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Libi Astaire

Goodreads Author

Website

http://libiastaire.weebly.com

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Literature & Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

Influences

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov and the Wizard of Oz

Member Since

February 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomlibi_astaire

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I am a mystery writer and explorer of Jewish history who grew up in Kansas and now lives in Jerusalem.

The first book in my Ezra Melamed/Jewish Regency Mystery Series, The Disappearing Dowry, was named a Sydney Taylor Notable Book for 2010. Other books in the Jewish Regency Mystery Series, which revolves around Regency London's Jewish community, include The Moon Taker (2015) The Doppelganger's Dance (2013) Tempest in the Tea Room (2012), and Jewish Regency Mystery Stories (2015).

I also work as a journalist, where I frequently write about Jewish history. A topic dear to my heart is the Anusim - Spanish Jews who were forced to convert during the Middle Ages and who became the target of the Spanish Inquisition. My novel about modern-day desc ...more

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What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

Libi Astaire Why is Libi Astaire, author of the Jewish Regency Mystery Series, so interested in English history and literature? I've wondered about this for most o…moreWhy is Libi Astaire, author of the Jewish Regency Mystery Series, so interested in English history and literature? I've wondered about this for most of my life, because there's no obvious answer to the mystery. As a Jewish girl growing up in Kansas, with family roots in Eastern Europe, there didn't seem to be a family connection to explain my interest. But there it was.

Example 1: One of my earliest memories is of staring at the end pages of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Author's Court. Depicted on the page was a line of Crusaders on horseback, with banners flying. I couldn't read yet, so I didn't bother with Twain's story. Instead, I made up my own. I did the same with chess pieces, a game I still haven't learned to play.

Example 2: I'm still at the preschool age. Although my family lived in a comfortable 1960s-style suburban home--complete with big windows and wall-to-wall carpeting--where was my favorite room to play with my dolls and paper dolls? The unfinished basement. There was something about that dark and damp place that made me feel at home.

Example 3: I was a bit older and in my room playing when I heard "strange music" coming from the den. Mesmerized, I went to see what it was. The TV program was about well-known ghost stories, whether they were real or not, and this segment was about a ghostly monastery in England that was destroyed during the time of Henry VIII. The music was a Gregorian Chant. Did I mention I was Jewish? Did I mention I grew up in Kansas? Why on earth should I be mesmerized by a Gregorian chant?

I was a teenager the first time I traveled to England. At my first castle, I looked around at the grey walls, breathed in the damp air, and smiled. I was home!

Needless to say, my bookshelf was very British: Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, George Elliot, Thomas Hardy - I couldn't get enough of the English classics. I loved Shakespeare and John Keats as well. For lighter reading material I turned to Agatha Christie.

But why?

Looking back at my "clues," my first thought was that perhaps I had lived in England during the time of the Crusades. Perhaps I had perished along with other Jews during the burning of the tower in York in 1190. Or perhaps I was one of the Jews exiled from England in 1290. But that didn't explain my interest in just about every period of English history--the Tudors, the Regency, the Victorian and Edwardian eras, even the days of the "Angry Young Men."

I later learned that my paternal grandfather and lived in England for a few years in the early 1900s, while on his way from Kiev to Kansas. According to family legend, my maternal grandfather was supposed to sail on the Titanic (steerage class) for the last leg of getting from Vilna to New York, but he got delayed and missed the boat. (Although we think there's more legend than truth in that last story). Did either one of them leave behind some unfinished business in London, which has become my business to resolve? If so, how should I go about doing it?

Sometimes it seems that the only way to find out is to write a mystery novel, and follow the character's search for the missing link in her life's story. In the process, maybe I'll find mine.

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Libi Astaire I try to put something on the page, even on the days when I'm not feeling particularly inspired. The main thing is to keep going forward - even if it'…moreI try to put something on the page, even on the days when I'm not feeling particularly inspired. The main thing is to keep going forward - even if it's just one scene, just a few hundred words. (less)

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Libi Astaire’s books

Average rating: 3.92 · 1,631 ratings · 207 reviews · 37 distinct works • Similar authors

	Tempest in the Tea Room (Jewish Regency Mystery, #1) 3.68 avg rating — 849 ratings — published 2012 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Doppelganger's Dance (Jewish Regency Mystery, #2) 4.31 avg rating — 96 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Moon Taker (Jewish Regency Mystery, #3) 4.26 avg rating — 73 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Latke in the Library & Other Mystery Stories for Chanukah (Agatha Krinsky Mysteries, #1) 3.64 avg rating — 84 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Vanisher Variations (Jewish Regency Mystery, #4) 4.52 avg rating — 46 ratings — published 2016 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Disappearing Dowry (Ezra Melamed Mystery #1) 4.07 avg rating — 51 ratings — published 2010 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wreck of Two Brothers (Jewish Regency Mystery, #6) 4.47 avg rating — 36 ratings — published 2020 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Matzah Mia! (Jewish Regency Mystery, #5) 4.45 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 2020 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ruby Spy Ring (Ezra Melamed Mystery, #2) 4.19 avg rating — 32 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	General Well'ngone In Love (Jewish Regency Mystery, #2.6) 3.93 avg rating — 29 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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12 posts
Libi Astaire's Blog

Would you like to win a free ecopy of The Vanisher Variations?

If you haven't yet read The Vanisher Variations, the fourth volume in my Jewish Regency Mystery series, here's a chance to win a free ecopy. Just head over to Suzanne Adair's Relevant History blog, where my post about diversity in Regency England is being feature this week, and leave a comment. Your name will then be entered in the drawing. See you there and good luck! Read more of this blog post »

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Published on September 24, 2019 09:45

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Series by Libi Astaire

Jewish Regency Mystery (10 books)
by

Libi Astaire (Goodreads Author)

3.92 avg rating — 1,388 ratings

Ezra Melamed Mystery (4 books)
by

Libi Astaire (Goodreads Author)

3.78 avg rating — 1,028 ratings

Agatha Krinsky Mysteries (2 books)
by

Libi Astaire (Goodreads Author)

3.66 avg rating — 91 ratings

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Libi’s Recent Updates

Libi Astaire joined the group Jewish Book Club
Jun 04, 2025 04:12AM · like

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Quotes by Libi Astaire (?)

“I can’t rely upon sex and violence to sell my books”
― Libi Astaire

tags: sex-sells

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