Shadows on Bleecker Street

An historic New York street slowly yields its secrets during three tension-filled days for a desperate man with a mission. Soon after Tim Hartknoll, a young African-American professor, finally convinces Jeff Gardner, his 40-year-old mentor at Greene Street College, to invest in a rare book found on Bleecker Street, he is murdered and the book stolen. Tim s last words, Tour is... drives Jeff to hunt down the killer and recover the book, which was signed by Frederick Douglass in 1841--on Bleecker Street. Against the wishes of Jeff s estranged wife, his current girlfriend, the wizened head of this Social History department, and detectives Jameson and Girard to lay off the case, Jeff leads Tim s Greenwich Village walking tour, hoping to find clues that will help him recover the book and find Tim s killer. Along the emotionally-laden journey, Jeff confronts menacing obstacles, from Tim s vindictive stepfather, a rabid minister, and a mysterious construction worker who threatens his life---all seeking to profit from the book. But Jeff also draws strength from a small group of friends and colleagues who help him along the way, from Tim s lover, energetic sidekick Derek Molson, to Doris Utrich, Jeff s secretary at the college, and his eccentric and irascible tour boss, Hank Jankowitz. Although dangers mount for Jeff, that even threaten his daughter, he strives to finish the tour in order to solve the crimes. In doing so, he is emboldened through discovering the courage and energy of the tour's maverick subjects--Tom Paine, Margaret Sanger, Charlie "Bird" Parker, Lenny Bruce, Walt Whitman, and most of all, Frederick Douglass--to trap the killer and retrieve the rare book.