Customer Reviews

Keepers of the Gate

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Destiny has played a horrible trick on Palestinian American Detective Ben Kamal and Israeli Chief Inspector (Packed) Danielle Barnea. They met during a joint investigation and became lovers, but Danielle ended it because she knew they had no future together. Her compatriots will never accept Ben as her lover of husband, but only a deadly enemy.

After a time, the duo becomes lovers again, but this time Danielle becomes pregnant. She ends their relationship again, planning to raise the child by herself. However, destiny intercedes as they work on the same case from different perspectives. Someone has murdered Palestinian and Israeli children attending the same school. At least two of the homicides are covered up to make them seem more like accidents or suicides. Danielle goes overseas where she meets up with Ben seeking answers, but killers stand in the way, willing to blow both of them into oblivion if they don't stop asking questions.

Jon Land writes exciting and believable political thrillers in the tradition of Clancy, and Cornwall even if he has not received the recognition he deserves. The theme of KEEPERS OF THE GATE is universal yet heart wrenching so that readers will understand the motives of the key players, whose flaws make them so human. Mr. Land is a great storyteller who enriches his audience with every novel he writes.

Harriet Klausner

For years, I associated Jon Land with cheesy yet fun adventure stories that featured bigger than life heroes (in particular, Blaine McCracken) battling James Bond-style villains bent on world conquest, usually aided by some superhuman henchmen. Yes, they were often silly, but they were also good entertainment.

Recently, however, Land has gotten more realistic and serious with his series of novels featuring Ben Kamal and Danielle Barea, a pair of detectives and star-crossed lovers (he's Palestinean, she's Israeli) who take on mysteries and conspiracies that often extend beyond the borders of their homes.

As is the case in most of this series, the two usually deal with separate mysteries that turn out to be linked. In this case, they must deal with the murders of several teenagers who attended the same school as well as the attempted murder of a philanthropic billionaire with a secret past. There are traces of Land's love of secret organizations and conspiracies, and it all comes together nicely.

Just because Land has become more serious does not mean he has gotten worse; in fact, there is a maturity in his writing that is an improvement. Nonetheless, I kind of miss the sillier Land and hope that some day McCracken returns.

Thriller fans rejoice! Keepers of the Gate has arrived. Palestinian-American detective Ben Kamal and Israeli detective Danielle Barnea join forces again to investigate the connection between the mysterious deaths of several high school students and an assassin targeting elderly Holocaust survivors. International intrigue and double feints are par for the course in this thrilling tale. Be advised, when you think you've figured it out, Land has more surprises in store. Punctuating this roller-coaster ride is the relationship between the two detectives and the fate of their unborn child. Longtime fans of the series will find the tension between Ben and Danielle as compelling as the central mystery itself. New readers, hold onto your seats; it's a white-knuckled read. Land has packed eight days of action into this tersely written, well-plotted work which races towards its surprising conclusion.

Once again some top of the line entertainment from Jon Land. Palestinian American detective Ben Kamal and Israeli detective Danielle Barnea meet up again in this outstanding adventure. Holocaust survivors are being murdered. A labor camp escapee and New York billionaire loses a son to an assassin. High school students start mysteriously dying. This novel covers a lot of territory as most of it begins in the Middle East slowly spreading to Europe and ending in New York. Biological research as well as secrets of the holocaust are just a couple of the things involved in this top of the line adventure. Jon Land has created a vivid novel with colorful characters and locales, with surprises in store at every turn. Keep it up Jon, you're on my 'A' list.

Highly recommended.

Once again, Jon Land has weaved a web of mystery, action, history, and drama in such magnificent fashion that it is impossible to put it down until you have read the entire book...twice! I have been following Jon's career closely since it began nearly twenty years ago with the Doomsday Spiral, and have watched the style of his writing and the quality of his characters grow with each successive novel. After publishing a series of books staring such action-packed duos as Blaine McCracken and Johnny Wareagle, and Jared Kimberlain and Winston Peete, Jon has taken a different turn with his latest heroes, Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea. This fourth installment in the Kamal/Barnea series shows the couple battling present day terrorists and ghosts from Nazi Germany. Keepers of the Gate also contains an incredible description of near-future medical science that only Jon Land's imagination could have created. A trademark quality in many of Jon's books is the introduction of something astonishing, something just outside the scope of the reader's imagination, such as a laser that utilizes water particles, or a cure for air pollution that is bastardized into a world-threatening weapon. Jon also creates characters that stir emotions and leave the reader breathless with worry, fear, and anticipation. If this is your first Jon Land Novel, I suggest you begin here and work your way back to the Doomsday Spiral. If you are like me, and anxiously await your annual Jon Land fix, you will not be disappointed!!!

I've been reading Jon Land novels for a while now and have loved most of them. I'll admit, that my favorite character is Blaine McCracken and that I'd like to see more books with him, but Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea are great characters as well. I started this book a couple of days ago and I couldn't put it down. He's gotten much better with these characters as the books go by. The plot was good and it kept your interest all the way through. The only draw back that I saw to this book was that he copied a part from one of his earlier books almost verbatim. I was a little put out by that. All in all, though, well worth the read.

This was another good book in the Ben and Danielle series.The

main character in this book is Oaul Hessler.He is a concentration camp escapee who has become a New York billionaire.He has donated tremendous sums of money to Israel.He

also has some deep secrets that stretch back to the days of World Wra II.His corporation and the Hessler Institute has come

into possession of a medical discovery that can help mankind as well as Ben and Danielle's baby.

You also have the unexplained murders of several high school

students,both Palestenian and Israeli.It is left to Ben and

Danielle to unravel this mystery.

You also have the murders of three elderly Holocaust survivors.There is no explanation to these murders.

Another element in the book is the "Keepers of the Gate" a group that has been responsible for tracking down old Nazi war criminals. All of these factors added up make for a good book.

Read this book. It is very good.

I don't expect great literature when I read a detective story, but it would be nice if the plot was at least remotely believable and the author had some facility with the English language. Unfortunately, neither is true here. I actually winced when reading portions of this book and finally found it too painful to continue. I am impressed with one thing: that an author of such mediocrity could get his work published.