Book description
The Eighth Veil is a mystery set in the year 28 CE in Jerusalem during
the feast of Tabernacles. A murdered servant girl is found in the palace
of King Herod Antipas. The Prefect, Pontius Pilate is in attendance. The
populace is still buzzing over the brutal death of one of their
Prophets, John, known familiarly as the Baptizer, and scandal is in the
air. Pilate wants no trouble and insists an independent investigation
into the murder be made. Antipas will have none of Pilate's men in the
palace and Pilate doesn't trust Antipas. Gamaliel, the chief rabbi and
head of the Sanhedrin is coerced by Pilate to do the detective work.
Gamaliel is a Talmudic scholar, not a sleuth, and at first struggles.
But as he learns more of the dead girl's background and that of the
other major players in the drama, particularly Menahem, Antipas' foster
brother, he soon becomes eon over to the process and, Sherlockian-like,
begins to fit the pieces together. Or, as his “Watson” Loukas says,
strips the veils from his personal Salome. The girl turns out not to be
the mere servant everyone assumed, in spite of his impatience with the
pace and direction of the investigation Pilate is rewarded and the
fascinating, little told but critically entwined, histories of Julius
Caesar, Cleopatra, Herod the Great, Anthony and Augustus Caesar, and the
Battle of Actium suddenly seems more relevant to the Gospel narratives
than anyone might have previously imagined. Meanwhile, the figure of
Jesus, the rabbi from Nazareth, with his ragged band of enthusiasts and
his habit of annoying Caiaphas, the High Priest, moves enigmatically in
the background. 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.
