PRIME MEMBER EXCLUSIVE | 3 Months Free Trial

Auto-renews at INR 199/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends 15 July, 2026.
Holy Smoke cover art

Holy Smoke

A Jerusalem Mystery, Book 3

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER
3 Months Free Trial
Get this deal
Offer ends on 15 July, 2026 at 11:59 PM IST.
1 credit a month to use on any title.
Listen to anything from the Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks.
₹199 per month after 3 months. Renews automatically. Cancel anytime. Offer ends 15 July, 2026 at 11:59 PM IST.
Download titles to your library and listen offline.

Holy Smoke

Written by: Frederick Ramsay
Narrated by: Robin Field
Get this deal

₹199 per month after 3 months. Renews automatically. Cancel anytime. Offer ends 15 July, 2026 at 11:59 PM IST.

Buy Now for ₹659.55

Buy Now for ₹659.55

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.

©2013 Frederick Ramsay (P)2013 Blackstone
Amateur Sleuth Historical Jewish Mystery World Literature
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic Reviews

"Entertaining…. Ramsay earns high marks for the series’ premise." (Publishers Weekly)
"A rabbi is yet again forced to use his skills in critical thinking to solve a murder…. The second in a trilogy set in first-century Jerusalem not only offers a finally wrought mystery but includes intriguing information on the religious and secular life of the period." (Kirkus Reviews)
No reviews yet