Author and rabbi Martin Samuel Cohen hails originally from New York but now resides with his family in Santa Barbara, California. For many years a rabbi in Richmond, BC, Martin Cohen is the author of several volumes on religious life as well as three previous crime novels: Light from the Dead Stars, The Truth About Marvin Kalish, and The Sword of Goliath. He has a Ph.D. in the history of ancient Judaism and has been a post-doctoral fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and at Harvard University. Although a traditionalist in matters of Jewish faith, he has a lively irreverent sense of humour.