The year is 29 C.E., and Jerusalem chafes under the Roman Empire's oppressive rule. A badly scorched body is found behind the Veil of the Holy of Holies-- the Temple's inner sanctum. Gamaliel, the rabban of the Sanhedrin, finds himself 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.

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...

It's Passover, and Gamaliel and his physician friend, Loukas, are again solving a crime--reluctantly. Pontius Pilate has been accused of murder, and while many would rejoice at his removal from Judea, Gamaliel is a just man and must discover the truth. In the process, many questions are answered about an event that will later come to be known as Easter.

"On the same evening that a body is found in Picketsville's urgent care clinic, a mysterious break-in occurs at the house of one of Callend University's faculty. Sheriff Ike Schwartz thinks both events might be connected to an icon, The Virgin of Tenderness, in the faculty member's possession. Is the victim somehow connected to the university? And why did he enter the country under an assumed name? Then, what appears to be outdated spycraft--a microdot--is...

"Ramsay demonstrates once again that he is a superb storyteller, adroitly mixing the spy and small-town mystery genres and shocking us with one walloping big surprise midway through the book." -Booklist It's midwinter and the Shenandoah Valley is poised on the brink of an unusually icy and snowy season. Alexei Kamarov's body is discovered in a forest within the Picketsville town limits. His driver's license identifies him as Randall Harris. The last...