| Liad
Shoham's latest book, Asylum City, has a riveting
plot that involves a mystery based around social issues. This
is not a typical thriller since the reader is engrossed not
only in the crime plot but also the current issue facing Israelis,
seeing the predicament through the eyes of the characters.
The story begins with the murder of activist Michal Poleg
in her Tel Aviv apartment. The policewoman assigned to the
case, Anat Nachmias, wonders which of the possible suspects
could be the perpetrator. Was her killer a disgruntled African
immigrant? Or the lawyer she filed a complaint against for
causing so many migrants to be deported, or "The Banker"
extorting the migrants, as he lends money to them illegally
at exorbitant interest rates? The book allows the reader to
be a part of the investigation, as Anat must decide if an
"asylum seeker" actually committed the crime after
his confession.
Anat Nachmias is smart, motivated, more of a listener, and
armed with a law school degree. An attractive woman who relies
on her intelligence and training to succeed, and knows it
is not easy being a woman in the men's club. She is a strong
female character who handles herself well in a male dominated
profession on a crime that her supervisors would like resolved
regardless of the evidence. Besides Anat there are other well-developed
characters although the overabundance of characters and the
similarity of names are at times a bit confusing.
Since
the author is a practicing attorney, the descriptions are
realistic and accurate. He uses his job experiences to write
a gripping novel that is in many ways similar to the US immigration
problem: should border security be implanted before solving
the immigration problem, what to do with those illegally in
the country, and is there a humanity issue. The problem in
Israel has arisen from the Eritrea Africans who are trying
to escape persecution by migrating to Israel through the Sinai
Peninsula.
He commented,
"It does not matter the color of their skin, which is
irrelevant. Israel has accepted Jews from all over the world:
Ethiopian, Chinese, Hispanic, Eastern European, and Western
European, but the underlying thread is they are all Jews.
The government does not exploit them, but also do not grant
them any opportunities. The problem is those who try to exploit
them, which is exemplified by the quote in my book, 'I'll
never get how people who grew up in this country can exploit
other refugees. The Bedouins that are hired to move them across
the desert have kidnapped them for sex trafficking, held them
hostage for ransoms, tortured the men, and raped 90% of the
women. Israel is unable to control the crimes, because they
take place outside our border. Within Israel there are those
who have set up businesses surrounding the asylum seekers
needs. For example, just as in the book, since they are not
allowed to open bank accounts, Mafia bosses have become their
bankers that transfer money to the asylum seeker's family."
Asylum City is a fast-paced and riveting novel that
is more than just a crime story. It is a gripping thriller
with engaging characters and an informative story. |
