An Arab collaborator's body is found by a collapsed wall in the new Israeli settlement of Oranit. His death is hushed up and the body burned by the Palestinian villagers who hated him. Most people claim he died in his own village, although this is apparently untrue. Two years later his death is all but forgotten until a bullet is found by a wall, and everything changes. Old speculations of foul play are confirmed, and the collaborator's death becomes a murder case.
Formerly a member of Israeli military field security, Oranit resident Jeannie now works for the Shin Bet Security Service. She's given the dubious task of "putting the case to rest again." Delving into the circumstances surrounding the Arab's death, Jeannie discovers a hidden world of smuggling, forgery and other doubtful activities tied to minor politicians and founding members of the Oranit settlement. Everyone, including Jeannie's own father, seems to be a suspect.
An intriguing plot
Malcolm Green draws from his experience as a psychiatrist and settler to spin an intriguing plot. The characters are complex, yet real. Intrigue weaves its thread through the very fabric of the book. As the murder is solved deeper issues are highlighted and come into play.
An entertaining and humorous murder mystery
Author and retired Israeli army psychiatrist Michael I. Benjamin weaves an entertaining and occasionally humorous murder mystery through the tangled politics and racial tension of the Green Line, the Yom Kippur War, and the Holocaust. As Jeannie uncovers the truth, she'll never see Oranit in quite the same way.
Author and retired Israeli army psychiatrist Michael I. Benjamin weaves an entertaining and occasionally humorous murder mystery through the tangled politics and racial tension of the Green Line, the Yom Kippur War, and the Holocaust. As Jeannie uncovers the truth, she'll never see Oranit in quite the same way.
Industry Reviews
Debut author Benjamin weaves a suspenseful mystery set in the Middle East into a deeper meditation on the powerful allure of home or, in this case, a land of one's own. Jeannie is a former Israeli soldier and now an investigator for the Shabbak (once known as the Shin Bet). Her father was instrumental in founding Oranit, a new village established in fiercely disputed territory that straddles the border of Israeli and Palestinian controlled lands. An Arab helps with the construction of a controversial wall meant to symbolize the autonomy of Oranit as a village and the political sovereignty of its inhabitants. The Arab, Mahmud, turns up dead, and it's quickly and not unreasonably assumed he was murdered by the vengeful PLO, enraged over his cooperation with Israeli settlers. A bullet casing is found, however, and new evidence opens up the case, implicating Mitch, the popular and powerful chairman of the village council. When the murder appears to connect to another investigation into Mitch's possible involvement in land fraud and smuggling from Beirut, the stakes soar. The details of the mystery unfurl slowly and often confusedly, sometimes leaving the reader lost within a patchwork narrative that relies heavily on flashbacks and remembrances. Thankfully, close attention is repaid by an astute view of the conflict over land in the Middle East from the perspectives of concrete, human longings. Oranit is saturated with symbolic power: "Oranit was to be their Garden of Eden. When Jeannie first arrived, there was nothing there but a barren patch overlooking a beautiful leafy forest." Also, a shocking final twist will leave one's jaw agape. Not a breezy read and often downright challenging, but worth the effort Review
