The Mandylion, featuring Valentina Esposito, and Other Intriguing Tales, a mystery/thriller, will be published by Close to the Bone Publishing June 1, 2024.
After two-thousand years, the Mandylion, a priceless, lost ancient image of Jesus, has resurfaced. To authenticate and secure the piece, Anthony Provati and his sister Valentina Esposito are lured to Paris, France by Sophia, Anthony’s notorious ex-lover. Upon arrival, they’re plunged into a murderous pursuit for the icon threatened by Russian spies and Arab terrorists who also seek the art.
Readers will identify with Anthony and Valentina, both unlikely heroes, thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Anthony is a jazz pianist, an art gallery owner, and sailor. His half-sister Valentina was abandoned to an orphanage as an infant but has rewritten her destiny by becoming a brilliant computer programmer.
The collection includes five Detective Bragg mysteries. A gold shield homicide detective out of Brooklyn South, Bragg tackles a set of tangled murder cases that sometimes frustrate his sense of justice.
The final two short stories in the collection, “A Second Shot” and “What Value to Profit the World” draw the reader into the speculative realm.
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Available in both paperback and eBook.
Pre order the eBook on Amazon.