This week, Susie Black’s Saturday Author Spotlight shines on cozy mystery author Joyce Sanderly.
About the Author: Joyce Sanderly is a Pushcart-nominated poet and a lawyer. She retired as a Senior Counsel from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Her poetry collection, The Shomer, was a finalist for the Blue Lynx Prize and semifinalist for the Elixir Press Antivenom Award and for the Codhill Press Poetry Award. Her poetry has recently been published in Dos Gatos Press, Atlanta Review, Folio, Delmarva Review, Peregrine, Another Chicago, PANK, Ekphrastic Review, Women’s Studies Quarterly, Sow’s Ear, Lilith, Common Ground, and CALYX, among others. She was awarded first place in the 2022 Dancing Poetry Festival, received an honorable mention in the 2019 Ginsberg poetry contest, was shortlisted for the 2019 O’Donoghue Prize, and won first place in Poetica’s 2016 Rosenberg poetry competition. She has lived in Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland, for the last forty years, where she raised her family and practiced law for the federal government.
Wild Irish Yenta is Joyce’s debut novel. Here is a blurb to whet your appetite:
Do killers, stock manipulators, and kidnappers stalk the Temple? After the body of Roberto Gomez is discovered in Temple Israel’s parking lot, Patricia Weiss, nee Reilly, exchanges her suburban-mom sneakers for gumshoes to investigate the supposed hit-and-run. Inspired by her police detective dad, Patricia feels compelled to uncover who killed the hardworking custodian and why. Before she can progress with her investigation or work on problems in her difficult marriage to a busy cardiologist and his controlling Jewish mother, she is plunged into the Temple’s troubles. Her mentor, Rabbi Deborah, who has guided Patricia through her own recent conversion to Judaism, disappears after delivering a controversial sermon in support of interfaith marriage. Despite her husband’s concerns, Patricia joins forces with her buddy Brenda. Designating themselves The Yenta Patrol, they unravel the mysteries.
Here is Susie’s review of Wild Irish Yenta: A beloved employee is killed on the grounds of Patricia Weiss’ Reform Jewish temple in a hit-and-run, and her rabbinical mentor disappears under questionable circumstances. Patricia, a new convert to Judaism, quickly realizes that her temple is not only a tradition-rich house of worship, but also a hotbed of potential extramarital intrigue, hypocritical congregants, and financial shenanigans.
While Joyce Sanderly penned a story with an ethnic-centered plot featuring snappy dialogue and humor, the author took her time developing the cast of imperfect but believable characters and successfully avoided stereotyping them. The religious traditions and history the author wove into the tale, along with the backstory of Patricia and her husband Michael’s complicated marriage, add a strong sense of authenticity.
Readers who enjoy a story about the intrigue, trials, and tribulations behind the doors of a house of worship will find this well-written tale their cup of tea.
https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Irish-Yenta-Joyce-Sanderly-ebook/dp/B
