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.
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.
This was a fantastic book! I love mystery and history, so to read a book where they go hand in hand, is great. I have always loved reading the history of the Holocaust, as well an Israeli life, so this book was perfect for me.
There is a political undertone, although the author takes no sides when discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The main character, Jeannie, is pulled into a world that she is not prepared to see...especially where it involves her father and other loved ones. However, in the end, Jeannie settles this case in a way that left me satisfied.
There is so much about this book, that made me not want to put it down, and so much that read more like the truth, than a story, given the events between Israel and its borders lately. Wonderful book, that I highly suggest.
on Amazon.