The last kabbalist of Lisbon

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A gripping literary mystery in the tradition of The Alienist and The Name of the Rose , and number-one bestseller in Portugal, with French, German, Italian, Spanish and Brazilian rights sold, The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon is an extraordinary novel that transports the reader into the mystical universe of kabbalah during the Lisbon massacre of April 1506. Just a few years earlier, Jews living in Portugal were dragged to the baptism font and forced to convert to Christianity. Many of these "New Christians," in secret and at great risk, persevered in their rituals, and the hidden, arcane practices of the kabbalists continued as well. One such secret Jew was Berekiah Zarco, an intelligent young manuscript illuminator. Inflamed by love and revenge, he searches,in the crucible of the raging pogrom, for the killer of his beloved uncle Abraham, a renowned kabbalist discovered murdered in a hidden synagogue, along with a young girl in deshabille. Risking his life in streets seething with mayhem, Berekiah tracks down answers among Christians, New Christians, Jews, and the fellow kabbalists of his uncle, whose secret language and codes at turns light and obscure the way to the truth he seeks. A marvelous read, a challenging mystery and a telling tale of the evils of intolerance, The Last Kabbalistof Lisbon compels and entertains.