The Rumi Cipher

by Cory Grewell

"Cory is a writer to watch" - Stephen James

"Gripping. I'm already hunting for a sequel." - Robert Dugoni



When celebrated Palestinian poet Noor Watani is shot at outside a Cambridge café, Boston PI Brent Malory takes the case expecting a straightforward bodyguard a beautiful client, a nervous brother, and a pool of political enemies a mile wide. Simple enough.

It isn't.

As the threats escalate from a bullet to a ransacked apartment and attempted kidnapping, Brent discovers that someone far more dangerous than a disgruntled activist is circling Noor-a mercenary who believes she's carrying stolen state secrets with the power to ignite a third Intifada. But the woman Brent has come to know, and to love, is not the woman Lawrence Drake is describing. Or is she?

From the leafy streets of Cambridge to a high-stakes reception in Georgetown, Brent races to keep Noor alive while the woman herself plays a game she won't let him see. One that could either prevent a war or start one.

The Rumi Cipher is a propulsive, layered thriller about loyalty, deception, and the impossible arithmetic of doing the right thing in a world where the right thing looks different depending on which side of the wall you were born on.

363 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 20, 2026

About the author

Cory Grewell writes stories that live at the intersection of meaning, mystery, and imagination. Like C.S. Lewis, he writes to tell others “we are not alone.” Cory believes that literature has the power to show us how to be human, and stories are one of the ways we participate in the imaginative life of God. Cory’s mission is to craft stories that immerse readers int he rich complexity of human existence. Through wry narratives of resilience, family tension, and cultural critique, he reaffirms timeless truths: virtue is worth pursuing, vice is worth avoiding, and reality is far more wondrous and complex than contemporary relativism allows for. His work inspires a deeper love for what ought to be loved and attempts to leave readers with a new sense of joy and wonder in being human.

Grewell’s fascination with mystery began early, fueled by the twists and ingenuity of Agatha Christie and later the sharp moral universe of Robert B. Parker. As lifelong student of literature, he sees the noir private eye as the modern heir to the character of ancient heroes: the medieval knight’s quest for justice, the American cowboy’s grit, the resourcefulness of Odysseus, and the unwavering devotion to duty of Aeneus. Because beneath every mystery lies the same timeless question: what is the truth worth fighting for?

His debut prestige detective novel, The Rumi Cipher, is forthcoming this October and introduces a new private investigator set against the geographic profiles of Boston’s Harvard University and Washington D.C.’s Embassy Row and Georgetown diplomatic circuit.

Grewell built Brent Malory’s world from years of living in Beantown, studying noir fiction and classical literature, and being inspired by the grit of ordinary lives. The series explores violence, faith, and conscience, using each case to illustrate the human search for truth amid brokenness, uncertainty, and hope. The second installment is forthcoming.

Grewell has a Ph.D. in English and is a professor of English by day. His academic work ranges from noir fiction history to Renaissance drama and studies on the Inklings. His award-winning scholarship shapes his imaginative frameworks in writing fiction.

When he is not writing or teaching, he can usually be found on the golf course, watching baseball, or buried in a good novel.

Reviews

[Philip Bunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a great pleasure to read a book by someone you know (Prof. Grewell was my western literature professor), and an even greater pleasure when the book is as enjoyable as The Rumi Cipher. If you enjoy detective fiction with political angles, pick this one up.

[Peter Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent example of written art in which you can lose yourself. Cory Grewell's characters move from page to page with such ease that you forget that you're reading and find yourself sitting at an adjacent table in a cozy little bistro watching the mystery unspool.

[roh · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know it’s good if I stay up past my bedtime to finish it! Such a joy to read Dr. Grewell’s first book 😊

[Angela Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cory Grewell writes with a rare double gift: the propulsive pacing of a seasoned thriller writer and the literary sensibility of someone who actually has something to say. The Rumi Cipher gives you a genuinely compelling PI in Brent Malory, but it's Noor Watani, poet, exile, and reluctant courier of secrets, who haunts you long after the last page. A sophisticated, morally serious thriller that earns every twist.

[Vikki Thornhill · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a an avid reader of suspense and intrigue, I received an advance copy with the understanding that I would provide an honest review - so here goes. It's a story that will stay with me. Without giving anything away, it held my attention from the first page. The characters are complicated enough to be interesting and were perfectly placed in the communities and neighborhoods around Boston. If you've been to Boston, you'll recognize it, and if you haven't, it will make you want to go. The plot is tightly woven as decisions and outcomes, like in real life, are often difficult to predict. I hope for more Malory stories ahead.

[Anderson Schmidt]

I received an advance copy from the author for an honest review. Reading The Rumi Cipher was the first time I've stayed up through the night engrossed in a book since I was a teenager

My personal reading diet is almost exclusively non-fiction; The Rumi Cipher is only the second novel I've read in the last fifteen years. Grewell might have changed that. His prose is vivid yet efficient; he is descriptive but not garrulous.

The novel was paced perfectly, and the character development of Noor was objectively spectacular.

As a private investigator myself, the book did require a minor suspension of disbelief at times. However, this is in stark contrast to popular American television crime shows which often require, for me, almost *complete* suspension of disbelief throughout.

The book intersects with complex geopolitical themes, some of which are even more at the forefront of the news cycle in September 2026 than they were at the time of writing. My opinion is Grewell deftly maneuvers here, and his attention to detail regarding historical events and character names stood out to me.

I'm curious to see how Grewell continues to develop Mallory's character in future work.

[Nicole Grewell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The character of Noor is unforgettable. She is written as a complex female character full of agency and real intrigue. She's a poet, she's a professor, she is an activist. She has a backstory that helps you understand her motives. I'm hoping there will be more of Noor in the future.

[Stephanie Cotta · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

The Rumi Cipher will grip you from the first page and pull you into a tangled web of secrets. This is a novel that borrows from the tradition of noir PI's in a character-driven, propulsive, and thrilling way. I rooted for both main characters, even as their loyalties, code of conduct, and past upbringing differed in vast ways. The political backdrop had me immediately hooked, and it made me curious how the author would handle the treatment of such intrigue---he does a fabulous job of it too. Noor Watani, the Palestinian poet who hires Brent for protection, starts the mystery off, and the layers of secrets she holds will keep you reading page after page.

Brent Malory has a swagger that's undeniably likeable and makes you want to tag along on this case. So much, in fact, that I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel in the series.

[Clara York · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

This book drew me in completely. I finished it in about three days and I was really impressed by the slowly building tension. Overall I enjoyed the characters and found the plot intriguing. The characters were distinct and their motivations felt real. I also appreciated how Grewell's descriptions of places and movement were vivid and not confusing at all. My only occasional frustration was that sometimes I felt like my intelligence was a little under-recognized as the reader. The prose would take pains to remind me of things that had already been clearly set up earlier in the story. (Maybe this is partially just the style of voice for the PI character? I know that's a hallmark of the genre, and it was a really enjoyable voice.) Otherwise, though, great read! I'm looking forward to the next one.

I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Tammy Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is impossible to put down. Prepare to stay up late with an edgy premise of a third Intifada that is fascinating, timely and layered in mystery. The voices of Noor, a Palestinian poet and Brent, a Boston PI pulled me into the journey from the beginning pages. Grewell's gift for detail, setting and voice made the pages come to life with a quiet suspense. I highly recommend reading Cory Grewell's The Rumi Cipher.

[Maggie McKneely · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a blast!! This is an homage to the noir detectives of past eras, but given new life in 2026 via Brent Malory. I loved the middle eastern political angle, and as a DC-er, the brief jaunt through Georgetown. I’m glad that there are more installments on the way.

*Advance copy received from publisher in exchange for an honest review*