MURDER ON BETHLEHEM ROAD
Batya (Estate) Gur
Fiction, 2001
In this fifth installment of the critically and commercially successful Ohayon mystery series, Chief Police Inspector Michael Ohayon finds his longings for a home complicated by a murder in a nearby apartment. The search for the killer reveals the political and ethnic tensions of Jerusalem’s German Colony, reflecting the larger opposing forces with Israeli society: old residents versus new immigrants, North African versus European, right-wing versus left, Arab versus Jew.
Rights Sold:
France, Fayard; Germany, Goldmann; Israel, Keter; Spain, Siruela; USA, Harper/Collins
Reviews:
“As always, Gur takes infinite care with the exacting studies of the characters who give her stories their extraordinary vitality….” – The New York Times Book Review
“Gur’s outstanding police procedural, her fifth Michael Ohayon mystery, can hold its own with the best work of P.D. James.” –Starred review Publishers Weekly
“Under the apparently quotidian setting exists a very subtle analysis of Israeli society and history….The intractable tensions between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews breeds hatred and mistrust, and the way to understand them and even, perhaps, to prevent future violence lies in good measure in the way Batya Gur brings them to light. There is a substantial measure of courage and talent here, hidden under the pretext of an amiable detective novel.” – Le Monde
“Batya Gur succeeds in drawing wonderfully sensible character descriptions and an enthralling description of life in a country where the permanent state of emergency is permanent.” – Welt am Sonntag
“Romeo and Juliet in Jerusalem…Not only is [the novel] a highly topical political thriller, it is also a precisely drawn fresco of the depths of human passions and despair.” – Abendzeitung Muenchen
“Batya Gur is a skillful observer of various milieus and the sensibilities within Israeli society. The book reveals the inner tensions between old-established inhabitants and newcomers, between different cultures, languages and customs that are, on the outside, concealed by the conflict with the Palestinians. It takes an uncompromising analyst like Batya Gur to make an outsider understand the complicated nuances of a seemingly homogenous society.” – Standard
“Through the investigative techniques of her fictional detective Michael Ohayon, Batya Gur lays bare the contradictions that tear modern-day Israel apart. She tells us about racism, fear, hatred, the conflicts between European and Oriental Jews, and the violence linked to the second Intifada. But also – and better than newspaper reports convey – she reveals the incredible love of life in this little country that dances on a volcano.” – ELLE Magazine (French edition)
“An intelligent thriller by Israel’s #1 Crime Lady.” – Petra Top Five