The first in an irreverent new mystery series set in a New York City where creatures from Jewish folklore are hiding in plain sight: perfect for fans of Maxie Dara, Elle Cosimano, and Only Murders In the Building.
THE UNTERVELT PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS
by Suzanne Reisman
Norton, Fall 2027
(via KT Literary)
Yael Tsoyberer is a menopausal, asexual, Jewish New Yorker who lives with her Holocaust survivor grandparents in a tiny rent-controlled apartment, from which they operate a unique family business. This multigenerational trio are The Underworld Private Investigators, an agency that specializes in supernatural cases related to Jewish lore. Unlike most New Yorkers, Yael, along with her Bubbe and Zeyde, is tuned in to the many demons living in NYC—from the hardworking shretelekh masquerading as doormen, to the powerful demoness Lilith living down the hall, and occasional crises like a golem running amok.
When real estate heiress Andrea Klein reports her fiancé Brian never returned from his Friday night run along the Hudson, the Tsoyberers suspect they are dealing with a straightforward case of demon kidnapping. Brian should have known better than to run alone near a river on Shabbat, but they’ll just need to make a quick trip to the demon kingdom to negotiate his release. But the more Yael and her grandparents start poking around, the more strange warnings and cryptic clues they encounter—from demons and humans alike—and the less straightforward this investigation becomes.
Before long, this case takes an unexpected turn into an untervelt only Zeyde has encountered before: the criminal underworld of Warsaw’s Jewish mob, some of whom landed in New York City after World War II. As Yael’s investigation takes her from the demon kingdom through old family histories, and once-defeated powers become dangerous again, it becomes clear that if the Tsoyberers are to survive this case, the demons aren’t the only evil forces they need to take on.
Suzanne Reisman earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the New School, where she won the 2010 Chapbook Contest for Nonfiction. She was longlisted for the Blue Pencil Agency First Novel Award in 2019 and the Bath Novel Award in 2018. She is also the author of a travelogue, Off the Beaten (Subway) Track: New York City’s Best Unusual Attractions, and her short writing has appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Bookanista, Flash Fiction Magazine, and The Sunlight Press. Aside from her writing, Suzanne also leads the viral « Garbage & Rat tours » around NYC, which have been featured by Time Out, VICE, the NY Post, and CBS, among others.