Mysteries offering history, chess, humor

By Dinah Rokach

These three whodunits are set in a variety of times and places: present-day New York; Brighton, England in the late 1950s; and Europe during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 1800s. They will undoubtedly capture your imagination.

Assassin’s Lullaby, by Mark Rubinstein, 328 pages, Thunder Lake Press paperback, 2022 surveillance and furtive stalkers.

Follow hired assassin Eli Dagan as he takes on an assignment for the Brighton Beach-based Russian Mafia of Brooklyn.

He lives moment-to-moment, whether traversing the pedestrian walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge, crossing the vast interior of Grand Central Station, frequenting his favorite trattoria or unwinding at the local Irish pub.

By Dinah Rokach

Dagan, a former Mossad agent, resides in Manhattan under the assumed identity of Aiden West. He puts his life on the line for a payday in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, wired to his offshore account.

Tension mounts as Dagan leaves the safety of his apartment to meet with mobsters, plan the kill and confront his prey. He keeps a wary eye out for technological

Meet the colorful lowlife criminals and high-ranking bosses who inhabit the Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking underworld of Brighton Beach, which is reminiscent of their hometown, Odessa.

The deadly competition among rival gangs forms the basis for this enthralling, suspenseful story. Who will survive to kill another day? Can a killer retire and start life anew? Is it wise to trust a stranger?

Octogenarian Mark Rubinstein is a forensic psychiatrist. In his 11 works of fiction, he dissects the psyches of killers and criminals.

Rubinstein reveals, “Dagan [is] both a hero and an anti-hero…He has a moral