The Noble Profession of Leaf Chasing

Abstract

In the late nineteenth-century Austro-Hungarian Empire, two Jewish astronomy professors work tirelessly to unearth new academic research for their chosen field. But their participation in adultery, deception, and murder will follow them throughout time, weaving a complicated web into future generations, and setting the stage for the age-old question, “Are the sins of the fathers visited upon the sons?”

Years later, the professors’ families having immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio, the old axiom comes to a strange and chilling climax. The grandsons of the astronomers supposedly influenced by ancient Jewish mysticism are murdered—one allegedly at the hands of the other.

Detective Sergeant Marty Kowalski investigates the murders, with the assistance of an astronomy professor and two of her students from the University of Michigan. Spending considerable time and meticulous effort, Kowalski slowly unravels the complicated past behind the two victims and unearths a shattering truth that will leave both families reeling.

A fascinating blend of philosophy, history, and religion, The Noble Profession of Leaf Chasing delivers a compelling read.