Here’s the set-up for Kris Langman’s The Gostynin Shul, just 99 cents on Kindle:
The Gostynin Shul – A Yiddish history mystery
Dr. Joanna Adelman leads a quiet life. She takes walks with her seeing-eye dog, Delilah, and tries to survive her Grandmother’s amateur attempts at Japanese cooking. Her work as a Yiddish translator adds small details to the story of Jewish immigration to Boston, but has never been the most exciting of careers. Until the Zielinski documents.
They arrive in her office one morning – a jumble of handwritten pages in a cardboard box. Suddenly Joanna finds herself fending off an enraged Hasidic group intent on preserving its reputation, and a Boston society matron desperate to preserve her family’s wealth and status.
With the help of Ming Leibowitz, her Chinese-Israeli assistant, and Dr. Phillipa Henderson, a colleague specializing in African-American culture, Joanna delves into the layered history of Boston’s Beacon Hill and the fight over a small plot of land once owned by former slaves. The centuries-old struggle of Boston’s marginalized Jews and African-Americans to find a place to call home reignites in modern-day Boston, and old hatreds threaten to break a community apart.
From the reviewers:
I found the story to be very enjoyable and fast-paced. It kept my attention throughout, and I read it eagerly wanting to see what happened next. I hope there will be more books in this series because I would like to read more about this character. – Kenetha Stanton
I really liked the story. There is great potential for a series. It was interesting learning about the different ethnic groups in Boston. The only thing that I was not impressed with is the ending. I won’t ruin it for everyone but I will say that it was blunt and a let down. Beyond that, I will be keeping my eyes out for other stories from Kris Langman. – J Bronder
This quirky mystery novel mixes intriguing characters with a fast-moving plot. There’s an old Hasidic guy bent on revenge, a wealthy woman with too much money and too little humanity, a blind Yiddish translator, a Chinese-Israeli chemistry student, and a guide dog with a touchy stomach. The plot revolves around an old synagogue in Boston and the valuable land underneath it. The Lowells, one of Boston’s oldest families claims to own the land, as do an African-American senator and a Hasidic group which originally immigrated to Boston in the 1800’s. The mixture of history and suspense makes this a fun read. – Wander
And here, in the comfort of your own browser, is your free sample of THE GOSTYNIN SHUL by Kris Langman: