NINE TENTHS OF THE LAW by Claudia Hagadus Long

NINE TENTHS OF THE LAW by Claudia Hagadus Long

Two sisters, their mother, and a Nazi thief. In 1939, a beautiful enameled heirloom menorah was looted by the Nazis, grabbed from the hands of its young Jewish owner. Too beautiful to kill, Aurora herself was singled out by the SS for “special duties”. Eighty years later, Aurora’s daughters Zara and Lilly discover the family menorah in a New York museum. Haunted by their mother’s buried memories, the sisters scheme to get it back—but their quest takes a dangerous turn when the menorah disappears, leaving a trail of murder and mayhem behind it. Aurora’s memories, it turns out, are very much alive; and now her secrets can bind the sisters together or tear them apart.

“Everything isn't light-hearted, of course. Not only were their forebears affected by the Holocaust, Zara and Lilly carry that burden as well. They feel that whatever they suffer, it is nothing compared to what their mother went through, so they should bear it without complaint. Again, Long has struck a nice balance between describing Zara's inner conflicts and the action of the story. It never bogs down; instead, her interior journey lends considerable richness to the narrative”.-- Crime Fiction Lovers, April, 2020