Many Jews will no doubt be aware of Ellen Frankel through her influential The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman’s Commentary on the Torah, published in 1996. In her latest book she uses her expertise to propel a foray into the thriller genre. The Deadly Scrolls features a cryptic
artifact known as the Copper Scroll, which actually exists and purports to reveal the location of treasures hidden when the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE.
The book begins with the murder of an American scholar at a Jerusalem conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Maya Rimon, an Israeli inte
lligence officer who is already at odds with her superiors for her stubborn independence, is assigned to the case. Her investigation eventually becomes a race with the killer, a religious fanatic, to find a second scroll that will help decipher the mysteries of the Copper Scroll. This will be the trigger for an attack on the Temple Mount that will unleash chaos and, at least in the killer’s mind, bring on the Christian End Times. Frankel’s knowledge of the material and ability to explain it only add to the story, and she brings the often frenetic atmosphere of modern Jerusalem to life as well. An author’s note and bibliography are included at the end for those who wish to explore the subject more deeply.
The Deadly Scrolls can be obtained through the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library system.
Leslie Jaszczak