Jerusalem Mystery

The Eighth Veil is a mystery set in first-century 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 Pilate's men in the palace, and Pilate doesn't 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 girl's 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.

Jerusalem's deadly secrets are emerging from the smoke. The year is AD 29, and Jerusalem chafes under the Roman Empire's continued presence and oppressive rule. In spite of that unpleasant fact, life goes on-but not for everyone. People die, some because it is their time, others by misadventure. One death in particular brings the city's daily routine to a halt. A badly burned body is found behind the veil of the holy of holies-the temple's inner sanctum and the most sacred space on earth for the Jews. No one except the high priest may enter this place and he only once a year on the Day of Atonement. This is no casual violation, and the authorities are in an uproar. Rabban Gamaliel of the Sanhedrin, the ranking rabbi in all Judea, is drawn into solving this delicate mystery while dark agents with unholy interests plot to seize control of much of the trade in certain highly profitable imports from the east and west. Loukas, the physician, plays Watson to Gamaliel's Sherlock as they slowly unravel the tangled web of intrigue and murder, but not before more bodies, both literal and figurative, show up. All the while Yeshua, the radical rabbi from Galilee, continues to annoy the high priest and smoke-holy smoke-rises from the sacrifices in the temple.