Secrets: An Ike Schwartz Mystery

This was the first of Frederick Ramsay's mysteries I read, and I was totally captured by the characters, setting, style and dynamics. A wonderful story, and it led me on a quest to find his other two (so far). Ramsey is a gem, and I hope he carries on this his second (or is it his third?) career for many years.

I've lived in the VA/MD area for almost 20 years. Fred Ramsay captures the local color and makes you sweat with the rest of us. Episcopal church life just below the Mason-Dixon line is just how he describes. His characters are real, and every one of them could have "dunnit!" Ike Schwartz is a welcome splash of blue in an otherwise red state. Ike says what's really in our hearts and you can't help loving him for it. Thanks Fred for a great read!

After a scandal forces Reverend Blake Fisher to move from his prosperous Philadelphia congregation to the dying Picketsville Episcopal Church he despairs of being sentenced to live out the rest of his career in a podunk town whose members refuse to accept him. When the seedy church organist turns up dead in his church Blake again finds himself under suspicion, especially once it's discovered that Waldo Templeton had a talent for blackmail. It's up to Sheriff Ike Schwartz, a former CIA agent, and his quirky deputies to determine just who was willing to kill to protect his/her secrets. In this sequel to Artscape Ike shares the spotlight with Blake, a wrongly accused vicar who has to contend with the animosity of his church as well as someone who seems determined to sabotage him. Both men are having their own difficulties with the women in their lives as Ike continues his relationship with the outspoken, knee-jerk liberal Ruth Harris, the college president who both frustrates and intrigues him. At the same time Blake finds himself drawn to the new organist who may be scared of by his past before they can plan a future. Ramsay takes some shots at the academia and at liberals when Ike is forced to participate in a very humorous and entertaining faculty dinner full of pretentious, stuffed-shirt professors. Although this is an Ike Schwartz mystery Blake Fisher emerges as an engaging new character strong enough to hold a novel of his own. Ramsay once again has created an original and entertaining mystery full of small-town charm and big-city crime. This is a series with great promise and should not be missed.

The robbery several months ago of 500 million dollars worth of fine art from Callend College for Women made national news. Picketsville, Virginia locals were interviewed and many in-spots like the diner and its customers were on the news. For instance so-so Stonewall Jackson Memorial Church organist Waldo Templeton appeared smiling on TV sets across the nation. However, that proved to be a mistake as the classic butterfly effect occurs; someone enters the church and kills Waldo as the victim ironically touches Sanctuary. Church secretary and all around busy body Millicent Bass finds the body. As she and her posse of friends hysterically and inadvertently contaminate the crime scene, Sheriff Ike Schwartz struggles with a motive. Due to a note the deceased had inside his shirt pocket, Ike focuses on the relatively new vicar, Reverend Randolph Blake Fisher, Jr., who arrived after a scandal back in his previous church in Philadelphia. The killer next murders Millicent assuming that her nosiness gave away information in the church's personnel files. Still leaning towards Blake as the culprit, Ike revises his opinion when the murderer tries to kill the vicar. With regional police procedurals like this one Frederick Ramsay will not remain a secret to readers. The pleasant story line provides the audience with a captivating local group that shows the congregation's loyalty with the naming of the church. Ike is tremendous as he hones in on Blake, who has a history of trouble with his flock while also struggling with the ladies devastating the crime scene. Fans will take delight with this fine mystery in which the chief and the readers will wonder what Blake is hiding. Harriet Klausner