SOLD/Antenna Books
For Whom the Shofar Blows (A Rabbi Ben Mystery) Mystery/Thriller
Marvin J. Wolf
Meet Rabbi Ben Maimon. Rabbi Ben is not like any Rabbi you’ve ever met! With knowledge and skills transcending Torah and Talmud, Rabbi Ben is a martial-arts expert and computer whiz, equally adept at unraveling mysterious murders and ferreting out a decent Kosher Asian bistro in suburban Los Angeles. A Jason Bourne with a fedora, Rabbi Ben is a rabbi without a congregation, a trouble-shooter for hire by Jewish institutions—synagogues, museums, libraries, yeshivas, community centers, philanthropic societies, or fraternal orders looking for someone to help with situations where the police are not wanted, where discretion is paramount, and where the bagels are on the house.
When the dwindling congregation of an older synagogue in Burbank, California discovers millions deposited into its bank account, its board members wonder if their prayers have been answered—until the money evaporates as quickly as it appeared. An accounting anomaly? Or is there another, more sinister explanation? Rabbi Ben is called in—his successes in other cases have quietly filtered through the Jewish grapevine. He takes the job, figuring it will be easy, not more than a few days’ work.
Young, single and handsome—in a short, redheaded kind of way—the congregation’s divorcees and unhappy wives scheme to get him to extend his stay, preferably in their beds. Rabbi Ben is flattered but turns down their advances; he harbors as many secrets as the synagogue’s board members. The brutal murder of the synagogue’s office administrator kicks his investigation into high gear, leading Rabbi Ben to a decrepit cemetery under new ownership, a mystery-shrouded private bank that recently lost the synagogue’s account, a shofar-blowing cabinet-making part-Korean Jew, a Latino gang-banger, and the ultimate example of money laundering.
For Whom the Shofar Blows has a terrific, twisty plot with many close and thrilling scrapes for our hero, who not only escapes an attempt to run him down by car, but also defuses a bomb in his sublet apartment. The book is wonderfully written, and I guarantee that if you start reading it on a Monday, you’ll finish long before it’s time to light Shabbat candles on Friday night!
To paraphrase the old Levy’s Rye Bread ad campaign, “You don’t have to be Jewish to love For Whom the Shofar Blows!"
When the dwindling congregation of an older synagogue in Burbank, California discovers millions deposited into its bank account, its board members wonder if their prayers have been answered—until the money evaporates as quickly as it appeared. An accounting anomaly? Or is there another, more sinister explanation? Rabbi Ben is called in—his successes in other cases have quietly filtered through the Jewish grapevine. He takes the job, figuring it will be easy, not more than a few days’ work.
Young, single and handsome—in a short, redheaded kind of way—the congregation’s divorcees and unhappy wives scheme to get him to extend his stay, preferably in their beds. Rabbi Ben is flattered but turns down their advances; he harbors as many secrets as the synagogue’s board members. The brutal murder of the synagogue’s office administrator kicks his investigation into high gear, leading Rabbi Ben to a decrepit cemetery under new ownership, a mystery-shrouded private bank that recently lost the synagogue’s account, a shofar-blowing cabinet-making part-Korean Jew, a Latino gang-banger, and the ultimate example of money laundering.
For Whom the Shofar Blows has a terrific, twisty plot with many close and thrilling scrapes for our hero, who not only escapes an attempt to run him down by car, but also defuses a bomb in his sublet apartment. The book is wonderfully written, and I guarantee that if you start reading it on a Monday, you’ll finish long before it’s time to light Shabbat candles on Friday night!
To paraphrase the old Levy’s Rye Bread ad campaign, “You don’t have to be Jewish to love For Whom the Shofar Blows!"
Marvin J. Wolf is an award-winning journalist, writing teacher, and author, co-author or ghostwriter of more than a dozen books. Wolf earned the Bronze Star and Purple Heart as an Army combat photographer in Vietnam, leading to his commission in the field as a second lieutenant. His subsequent Army service included duty as a company commander, Communication-Electronics staff officer and Seventh Infantry Division public information officer. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
