David E. Feldman

David E. Feldman (born 1957, in Brooklyn, NY, resides in Long Beach on Long Island, NY) – author of the 6-volume Dora Ellison Mystery series and of the 5-volume Hammer & Sharpe Noir Mystery Series, both involving Jewish protagonists. He is also a professional piano player and singer, as well as a commissioned painter and a film-maker. [One wonders whether this guy ever sleeps!]

Dora Ellison is a hard-boiled sleuth with a traumatic childhood (details undisclosed) who works as a garbage collector (!) and who becomes a relentless vigilante investigator. Her past is explicitly described as her secret weapon. The pain and anger she carries are not just burdens; she channels them into a “violent streak” that she directs toward bullies, criminals, and those who exploit the vulnerable. Because of her past, Dora has an unyielding sense of right and wrong that often conflicts with official legal systems. She frequently operates “off-the-books” because she believes the systems meant to protect people are broken or corrupt. Her own history of victimization makes her a fierce advocate for marginalized groups, such as the transgender community (in A Biological Storm) and young people with special needs (in A Special Storm). In A Divisive Storm, Dora investigates a dark web of white supremacists, a plot that directly engages with themes of antisemitism and racism.

Feldman’s unconventional casting of Dora as a garbage collector, cleaning the gutters of her town, gives her a unique, inconspicuous vantage point on society; she sees the literal and figurative trash of the city, often uncovering evidence of corruption and crime that respectable society ignores. Being a “robust garbage collector” also provides her with the physical strength and martial arts proficiency needed to face the city’s most ruthless figures. In the first book, Not Today, she is described as “hauling trash for a living,” but also as a tough, motorcycle-riding investigator, who “tears through the lies” and power of men who think they are untouchable, effectively “cleaning up” the human trash of her city. 

While her job is gritty and blue-collar, it connects to her Jewish identity through the themes of justice and moral labor: 

Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World): Though not always explicitly stated as a religious practice, Dora’s work—both as a sanitation worker and a vigilante—is a physical manifestation of a “fierce Jewish woman sleuth” cleaning up a broken world.

The Outsider Status: Historically, Jewish detective fiction often features protagonists who are “outsiders” to traditional power structures. By being a female Jewish garbage collector, Dora exists on the social periphery, allowing her to challenge institutional failures and “the men who think they’re untouchable” from a position of moral independence.

Shared Identity: Her work on the truck is often shared with others of similar backgrounds; for example, in the first novel, she works alongside Maurice “Mo” Levinson, another character with a Jewish name, highlighting a community of labor within her heritage. [Google/AI]

The Dora Ellison series consists of six primary novels and one prequel short story:

Feldman, David E., (Storm Warnings: Dora Ellison’s Dark Prequel Story, [Kindle edition, 2022] B09QFSJ759

Feldman, David E. [Dora Ellison series, #1], (Not Today [pb, Eface Media, 2021] 978-0578951850 [[Dora investigates a decades-old murder cover-up that led to city-wide corruption.]

Feldman, David E. [Dora Ellison series, #2], (A Gathering Storm  [pb, Eface Media, 2022] 978-0578358994 – [Dora and her partner, librarian Missy Winters, investigate the murder of a councilwoman’s brother in a drug-ridden alley.]

Feldman, David E. [Dora Ellison series, #3], (A Sickening Storm [pb, Eface Media, 2022] 978-0578297538 [A medical mystery where someone is infecting hospital patients with deadly diseases.]

Feldman, David E. [Dora Ellison series, #4], (A Biological Storm  [pb, Eface Media, 2022] 979-8218050993 – [Dora and Missy hunt a killer targeting transgender individuals.]

Feldman, David E. [Dora Ellison series, #5], (A Special Storm [pb, Eface Media, 2023] 979-8218174521 – [The duo investigates the on-stage murder of a talented young singer with special needs.]

Feldman, David E. [Dora Ellison series, #6], (A Divisive Storm [pb, Eface Media, 2023] 979-8852649270 – [A thriller centered on a dark web of white supremacists and a cold-blooded murder from years prior.]

Feldman’s Hammer & Sharpe Noir Mystery series is a gritty crime saga centered on two morally complex protagonists navigating a landscape of corruption and personal demons. The series explores themes of systemic failure and moral compromise, often blending psychological depth with hard-boiled action. Sam Sharpe is a private investigator with a cynical streak and a haunted past, who constantly battles a brutal addiction to opioids and heroin. Judah Hammer is a a former enforcer who rose to become a “local crime boss”, described as having a “heart of gold”. He is an ex-convict who, after serving time for manslaughter, attempts to protect his community while managing a sprawling, complicated family. Note that Judah is not retired. His current criminal activities involve managing his “territory” and defending it against rival organizations.

Regarding Judah’s Jewish credentials, they start with the name given him by the author. By naming a “street-smart” investigator and crime boss after a historical hero of Jewish resistance, Feldman subverts the stereotype of Jewish characters being physically weak or intellectual-only. In the tradition of Jewish Noir, Hammer represents a gritty, uncompromising figure who operates in a morally gray underworld but maintains a personal moral compass. The prequel novelette Nailed focuses specifically on Judah Hammer’s origins, exploring the specific life events and cultural upbringing that shaped his cynical yet protective worldview. It reveals that he was initially driven into the underworld to find the killers of the woman he loved, who died in a botched robbery. His character is often surrounded by other Jewish figures, such as Detective Abe Gold, creating a distinct Jewish subculture within the series’ urban crime setting. While his partner, Sam Sharpe, struggles with addiction, Judah Hammer often serves as the “anchor,” albeit a criminal one, who values loyalty and community in a way that echoes traditional Jewish emphasis on family and social responsibility. [Google/AI]

The series includes several novels and two prequel works available through the David E. Feldman Author Website: 

Feldman, David E., (Nailed: Judah Hammer prequel novelette [Kindle edition, 2025]) B0FMPM1K2W

Feldman, David E., (Sharpe Decline: Sam Sharpe prequel novelette [Kindle edition, 2025]) B0FHBKL1GL

Feldman, David E. [Hammer/Sharpe #1, (Let Thy Children Come [pb, independently published, 2024] 979-8320484877 [Sharpe searches for a missing seven-year-old while Hammer investigates his father’s murder, leading both toward a ruthless crime boss named Wallace North.]

Feldman, David E. [Hammer/Sharpe #2, (Dead Ringers [pb, independently published, 2024] 979-8342494304 [Hammer hires Sharpe to solve three seemingly unrelated workplace murders where employees killed their bosses, only for Sharpe to uncover a killer whose impersonation skills frame Hammer himself.]

Feldman, David E. [Hammer/Sharpe #3, (Mama’s Boy [pb, Eface Media, 2025] 979-8992679816 [Sharpe investigates missing prostitutes while Hammer battles a rival organization, “Dante’s Inferno,” during a violent mayoral election.]

Feldman, David E. [Hammer/Sharpe #4, (Death Con Seduction [pb, Eface Media, 2025] 979-8330320783 [A noir thriller where a femme fatale’s crew of scammers targets a small town, drawing Sharpe and Hammer’s empire into a labyrinth of fraud and betrayal.] [Google/AI]

Feldman, David E. [Hammer/Sharpe #5, (Ice Blue Murder [pb, Eface Media, 2026] 979-899267984  [Beth Beckett was pregnant when she was stabbed to death in her own kitchen. Days earlier, she’d been confronted at a protest. Now the obvious suspect won’t hold—and her husband, a police officer, has an alibi provided by fellow cops. As protests erupt, secrets surface, and loyalties harden, detectives and a private investigator uncover an affair, a cover-up, and a truth no one wants exposed. Ice Blue Murder is a tense, morally charged crime novel about power, betrayal, and what happens when justice collides with loyalty. - Amazon]