s too late? What does this world-wide eugenics group have planned for the mongrel races? Read Jim Musgrave’s Disappearance at Mount Sinai, the second mystery in the series of Pat O’Malley Mini-Mysteries.
This is the second historical mystery in the popular Detective Pat O’Malley series. You can read more about this series and sign-up for the newsletter at the Pat O’Malley Mini-Mysteries web site. The second mystery was a featured “summer reading” book at the Jewish Daily Forward because it deals with the “mazikeen,” which are half-human and half-angel beings from Jewish folklore. Both of the mysteries so far in the series have Poetic (as in Edgar Allan Poe) style and supernatural elements that readers enjoy.
These mysteries are all short but powerful reads (following Poe’s dictum that a work, to be effective, must be readable in one sitting). The third mystery will be a “battle royale” between two of the most popular brothel madams in 1860s New York City. Come join the fun with Detective O’Malley and his partner, Madame Rebecca Charming, as they battle crime and Tammany Hall city corruption. As author Jim Musgrave says in his app for iPad, iPhone and Android, “Carry 1860s New York City around in your pocket or purse!”
Professional Review:
Colorful characters and a complex plot all add to the intrigue of this unique combination of historical fact, creative fiction, and imaginative mythical identity. Protagonist Pat O’Malley narrates this first person account of the kidnapping of Dr. Arthur Mergenthaler, America’s wealthiest inventor, entrepreneur, and financier.
Known for his investigative talents, O’Malley solves this crime of kidnapping and murder, while thwarting a sinister plot of a worldwide eugenics group, through subterfuge, transcended mind techniques, logical deductions, and pseudo-scientific disguise.
O’Malley uses a logical progression of elimination of prime suspects in the case; family members and others close to the family, Mount Sinai medical staff, York city and state politicians, and high ranking military personnel, right up to and including a conspiracy involving the President of the United States.
Musgrave writes with intuitive insight into the prejudice of man’s bigotry and greed, driven by ambition, and lust for power. He skillfully incorporates engaging dialogue, intriguing mystery, and fast-moving action to keep the reader in suspense right up to an intense dramatic unexpected conclusion.
Disappearance at Mount Sinai ensures author Jim Musgrave a growing fan base eagerly anticipating another sequel in the Pat O’Malley Historical Mystery Series. –Richard R. Blake, Blogcritics.org
