An action packed escapade connecting New York, the Caribbean, Spain and Israel, the journey begins with the Portuguese Merchant, a frightened refugee hiding from the Inquisition. Hot on a centuries old trail, Mike Franco is a young New Yorker with a huge gambling debt and an attitude to match. When he mistakenly crashes head first into a centuries old mystery he finds that it strangely leads to his own identity. Having traveled to South America in search of arabica bean and and the business deal that will pay back his family and friends, the last thing Mike wants is to involve them in a web of international danger. After managing to irritate Colombian revolutionaries and steal a 17th century journal, that's getting harder and harder to do. Other mysteries like why everyone thinks the journal is encrypted lead Mike down a road of danger and suspense.The ultimate fate of the Portuguese Merchant leads to revelations of how he himself fits in to it all.
About the Author: Natalie Mizrachi lives and writes in New York. Experience freelance writing for various social services agencies and addiction programs in the New York area combined with her passion for history has led to the creation of The Portuguese Merchant. Often, the mental health community recommends a review of cultural and ethical values as a preventative to various stresses and addictions. The past it seems, is an excellent tool to help us harness the future. When Natalie delved into the dynamic heritage of her own Sephardic ethnic group, she realized it was a prime example of emotionally linking the exciting people and values of the past to the present. However few people she interviewed had more than superficial knowledge or any clue as to their roots. This resulted in a successful series on the history of Sephardic Jewry published in Qol Ha' Qahal- The Voice of the Congregation, a premiere publication of the SCA, (www.SephardicCommunityAlliance.org). An often overlooked sub-section of Jewish History, the dispersion and survival of Sephardic Jewry greatly mirrors and augments the European and American march towards liberty. Now, expanding the topic with the power of fiction, Natalie weaves the facts together in a contemporary tale of intrigue and discovery. The result is a coming of age novel with the religious persecution of the Spanish Inquisition and the freedom embracing people it gave birth to as a back drop. Readers of every age are invited to log onto www.Nataliemiz.org or go to Facebbok.com/Nataliemiz/books and Instagram @NatalieMiz/books to learn which details are fact and which are attributed to poetic license in order to expand the experience of this engaging tale.