When Trish from TLC Book Tours suggested this book to me, I was quick to accept. I noted that the author is Israeli and the book takes place in Israel and I expected a story involving Israeli politics and intrigue. I found instead a crime novel that took place in Israel. Other than the names of the characters, the story really could have taken place anywhere.
“A brutal rape in a quiet Tel Aviv neighborhood has the police baffled. There are no witnesses, suspects, or clues, until the victim’s father steps in and finds overwhelming evidence pointing to Ziv Nevo. Veteran detective Eli Nahum questions Nevo, but can’t get anything out of him. That’s because Nevo has a secret. He works for the mafia, and telling the truth about why he was near the crime scene could get him killed. Lineup focuses on these two men, detective and suspect, as they both end up betraying what they value most, fighting for their lives, and struggling make amends for their mistakes in this gritty, fast-paced, complex novel of suspense.”
This book is straightforward, entertaining, and easy to read. You may worry that having been translated from Hebrew it would be harder to understand, but it was not. There aren’t a lot of extraneous details blocking the way of the story either. The story itself is relatively easy to follow, though I did find myself mixing up some of the characters at times. The group of characters and how they are all connected is my favorite part of the story – interconnected characters is one of my favorite plot devices.
The mystery of who committed the crime becomes clear towards the end of the book and a minor character from the beginning is important in the end. I enjoyed reading this and I hope more of Liad Shoham’s books are translated to English. On a side note, my husband has been reading this book as well and he seems to really like it! I also want to say hello to the author because I noticed he has been commenting on the posts for this book tour – thanks for stopping by!
And now for the other books I’ve been reading lately! There are 2 others besides the one above.
On Mystic Lake was one of the books I found in my box of books swap when it returned from making its rounds. Since I really enjoy Kristin Hannah, it was the first of these new-to-me books that I chose to read. “Annie Colwater’s husband has just confessed that he’s in love with a younger woman. Devastated, Annie retreats to the small town where she grew up. There, she is reunited with her first love, Nick Delacroix, a recent widower who is unable to cope with his silent, emotionally scarred young daughter. Together, the three of them begin to heal. But just when Annie believes she’s been given a second chance at happiness, her world is turned upside down again, and she is forced to make a choice that no woman in love should ever have to make.” Hannah did not disappoint with this one. Once again I was caught up with the characters, loving them and hating them, and especially enjoying watching them grow. It seems Hannah is an expert at writing about loss and this book includes this theme. It also has a young child who needs help grieving. The scenes involving Annie and Izzy are so wonderfully depicted, you find yourself wishing for a friend just like Annie. I look forward to reading more books by Kristin Hannah in the future.
I’m not much of an historical fiction reader and when I do read historical fiction it is usually focuses on World War 2. So The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grisson was a different book for me. It takes place in a sad time in American history, the late 1700s and early 1800s, focusing on the horrors of slavery. “When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master’s illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin.” Written like a diary, this book reminded me of Downton Abbey, in that it focuses on servants and their masters with drama involved for both groups. Of course, in this case, there is the added detail that the servants are not just servants, but are slaves who are owned, used, and sold as punishment. The themes of the book include serious topics of rape, incest, race, and domestic abuse, while also focusing on the love of a family and the different people who make up a family. With memorable and well-written characters the reader is drawn into the story and will enjoy learning more about this time period n American history.
What have you been reading?
