The Eighth Veil, Frederick Ramsay
The Eighth Veil, Frederick Ramsay
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
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The Eighth Veil
A Jerusalem Mystery

Author: Frederick Ramsay

Narrator: Robin Field

Unabridged: 9 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/07/2012


Synopsis

The Eighth Veil is a mystery set in firstcentury Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles. 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 Pilates men in the palace, and Pilate doesnt 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 girls 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.

About Frederick Ramsay

Frederick Ramsay was born in Baltimore and received a doctorate from the University of Illinois. After a stint in the army, he joined the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He is also an ordained Episcopal priest and an accomplished public speaker. In addition to the Ike Schwartz mysteries, the Botswana mysteries, and the Jerusalem mysteries, Ramsay is the author of scientific and general articles, tracts, and theses and coauthor of the Baltimore Declaration. He lives in Surprise, Arizona, with his wife and partner, Susan.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Maggie on January 20, 2016

One of the perks of membership in the Historical Novel Society is their magazine that consists mainly of book reviews arranged by century. There’s usually not much for Late Antiquity [1st-5th century], but I eagerly check anyway. Imagine my astonishment when I saw the review of “Holy Smoke” by Frede......more

Goodreads review by Dina on July 23, 2013

I read this book over the weekend on the recommendation of Maggie Anton, the author of the Rashi's Daughters' series and also Ravi Hisda's Daughter, the latter set in the 2nd--3rd centuries CE. She commended that The Jerusalem Mystery series by Ramsay, beginning with The Eighty Veil, accurately port......more

Goodreads review by Ktmholm on March 14, 2021

Neither King Herod nor Pontius Pilate wanted the task of identifying the killer of a murdered servant girl, nor did they trust each other. Instead, they turned to a neutral third party, Gamaliel, chief rabbi of the Sanhedrin (who didn’t want the job, either, but wasn’t allowed to turn it down). As t......more

Goodreads review by Megan on March 19, 2021

It was fine but I never quite got into it. Some bits were plainly known by the narrator and dangled before the reader but never divulged until the end, which was a bit annoying. I did appreciate the effort to integrate obscure history with the Biblical versions.......more

Goodreads review by Shirley on December 23, 2024

A lot of Jewish history......more