This anthology, a sequel to Mystery Midrash (1999), features 12 new crime stories on Jewish themes by some well-known genre authors. The quality of the stories varies from Sandra Levy Ceren's rather unimaginative "Silver Is Better than Gold," in which a Jewish Chinese psychologist is told by one of her clients that he is a target for murder, to Stuart Kaminsky's compelling "Thy Brother's Blood," in which a neo-Nazi on Death Row leaves a Talmudic riddle for a lawyer who once defended him. Overall, the stories effectively combine Jewish content with the traditional conventions of detective fiction. Laurie King provides a clever foreword in which a fascinating connection is made between Jewish mysticism and crime writing, and editor Raphael's introduction offers perceptive commentary on the origins of mystery stories in Jewish literature. A useful collection of ethnic crime fiction. Ilene Cooper