The latest book, Lineup,
from Liad Shoham, the number one best-selling crime author
in Israel, has been translated into English. He has been called
Israel’s John Grisham for his complex crime novels,
and after reading Lineup it becomes obvious he has lived up
to the reputation.
The book begins in Tel Aviv where a brutal rape has occurred.
To obtain closure for his daughter, the father decides to
stake-out the area, finding Ziv Nevo, whom he is sure is the
rapist. The police detective, Eli Nahum makes a quick arrest
and sets up the circumstances to ensure Nevo’s guilt.
However, this rush to judgment causes the case to be tossed
out on a technicality, resulting in Nahum losing his job and
Ziv running for his life. Nevo, a mobster, was in the neighborhood
to plant a car bomb. This is where the plot takes off, showing
the moral struggles of the characters and those working within
the Israeli judicial system.
Shoham told blackfive.net, “This is my fifth book in
which I tried to show what happens behind the scenes of the
judicial system. Every character is motivated by their moral
standards. I hope this book gives readers a glimpse of how
easily those influencing the judicial system can make it go
awry. Each of these characters symbolized a part of the judicial
system with their own agenda and motives.”
To attest to the great character development the reader will
encounter a range of emotions as he blurred the lines between
good and bad, right and wrong. The author hopes that his “characters
are seen as humans, not superstars. I don’t write them
as purely evil and purely good. I was influenced by the TV
show “The Wire” that offers a lot of perspectives
from the different characters point of view. I am also influenced
by my sister, a public defender (PD) here in Israel. She gave
me the details of a similar case and I developed that story.
Look, I do not consider my sister evil just because she defends
supposed criminals. She opened my eyes to look at PD’s
differently, which hopefully the readers will do as well.
My final influence is the basic fact that Israelis have grown
up around bombings. I lived in Paris when I was between the
ages of eight and twelve because my dad was a diplomat. There
were a lot of terrorist attacks on Israeli targets. One of
my father’s colleagues had a bomb go off under his car
while my friend’s father, a Mossad agent, was shot.
Bombings are always in the back of every Israeli’s mind.”
He also gave a heads up about his next book, A Silent
City. It is about illegal immigrants from Africa living
in Tel Aviv intertwined with a crime mystery. For Shoham,
“I write stand-alone books but the themes are always
similar. I try to choose a subject that disturbs me and make
a thriller out of it. In the next book the main character
will be a policewoman because I wanted to tell the story from
a woman’s point of view.”
Although A Silent City is already published in Israel, Americans
will have to wait another year. This year they can enjoy Lineup
for its very suspenseful plot with its many twists and turns.
It is a page-turner that insightfully explores the Israeli
judicial system.
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