Hamas War

Thursday, November 18, 2021

Tom Hogan's "The Devil's Breath," A Real Cliffhanger


I read a lot of detective books, but I must admit that Tom Hogan's "The Devil's Breath" had me stumped. I hadn't a clue as to who the thief/murderer really was until it was revealed in the very last pages. Now if that isn't a recommendation, I don't know what is...

The Devil's Breath can be included in multiple genres, which is another great advantage of purchasing and reading it. As I said, it's a detective book, but it's also a noir thriller, historical fiction, most specifically Holocaust literature. It suits all ages, from teens to adults, including senior citizens like myself.

Someday you may see it as a movie, since The Devil's Breath was a finalist at the Napa Valley Film Festival and semi-finalist at the Austin Film Festival. Hogan did a good job trying to make Auschwitz realistic three generations removed from its horrors.

The mystery involves corruption among the Nazi administrators responsible for collecting gold from the Jewish victims of the gas chambers. Shimon and Perla Divko, an imprisoned Jewish couple, detective and investigator in their former lives, are reunited to discover who's been siphoning off some of the gold. They're given barely a week and no real tools to solve the mystery. Miraculously they succeed. The Devil's Breath's a great read.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tom Hogan (July 30, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 274 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1736943618
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1736943618

Saturday, November 13, 2021

November 2021 Jewish Book Carnival

Jewish Book Carnival Headquarters

I feel very privileged to be hosting this month's Jewish Book Carnival. I've received a great selection of links to blog posts about Jewish books. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since we're known as The People of The Book. 

The genre of Jewish Books has many subgenres fiction, biography, history, children's books and even poetry. Please click on the various reviews I've included to read them in their entirety and get to know the different contributing blogs. Contact carnival@jewishlibraries.org if you would like to host the Carnival on your blog. The December 2021 Jewish Book Carnival will be hosted by Mirta Ines Trupp . To participate, submit your blurb and link by December 11, 2021 to indieauthor4life@gmail.com and please include “Jewish Book Carnival” in the subject line. One link per participant is preferred.


Novelist Howard Jacobson is also quite the essayist; on My Machberet, Erika Dreifus spotlights his "Advice to a Jewish Freshman," recently published by Sapir Journal.

Chocolate and Talmud are featured in two new releases from Green Bean Books. Life Is Like a Library bakes boulou and reads the children's version of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza

This month on gilagreenwrites, author Evonne Marzouk talks "everyday" prophets, what it's like to be an outsider in Jewish life, and inspirational fiction. Marzouk's book is reviewed here.

Mirta Ines Trupp's latest novel, Celestial Persuasion, receives highly coveted praise from the Historical Fiction Company. Read the editorial review here.

On Mockdown Jersey, Guest Blogger Bubby relates how the race theory of the Nazis is recreated today in reverse. The blog post includes a Yiddish poem about a burning town. Bubby also quotes from the book The Trial of Adolf Hitler by David King.

The Book of Life Podcast interviews E. Lockhart about her graphic novel Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero, featuring a Jewish teen superhero with enhanced canine superpowers and a Great Dane sidekick named Lebowitz.

The brand new Nice Jewish Books podcast from the Association of Jewish Libraries, hosted by librarian Sheryl Stahl, has an interview with Mary Marks, author of a quilting mystery series featuring Jewish protagonist Martha Rose.

On her blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, Deborah interviewed Moment magazine editor-in-chief Nadine Epstein about Epstein's new book, RBG's Brave and Brilliant Women: 33 Jewish Women to Inspire Everyone.

Tzivia in Adventures in MamaLand asks a good question: Are Jews an "underrepresented community" in children’s publishing?

The Association of Jewish Libraries blog announces that the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee is seeking new members.  

The Sydney Taylor Shmooze Mock Award Blog is happy to share November's posts, which include reviews of Jewish board books, picture books, middle grade books, and young adult books. 

Here on Shiloh Musings I reviewed Catherine Ehrlich's amazingly compelling biography about her grandmother, Irma's Passport: One Woman, Two World Wars, and a Legacy of Courage.

Last but not least, here's Ruti Eastman's Haikuchains That Kept Me Sane Through The Pandemic reviewed in haiku format on A Jewish Grandmother. 

Jewish Grandmothers
write haikus and shopping lists
gifts for the grandkids...

Monday, November 1, 2021

Rosh Chodesh Kislev Women's Prayers



 ראש חודש כסלו

תפילת נשים בשילה הקדומה
8:30 בבוקר
כולן מוזמנות
לפרטים נוספים: shilohmuse@gmail.com