Reviews for The Eye of the Virgin
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Even with some uptight Feds in his way, laid-back sheriff Ike Schwartz is able to untangle a tricky murder puzzle.Louis Dakis, an artist and instructor at Virginia's Callend University, returns home from class to find his rented digs ransacked, though nothing's been taken. Across town at the Picketsville Hospital emergency room, nurse Laurie Kratz discovers that the quiet man waiting patiently for treatment is actually dead. Dakis's estranged wife Lorraine phones him from Washington to accuse him of a similar break-in at her (formerly their) shop, though she's really more concerned about her missing boyfriend Franco. Picketsville's easygoing sheriff Ike, who catches both cases, sees a potential connection when his keen eye spots an old listening device on a valuable icon from the Dakis collection that didn't happen to be in either ransacked location. This device, and the need to identify the corpse in the emergency room, brings the CIA in the person of Charlie Garland and his team, whose interaction with Ike and his deputies has a good dose of friction. The dead man was Farouk Zaki, aka Franco Sacci, the new boyfriend Lorraine evidently plucked from the terrorist watch list. On the personal front, Ike becomes engaged to his longtime ladylove Ruth, and the whole department deals with the pregnancy of one of its deputies.Sure-footed plotting and easy banter make Ramsay's sixth Sheriff Ike mystery (Choker, 2009, etc.) a brisk, entertaining read.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Espionage hits Picketsville, Virginia, where crime generally involves domestic squabbles, speeding, or college students feeling their oats. A corpse left in a hospital waiting room and a break-in at the home of a visiting professor of iconography seem unrelated cases. But when Sheriff Ike Schwartz finds a microdot on the eye of the Virgin of Tenderness icon at the professor's home, he contacts former CIA colleague Charlie Garland. Ike keeps tight control of the cases, which, of course, are related, even after he learns that the chip contains data on a decades-old international incident. As the situation draws the attention of the CIA, FBI, and Mossad, Ike and his deputy, Samantha Ryder, a skilled hacker, push the envelope and face serious charges. Meanwhile, Ike's personal life takes a turn as he and Callend University President Ruth Harris cement their spiky but lusty relationship. The sixth in this series has Ramsay's trademark folksy touch, a well-rounded cast of characters, and brisk and believable dialogue, this time with an international scope. Ike Schwartz's outings just keep getting better.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal
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First a murder victim is found sitting in the emergency room of Picketsville's hospital. Then the home of one of the adjunct professors at the local college is broken into, but none of his expensive art is taken. When Sheriff Ike Schwartz, formerly of the CIA, examines one of the paintings, an icon called The Virgin of Tenderness, he spots a microdot-an outdated storage device used by intelligence organizations. VERDICT Mixing down-home police work, CIA maneuvering, and FBI finagling in this timely tale of terrorism, Ramsay comes up aces with his sixth outing (after Choker). [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 3/1/10.] (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly
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Picketsville, Va., sheriff Ike Schwartz investigates a botched robbery at the home of Louis Dakis, a professor at Callend University, where Ike's lady friend, Ruth Harris, happens to be president, in Ramsay's absorbing sixth mystery to feature the dogged lawman (after 2008's Choker). Though it appears nothing was taken during the break-in, a dead body turns up around the same time, propped in the local hospital's emergency room. Convinced the two cases are related, Ike digs into Louis's life and finds a bitterly estranged wife, a missing lover, and several religious icons, one recently brought into the country. Ike soon has dozens of questions, no answers, and an itch to learn more about a particular icon called The Virgin of Tenderness. With folksy charm and dollops of humor, Ramsay crafts a tale of international intrigue in which the past and present make poor bedfellows. Fans of Ruth and Ike's blossoming romance will find plenty to cheer about. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
