Buddhist monk Lama Rinzen finds himself reborn as a detective into the Buddhist Hell Realm on Denver’s Colfax Avenue. His assignment: find who killed Sonny Heller, a prominent and corrupt Denver insurance man.

Rinzen knows nothing about detective work, nor does he understand insurance very well. But he does believe finding Heller’s killer may just lead him to the Dorje, a sacred Tibetan talisman that has been lost to him throughout his many lifetimes. Should he find it, Rinzen will accomplish what has been denied him for so any years-the chance to hold this Most Sacred of Objects and magically find enlightenment. Not just he will be enlightened, but that all sentient beings will be as Rinzen achieves his goal of becoming a true bodhisattva. That is his mission. That is the only way he can stop his endless cycle of rebirths into Hell. By leading all beings to Nirvana.

Each lifetime teaches a lesson to be learned, and Rinzen believes this is his. To escape Hell by selflessly achieving enlightenment for all.

Until he meets Abril, who claims says she is the reason Rinzen has been reborn on Colfax, and that his mission is not enlightenment, but to help her find health insurance. She has been denied because of a pre-existing condition, and he must help her no matter what the cost.

49 Buddhas: Lama Rinzen in the Hell Realm is a murder mystery wrapped inside a Buddhist mystery that combines the pacing of a thriller with elements of speculative fiction. It’s a magical realism mystery with a lesson to learn.