Gerald Everett Jones's Blog: Gerald Everett Jones - Author, page 24
February 11, 2024
Book Review 'A Scribe Dies in Brooklyn'
A Scribe Dies in Brooklyn is the second novel in Marvin J. Wolf’s Rabbi Ben mystery series.
I have known the author for years as a masterful storyteller who has a knack for finding compelling subjects. I call him by his first name because, I proudly confess, he’s a colleague and a friend.
You may come to think of Rabbi Ben, the protagonist of Marv’s mystery series, the same way. Here is the kind of righteous, empowered avenger you’d want as a friend if you ever found yourself the target of unscrupulous thugs in a dark alley in the boroughs of New York.
Rabbi Ben Maimon made his literary debut in For Whom the Shofar Blows (originally titled The Tattooed Rabbi). Ben’s mission in this second thriller is to track down a missing ancient manuscript, the Aleppo Codex, the oldest known Hebrew copy of the Tanakh, which contains all twenty-four books of the Hebrew Bible. If you think a quest for some crusty, old parchment would be a scholarly snore, you’ve been living in a cave and never heard of Dan Brown or never seen Tom Hanks’ portrayals of the obsessive Dr. Robert Langdon. And, like Langdon, Ben has a talent for finding obscure facts, beautiful women who offer their passionate assistance and support, and more physical threats than your average street-wise operative could handle.
As to the physical threats, you’d think a man of God would rarely if ever need to resort to violence. But, as in ancient times, these days not only books but also places of worship are being destroyed by zealots who want to rewrite history. And, as the global underground economy grows ever larger, there are thieves and cutthroats who don’t hesitate to kill for religious artifacts because one side or the other is willing to pay for them with suitcases full of cash.
So, as is the deceptively mild-mannered Mr. Wolf, Rabbi Ben is accomplished in the martial arts. If your heart beats faster when a good thriller is peppered with against-the-odds altercations, some bloody, you will not be disappointed.
Another close colleague of mine, the sci-fi cult author Thomas Page, recently reminded me that Ian Fleming believed readers lust after pointless detail. That’s why fans of his James Bond thrillers know a Walther PPK from a Smith & Wesson .45 and why if you drive an Aston Martin you will thank your mechanic for tuning up the turbocharger when you need to make a fast getaway.
Readers of A Scribe Dies in Brooklyn whose scavenger minds likewise lust for detail will learn so much here about Jewish arcana that you might feel as though you’ve successfully completed a college-level course in religious studies.
And you will eagerly dive into the other immersive Rabbi Ben mysteries.
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Preacher Stalls the Second Coming (Evan Wycliff #4) will be released in trade paperback and Kindle on March 5, 2024. Preorders are available on Amazon now.
February 9, 2024
What's 'Between the Covers' ?
It’s another spirited exchange of views about Preacher Stalls the Second Coming, including parallels to recent political discourse about AI fakes and internment camps.
Evan is always asking why bad things happen to good people.Feed your curiosity with a paid subscription to this Thinking About Thinking blog. With a paid subscription, you’ll gain access to all the content that’s here, including podcasts, and you’ll be helping us build our worldwide community through storytelling and self-expression.
#4 releases on March 5. You can preorder now.
February 4, 2024
Evan Responds to 'The Protagonist Speaks'
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Release date for #4 - March 5. You can preorder the Kindle now.
February 2, 2024
Book 101 Review of 'Preacher #4' on Apple Podcasts
Book 101 Review is a concise and informative guide that offers an overview of the art of book reviewing. This comprehensive episodes covers the key aspects of writing insightful and engaging book reviews, including analyzing plot, characters, writing style, and themes. It provides valuable tips on structuring review, offering constructive criticism, and expressing your personal opinions in a balanced manner.
Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts. Click here to preorder Amazon Kindle. Release date for paperback as well - March 5, 2024.
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February 1, 2024
'Good News' with Paul Sladkus
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January 31, 2024
The Preacher Evan Wycliff Mystery Series
Evan Wycliff is an amateur sleuth, the main character of my mysteries Preacher Finds a Corpse, Preacher Fakes a Miracle, Preacher Raises the Dead, and now Preacher Stalls the Second Coming (March 5). Amateur sleuth is a well-established subgenre of mystery, but stories about clergymen who investigate crimes are perhaps a sub-subgenre. As a reader myself, my favorites of these are the Rabbi Ben mysteries by Marvin J. Wolf, including A Scribe Dies in Brooklyn.
Now, putting on my writer hat, I will admit that casting an amateur sleuth in the role of investigator is one of the easier choices. If the main character were a law-enforcement official, the technical challenges for the author are much more restrictive. Those plots fall into the category of police procedural. The author must understand the protocols of criminal investigations, including crime-scene surveys and forensic analysis.
But protagonists who are amateurs needn’t follow the rules – especially because they are likely to be ignorant of them and – what’s more – they have no business poking their noses where they don’t belong.
In the Preacher novels, it isn’t Evan’s intention to do any of this. In the first book, Preacher Finds a Corpse, he happens on the body of his best friend in a cornfield. Bob Taggart is dead – apparently by suicide, which is also obvious to the cops and to the coroner. But Evan wonders – even if no one else pulled the trigger – did someone drive Bob to do it? Wouldn’t that be a sin – if not a crime?
Evan’s curse – or his blessing – is his curious mind. And, like good investigators, professional or not, he’s both a data-driller and a close observer. At the outset of the series, Evan gets only part-time gigs – as a guest preacher at the local Baptist church and as a skip tracer (bill collector) for the town’s car dealership.
And because he has some success finding the truth, false rumors circulate in this southern Missouri farm community that Evan is a faith healer. His growing reputation attracts people who need help – not just spiritual guidance but also resolutions to personal crises that no one else in town seems to have any interest in solving.
So – one might ask – are the Evan Wycliff mysteries Christian fiction? I’d think not – my sense of that genre is it’s intended to provide inspiration – to offer answers to questions.
In Evan’s world, there are always more questions than answers.
The Preacher Evan Wycliff Mysteries#1 in Kindle or EPUB is free. The new title #4 is available now for preorder in Kindle format. All titles are available in trade paperback.You need not read them in sequence!
Available from Amazon Kindle Apple Books BN Google Play Kobo (and just about anywhere you buy ebooks). Also available in trade paperback from booksellers worldwide.
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January 27, 2024
Preacher Fakes a Miracle
Short-term deal!
Available from Amazon Kindle Apple Books BN Google Play Kobo (and just about anywhere you buy ebooks)
About the series…
Amateur sleuth Evan Wycliff is a disillusioned divinity student who is fascinated by astrophysics and given up both.
He's returned to his small-town farm roots in Southern Missouri. He is also disappointed in love. His beautiful fiancé was a brilliant Jewish scientist, a defense contractor who was killed in a rocket attack in Syria. These days Evan gets guest preacher gigs and uses his investigative skills as skip tracer for the local car and tractor dealership.
“This is literature masquerading as a mystery. Carefully yet powerfully, Gerald Jones creates a small, stunning world in a tiny midwestern town, infusing each character with not just life but wit, charm and occasionally menace. This is the kind of writing one expects from John Irving or Jane Smiley.”
- Marvin J. Wolf, author of the Rabbi Ben Mysteries, including A Scribe Dies in Brooklyn
Some troubled teens are in much more trouble than they realize.The gentrification of Missouri farmland has brought not only casino culture but also investors and influencers from all over the world. Evan Wycliff, a lapsed Baptist minister and unconfessed agnostic, often gets dragged into dealing with problems others have given up solving. There's an orphanage that serves young women, and some get placed in part-time work at the lakeside resorts.
They're supposed to be working in the laundry. But some have been pushed upstairs.
And then one went missing...
Available from Amazon Kindle Apple Books BN Google Play Kobo (and just about anywhere you buy ebooks)
Feed your curiosity with a paid subscription to this Thinking About Thinking blog. With a paid subscription, you’ll gain access to all the content that’s here, including podcasts, and you’ll be helping us build our worldwide community through storytelling and self-expression.
And if you’re already a paid subscriber…
January 24, 2024
Is Death 'Stepping Out of the Movie'?
As I’m sure you have experienced, Amazon keeps sending me newsletter blasts about books they think I’ll like, as if to say, “Your bot angels are watching.” A recent suggestion was this little book, The Survival of Human Consciousness After Permanent Bodily Death by Dutch cardiologist Pim van Lommel. This brief volume is the second in a series of three research studies awarded for excellence by the Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies (BICS).
This is no religious tract. It is a scholarly white paper citing empirical evidence that a significant portion of people who have been revived after cardiac arrest report remarkably similar Near Death Experiences (NDEs). The most astounding finding is that these experiences of consciousness occur during times when there is no blood flow or oxygen in the brain and no detectable mental activity or capability. Before being resuscitated, those patients were literally brain dead for many minutes after conscious thought or perception should be possible.
January 20, 2024
Press Release Sneak Preview
LaPuerta Books and Media announces the publication of the fourth novel in the multiple-award-winning Preacher Evan Wycliff mystery series. Fans of Gerald Everett Jones have been waiting two years for this one. Release date is March 5, 2024 in both trade paperback and e-book. Preacher Stalls the Second Coming is both timely and likely to be controversial. In its bizarre and complex plot, a crazed scientist knocks on the preacher’s door with a bizarre warning - the Deep State may be planning to fake the Second Coming of Christ with advanced virtual-reality technology. Meanwhile, a faith-healing evangelist is luring poor and homeless people to an internment camp with promises of ample food, then exhorting them to prepare for the End Times by starving themselves to death. Evan can’t ignore these unbelievable stories when a young woman from his church disappears inside the cult leader’s farm.
Fourth in the series - after a two-year wait - will be released on March 5, 2024 in trade paperback and Kindle. Kindle preorders are available now.
Previous novels in the Evan Wycliff series have won nine book awards, including Mystery Gold and Silver in the New York City Big Book Awards for the #1 and #2 titles in the same year.
Praise for the series has been effusive, especially from other authors of renowned mysteries. Writing about Preacher Finds a Corpse (#1), Marvin J. Wolf, author of the Rabbi Ben Mysteries said: “This is literature masquerading as a mystery. Carefully yet powerfully, Gerald Jones creates a small, stunning world in a tiny midwestern town, infusing each character with not just life but wit, charm, and occasionally menace. This is the kind of writing one expects from John Irving or Jane Smiley.”
On reading Preacher Fakes a Miracle (#2), M.J. Richards, Coauthor of Dishonor Thy Father, offered this endorsement: “A fast-moving mystery with twists and surprises that take you in unexpected directions. Jones is adept at creating unique and fascinating characters. His mystery sleuth is a part-timer with lots of heart who splits his time between religion, skip tracing and sometimes the metaphysical. The hero's search for a missing girl and his interactions with various eccentric individuals in the small town make him both sympathetic and compelling. A bit of a shock to learn what's really going on with the abducted young unwed mother... and amazing how it relates to real stories in the news today.”
In his review of Preacher Raises the Dead (#3), John Rachel, author of Blinders Keepers, said: “This is an excellent read. Such an engaging storyteller! It really sucked me in. The last page did cause a triple-take, quadruple-take, and whatever comes after, up to about eight. Jones is definitely one of my favorite authors.”
About this fourth book, which is his fourteenth novel, Jones explains, “Preacher Evan Wycliff is an amateur sleuth, a reluctant investigator. People in a small farm town in Southern Missouri bring him problems no one else wants to solve. Some call him a faith healer, others think he’s agnostic. He believes in the power of prayer, but he also admits he’s a skeptical inquirer: ‘If you don’t doubt, you’re not human.’”
Reading from Chapter 1
Gerald Everett Jones is a freelance writer who lives in Santa Monica, California. He has been a longtime board member of the Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC) and host of the GetPublished! Radio podcast. He holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from the College of Letters, Wesleyan University, where he studied under novelists Peter Boynton (Stone Island), F.D. Reeve (The Red Machines), and Jerzy Kosinski (The Painted Bird, Being There).
Preacher Stalls the Second Coming will be available on March 5, 2024 from booksellers worldwide in trade paperback as well as in Kindle format from Amazon.
LaPuerta Books and Media is an imprint of La Puerta Productions, Santa Monica, California. The imprint and its logo – an open door – symbolize unlimited access to knowledge, opportunity, innovation, fascination, and delight.
January 10, 2024
Preacher Stalls the Second Coming (Evan Wycliff #4)
The book will be published in trade paperback and Kindle formats on March 5, 2024.
You don’t need to have read the others in the series to enjoy this one!
Consumer reviews posted on the book’s Amazon catalog pages really help boost a book launch. Goodreads reviews are also helpful, but not as much. These review copies are free to you, and the rules say you are not required to post a review just because you downloaded the ARC (but it may increase your positive literary karma balance).
There are 5,000+ subscribers to this blog. There are only 50 review copies available from this link, so click here now if you want one!
The most controversial Preacher Wycliff mystery yet!Fourth in the multiple-award-winning mystery seriesA limited number of review copies are available for the fourth book in this award-winning series. Click here to download a free copy. Release date in trade paperback and Kindle will be March 5, 2024.
A crazed scientist knocks on Evan’s door with a bizarre warning - the Deep State may be planning to fake the Second Coming of Christ with advanced virtual-reality technology. Meanwhile, a faith-healing evangelist is luring poor and homeless people to a religious retreat with promises of ample food, then exhorting them to prepare for the End Times by starving themselves to death. Evan can’t ignore these unbelievable stories when a young woman from his church disappears inside the cult leader’s farm.
PRAISE FOR THE EVAN WYCLIFF MYSTERIESThis is literature masquerading as a mystery. Carefully yet powerfully, Gerald Jones creates a small, stunning world in a tiny midwestern town, infusing each character with not just life but wit, charm, and occasionally menace. This is the kind of writing one expects from John Irving or Jane Smiley. Marvin J. Wolf, author of the Rabbi Ben Mysteries, including A Scribe Dies in Brooklyn.
Feed your curiosity with a paid subscription to this Thinking About Thinking blog. With a paid subscription, you’ll gain access to all the content that’s here, including podcasts, and you’ll be helping us build our worldwide community through storytelling and self-expression.
And if you’re already a paid subscriber…
Gerald Everett Jones - Author
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