When his golden retriever Rochester noses out a dead body behind the bounce house at Stewart’s Crossing’s first Purim carnival, Steve Levitan is pulled into two dangerous investigations—each revealing its own world of secrets, power, and betrayal.

Steve’s longtime mentor, Eastern College President Babson, needs his computer expertise. A rising academic star, Austin Graynor, may have fabricated his credentials—and buried his past mistreatment of female colleagues.
What Steve uncovers forces him to question academic power, accountability, and how far people will go to protect their reputations.

Meanwhile, Detective Rick Stemper needs help with the murder of Yakov Shmerler, a diamond dealer engaged to marry eighteen-year-old Hadassah Schildkraut. Hadassah fled her restrictive Orthodox community, landing in Stewart’s Crossing under the protection of Steve’s friends. Her escape—and her explosive blog exposing corruption—has made her a target.

As Rick and Steve investigate, clues point toward Kiryas Lev, a closed and insulated community in New York’s Catskill Mountains.

• Powerful men want Hadassah silenced.
• Yakov’s death is only the beginning.

And the deeper they dig, the more the two cases intertwine—echoing the Purim story of Esther, hidden identities, and courage in the face of corrupt authority.

Steve must protect a young woman risking everything to speak the truth, confront a dangerous academic with a past full of shadows, and keep Rochester out of trouble as they race to unmask a killer.

Perfect for fans of:

• David Rosenfelt’s Andy Carpenter

• Laurien Berenson’s Melanie Travis mysteries

• Witty, heartfelt dog mysteries with real emotional stakes