A Mathias Green Mystery • Book One
The Seventh Psalm
When justice fails, judgment comes.
A murder written in scripture
When Scripture Becomes a Weapon
When a series of ritualistic murders strikes New York City, each staged with chilling theological precision, the NYPD turns to the only man who might understand the message beneath the blood: former divinity scholar turned criminal profiler, Dr. Mathias Green.
Haunted by a past he refuses to examine and a mind he cannot always trust, Mathias is pulled into a twisted game of scripture and symbolism. As the killer, known only as Psalmist13, turns doctrine into death, Mathias begins to realize the crimes mirror not just the Psalm—but his own teachings.
With the help of no-nonsense NYPD Captain Julia Halpern and tech analyst Lennox Rivera, Mathias must descend into the city’s literal and metaphorical underworld to uncover the truth. The deeper he goes, the more he must confront the legacy he left behind—and the students who never forgot what he taught them.
Philosophy becomes prophecy. Academia becomes weapon. The final verse is still unwritten.
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Read the opening pages of The Seventh Psalm.
Chapter One
A Pit Dug Deep
The doorman did not want to let him in.
It was raining, and not the soft sort of drizzle that made the city feel romantic, but a fine, needling mist that made your clothes stick to your back and your hair curl in submission. Mathias Green stood at the entrance of the Marlowe Tower, damp coat clinging to his legs, collar half up in a way that suggested not style but distraction.
He looked, in the doorman’s estimation, like a man who had been standing in the rain for much longer than necessary out of sheer stubbornness.
“I’m afraid I can’t let you up without clearance, sir,” the doorman repeated, already slipping into that polished Fifth Avenue cadence that suggested both servility and suspicion. “The NYPD has sealed off the thirty-fourth floor.”
Mathias didn’t answer at once. He was studying the man’s face—not the eyes, which were already avoiding his, but the way his mouth tightened ever so slightly as he spoke. A practiced tic. Customer-facing fatigue, the sort that built up over years of hosting ghosts in tailored suits.
Chapter One
Part One: The Arrival
“Call Captain Halpern,” Mathias said finally, and not politely. “She’ll vouch.”
The doorman hesitated, then picked up the internal line. Mathias waited, dripping faintly onto the marble floor. Behind him, the street glistened with blurred yellow cabs and the occasional umbrellaed silhouette. The city carried on, indifferent as ever.
He turned slightly, taking in the lobby. Everything gleamed—chrome fixtures, strategically dim lighting, an oversized abstract painting that was certainly expensive and possibly upside down. The kind of place that considered minimalism a flex. Clean lines, antiseptic air. It reeked of curated wealth.
A minute passed. Then the doorman, now looking faintly embarrassed, gestured stiffly toward the elevator. “You’re clear, sir. Captain says to come up.”
Mathias stepped into the lift without a word. As the doors shut, the elevator swallowed him into its soundproof hush. He exhaled slowly and adjusted his cuffs—one habit, at least, that remained automatic.
Chapter One
Part One: The Arrival
Thirty-four floors was a long way to travel in silence, but he was used to being alone with his thoughts. It was where he preferred them. The numbers above ticked upward with serene inevitability. By the time he reached the top, the wet hair had begun to dry at the ends, curling a little at his temple like ivy around old brick.
The doors opened into a corridor so quiet it felt almost wrong. No police chatter, no frantic footsteps, no crime scene buzz. Just the hum of recessed lighting and the faint scent of bergamot and polish.
He stepped out. There were two uniforms stationed by the apartment door, which stood slightly ajar. One of them looked up as Mathias approached but didn’t stop him. Word must have traveled, or maybe they’d been warned not to argue.
Inside, the penthouse stretched wide and open, more like a museum exhibit than a home. White walls, black floors, steel and glass furniture arranged like sculpture. The windows ran from floor to ceiling, framing the city skyline as if it were a painting to be admired from a suitable distance.
Everything gleamed under soft lights—everything except for the cluster of people standing motionless halfway down the hall.
Chapter One
Part One: The Arrival
Mathias spotted her immediately. Julia Halpern had changed little in the last year. Still crisp. Still angry. Still wearing her badge like a blade. She stood with her arms folded tightly across her chest, watching a forensic tech adjust the angle of a tripod light. Her mouth was a hard, straight line.
He didn’t announce himself. Just walked until the floor changed beneath his shoes—from polished wood to something softer, padded faintly. Carpet? No, a rug. Persian, expensive.
Julia glanced up at the sound. Her expression shifted. Not surprise—she’d called him, after all—but something colder, more complex. “You’re late,” she said.
He stepped forward, tugging his coat off and folding it over his arm. It dripped faintly onto the floor. “I walked,” he replied. “Traffic’s abysmal today.”
She stared. “You walked. In this?”
“You said urgent. I assumed you didn’t mean tomorrow.”
Julia’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not in the mood, Mathias.”
“Neither am I. What am I looking at?”
“Not here. It’s in the main room.”
The investigation continues
The Mathias Green Mysteries
The Seventh Psalm begins Mathias Green’s journey—but it does not end there. Continue through a series of theological crimes, buried secrets, and mysteries designed to challenge everything Mathias believes.
Mathias Green Mystery • Book One
The Final Verse Is Still Unwritten
Step into the first Mathias Green mystery and discover what happens when scripture becomes evidence—and belief becomes the weapon.
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