New Cozy Mystery from Susan Van Dusen

The Missing Hand
Susa VanDusen
Cozy Mystery
 
Aakenbaaken & Kent , released June 7, 2021
Paperback, ‎266 pages, $16.99
ISBN:‎ 978-1938436574
 
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About the Book
A valuable heirloom has been stolen from a member of Julia Donnelly’s Torah study group. Grievous sins of the past have pushed their way into the present. Murder, distrust, and ill-gotten gains from World War II Bohemia threaten the peaceful Jewish community of Crestfall, Illinois. Julia, wife of this small town’s mayor and mother of two young adopted sons, is pressed into service to find the bejeweled heirloom which is called a yad, a Hebrew word which means “hand” in English. It is a rod-shaped item with a bulb on the top and a hand with a pointing finger at the bottom that helps keep one’s place when reading the Torah. This particular yad is covered with a fortune’s worth of jewels. With no experience except watching TV detective shows, Julia and Torah group leader Rabbi Fine attempt to solve the mystery and address the misery it causes. After finding the yad, another mystery, much deeper, explores good and evil in the character of the man who brought the yad to America and escaped punishment for his crimes after the war by posing as a Jewish immigrant. Heady stuff for a cozy, but humor takes the sting out. The Donnelly family goes at 90 miles an hour, hollering, hugging, and loving. It all works out in the end. Remember, we all have our own michegas. As we say in Yiddish, Plotsn zolstu—May you explode from pleasure after reading this book.
 
My Review
Whether you don’t know much about contemporary Judaism, are an ardent follower, or somewhere in between, readers will learn that people take desperate risks when they must, theft is never simple, and family is family, no matter where they are on the family tree. Julia wants to explore her roots more deeply, and joins a study group at her synagogue, led by the younger and single Rabbi Fine. The women of the group come from all backgrounds, are of all ages and opinions and walks of life. Rabbi Fine has his work cut out for him, dealing with the best and nosiest Torah group. Sometimes they even study when they’re not sharing recipes and secrets. When a group member’s heirloom yod, or helpful hand for holding open scriptures while reading, goes missing, you know it’s never about the pilfered item that’s the real mystery. Join Julia and friends as they dig deep into the past to learn more about the hearts of mankind, and something about themselves as well.
 
Susan Van Dusen’s delightful adventure, the first of a series, connecting past and present underscores the value of family ties and of sisterhood that goes beyond blood. Unraveling a mystery is only a layer of this faith journey for these courageous and entertaining Torah group members.
 

About the Author

Susan Van Dusen is an award-winning writer of editorials and magazine articles. She has written three books for children on the history of Skokie, and The Synagogue: a Home for the Jewish People. The Missing Hand is the debut book in a series of cozies based on a Torah group solving mysteries using Jewish tradition. She is a member of OCWW, Chicago Writers Association and Sisters in Crime. To learn more, please visit www.susanvandusen.com

Essays and inspiration for difficult times

Resilience in Hard Times
Paulette Harper, editor
Nonfiction Anthology of personal essays and inspirational advice
 Thy Word Publishing
June 15, 2021

Buy on Amazon

$1.99 ebook; $20.45 print, 222 pp.
 
About the Book:
Resilience in Hard Times are stories from twenty women who learned how to survive and pivot in the most troubling times. 
People who read these incredible stories of….
 
How they overcame self-doubt and turned it into self-confidence.
How they faced odds and climbed those mountains to success.
How they choose to use their voices and experiences to lead them to victory.
How they decided not to allow the scars, pain, and uncertainties to defeat them.  
 
These are stories about transformation, courage, and resolve from women who were determined to make a difference in their own lives and show others how it can be done. 
 
These women are using their voices and influence to break chains and strongholds that once captured them.

My Review:

Twenty extraordinary authors share encouraging words, prayers, and advice from the depth of their pain in this new collection from Thy Word Publishing. Women candidly discuss topics from staying in love over the long haul, parenthood, the sandwich generation, prejudice, betrayal, illness, and every kind of dilemma that would break the heart of a lesser human—all with a healthy appreciation for their strength of faith and the precious concept of forgiveness for others and ourselves. “A resilient person has the ability to bounce back and recover from horrendous events, hard times, and adverse conditions. That’s how God created you. Yes, God created you with the bounce back, but there are some things you need to do as well,” Paulette Harper says in the opening selection.

Coming from all walks of life: medical specialists, career authors and publicists, homemakers, businesswomen, ministerial and educational professionals, the authors tell how they are facing down challenges from divorce to abortion, racism and sexism, physical setbacks, death of loved ones, job loss and financial difficulties, to self-doubt and suicidal thoughts. Their testimonies will promote and engender healing for everyone dealing with similar events. Each of the twenty stories relate a personal hard time and how they struggled and worked diligently to get a handle on their often heart-rending circumstance. “My hope is that by sharing this experience with you, it will guide you to recognize in yourself your deep desire for a life without worry, struggle, and pain,” Jana Marie Toutolmin writes.

Some of my favorite passages include:“I had finally realized I was never supposed to fit it! I was meant to be the STAR! My light is not to be dimmed. I am not to fit in. I am to let my light shine before others,” from The Journey to Becoming a STAR! by Alena Zachery-Ross, and “Praising the Lord through one of the hardest times in my life is what kept me emotionally, mentally and spiritually sounded,” from Pushing Past the Pain to Praise by Pastor LoNika A. Harris. Other passages of advice are equally inspired, like “Keep your prayers and positive affirmations all around you, and most of all keep encouraging people with wisdom by your side,” Tonja Harris Dews writes in I Don’t Look Like My Storm; “I knew I had to stop giving people the power to control my happiness” in Overcoming the Mean Girl Spirit by Yvonne R. Wilson, and the most reassuring of all in the final piece, Shattered Heart, by Marilyn Williams-Jerrels: “I had no clue about how God was going to help me survive, but I had faith that I would be carried. 

For those who are going through a mild rough patch or a calamity, these wonderful essays are sure to shine through your despair. Especially recommended as a gift.