Book description
On the same evening that a body is found in Picketsville's urgent care
clinic, a mysterious break-in occurs at the house of one of Callend
University's faculty. Both seem to be connected to an icon, “The Virgin
of Tenderness, ” in the faculty member's possession. The fact that the
body is that of the faculty member's ex-wife's lover who, more
interestingly seems to have entered the country under an assumed name
only complicates things for Sherriff Ike Schwartz. In the search for
killers and thieves, what appears to be outdated spycraft, a microdot,
is found on the icon. In an era of sophisticated cyber-encrypted
information transfer, the presence of this bit of CIA nostalgia brings
in Charlie Garland and the forces from Langley. Ike has no wish to
engage with them or their problems. He has killers to apprehend and sets
out to do his job in spite of the meddling by government agencies. That
the bit of spycraft is something more than old time microphotography and
it carried information that implicates the involvement of Israel's super
secret Mossad only complicates an already messy set of problems. A dead
CIA agent, a rogue handler, and a potential international incident are
avoided outside the faculty member's house as the good, the bad, and the
ugly are neatly sorted and carted away. During the course of all this,
Ruth's mother arrives for an extended visit, Ike and Ruth are officially
engaged, and the Sutherlins, Billy, Frank, and Essie, like Dilsey
Gibson, endure. Picketsville, Va., sheriff Ike Schwartz investigates a
botched robbery at the home of Louis Dakis, a professor at Callend
University, where Ike's lady friend, Ruth Harris, happens to be
president, in Ramsay's absorbing sixth mystery to feature the dogged
lawman (after 2008's Choker ). Though it appears nothing was taken
during the break-in, a dead body turns up around the same time, propped
in the local hospital's emergency room. Convinced the two cases are
related, Ike digs into Louis's life and finds a bitterly estranged wife,
a missing lover, and several religious icons, one recently brought into
the country. Ike soon has dozens of questions, no answers, and an itch
to learn more about a particular icon called The Virgin of Tenderness .
With folksy charm and dollops of humor, Ramsay crafts a tale of
international intrigue in which the past and present make poor
bedfellows. Fans of Ruth and Ike's blossoming romance will find plenty
to cheer about. Dr. Frederick Ramsay was born in Baltimore, Maryland.
He received his doctorate from the University of Illinois-Westside
Medical Campus. After a stint in the Army, he joined the faculty of the
University of Maryland, School of Medicine, teaching Anatomy, Embryology
and Histology; engaged in research and also served as an Associate Dean.
During this time he also pursued studies in theology and in 1971 was
ordained an Episcopal priest. He is the author of several scientific and
general articles, tracts, theses, and co-author of The Baltimore
Declaration. He is an accomplished public speaker and once hosted a
television spot, Prognosis, on the evening news for WMAR-TV, Baltimore.
He is also an iconographer with works displayed around the world. He
lives in Surprise, Arizona with his wife and partner, Susan.
