Murder in Jerusalem: A Michael Ohayon Mystery (Michael Ohayon Mysteries) [Paperback]

Batya Gur (Author)

Book Description

Series: Michael Ohayon Mysteries | Publication Date: August 7, 2007

When a woman's body is discovered in the wardrobe warehouses of Israel Television, Chief Superintendent Michael Ohayon embarks on a tangled and bloody trail of detection through the corridors and studios of Israel's official television station, and through the fears, loves, and contradictions of the people who work there. It is an eye-opening journey that brings into question the very ideals upon which Ohayon—and indeed the entire nation—was raised, ideals that may have led to terrible crimes.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Gur's tremendous literary gifts are on full display in her sixth contemporary Israeli mystery to feature the understated but insightful Sephardic detective, Insp. Michael Ohayon (after 2005's Bethlehem Road Murder). The death of set designer Tirzah Rubin, found beneath a fallen pillar on the set of a film adaptation of S.Y. Agnon's Iddo and Eynam, appears to be an accident, but later evidence that it was murder brings Ohayon and his team into the swirl of personalities and politics that make up the national TV station, Channel One. When a witness to Tirzah's final moments also dies, from an overdose of heart medicine while hospitalized, the pressure on Ohayon intensifies. Once again, Gur uses a classic whodunit plot to explore human passions and insecurities with a sophistication equal to that of P.D. James and other better known authors of psychological crime fiction. The concluding moral dilemma Ohayon faces would have been fascinating to follow in future inquiries that will, alas, go unwritten, as Gur died in 2005. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—Tirzah Rubin, set designer for Israeli television, is found dead under a fallen marble pillar. Michael Ohayon, the quiet, introspective Chief Superintendent of the Israeli police, arrives on the scene to begin an investigation of what first appears to be an accident and soon becomes a crime. When the killing is followed by a second and then a third death at the studio, Ohayon and his staff delve further into the deeply intertwined lives of the victims and the other major players in this closely knit television family. Was the murderer's motive love, politics, or something else? The story is rich in the culture of modern-day Israel and gives a vivid depiction of the behind-the-scenes drama of a television station, including a masterfully written scene depicting the hour before airtime. The characters are well fleshed out, though American teens might find the Israeli names initially distracting. However, young adults will soon be drawn into the love entanglements, the multiple mysteries, and the everyday lives of people in a war-torn country so often in the news. Teachers of world history will want to include this title on reading lists of fiction about current world issues, and English teachers can add it to the list of accessible books by foreign authors.—Ellen Bell, Amador Valley High School, Pleasanton, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; First Thus edition (August 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060852941
• ISBN-13: 978-0060852948
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,080,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful novel, August 6, 2007

By 

Joe A. Barone - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder in Jerusalem: A Michael Ohayon Mystery (Michael Ohayon Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This is a masterful novel in which the tightly packed and chaotic prose reflects the chaos in the action itself. If you're looking for easy reading, this is not it. If you're looking for a powerful and complex story set firmly in the chaos of modern-day Israel, this just the book for you.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Latest Gur not up to her usual standard, August 27, 2006

By 

Monticello - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder in Jerusalem: A Michael Ohayon Mystery (Michael Ohayon Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Gur here provides too much exposition (work environment, characters at national TV and police headquarters) at the expense of plot and character development. Further, the novel is weakened by the extravagant significance given a single war-time atrocity. Benefit of the doubt - maybe the author didn't have time to polish the ms, apparently completed just before her 5/05 death. Start with Saturday Morning Murder and read the other four. Only read this if you already know the series & want to see what she does with her long-running characters.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transcending Anxiety of Influence, November 2, 2010

By 

Shani - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder in Jerusalem: A Michael Ohayon Mystery (Michael Ohayon Mysteries) (Paperback)

Murder In Jerusalem was Gur's final novel, written at the end of her life. I had been following hero-protagonist Michael Ohayon's Jerusalem adventures since the early 1990s, and my final literary journey with him was a bittersweet experience. Literary Criticism was a major component in Gur's first novels, in which she offered stories that can be analyzed through clues in the tale of the murders, as well as clues from Literary-Critical techniques. For example, in "Literary Murder: A Critical Case", Gur presented a tale where the investigations in police work are shown as parallel to the textual (and intertextual) explorations of Literary Critics. Gur's exceptionally descriptive writing creates a bond through which her readers viscerally relate to her characters. Her meticulous and masterful observations of humanity make her characters instantly recognizable, like people you know in your own life. And they have never failed to inspire me to make hummus, or notice a craving for Maccabee Beer. For me, her clever books brought forth enjoyable psycho-analytical, literary-analytical challenges, as well as appreciation of and affection for the writer and her talent. Murder in Jerusalem is ultimately a shattering of innocence. Beneath the vibrant, hopeful setting of contemporary Jerusalem a vulnerability slowly permeates the later Ohayon stories, and, for me, brings with them a longing that cannot go away. Murder in Jerusalem presents a group of characters, some old friends, embroiled in solving a murder at a 24 hour news station. In addition to police work and politics, the reader is drawn into the day to day lives of people trying to help a world they seem unable to understand. In earlier novels, Intifadas are mentioned with deep sadness, and confusion, but, almost in matter-of-fact ways. They simply exist. It isn't until Murder in Jerusalem that Gur courageously reacts to the Intifadas, and she attempts to find and understand their causes from the viewpoint of the profoundly patriotic Ohayon. What she reveals, is heart-breaking. Beyond the lies of contemporary murderers, Ohayon is forced to come to terms with what he sees as lies of history. Lies that ultimately change everything he understands about who he is, and what his identity as an Israeli means to him. One of the most difficult parts of the book, for me, was seeing the deeply compassionate Ohayon emotionally crushed after uncovering long-hidden details about the actions of some pioneers, who had been his heroes. Ohayon tries to confront guilt he feels about secret historical atrocities, and he wonders how he can continue to be who he thought he was, while living in a land where areas were forcibly occupied through acts of unspeakable violence . Ohayon remembers the tales told during his childhood, and the national pride they evinced in him. This, in contrast with Ohayon's discovery of the embezzlement of massive amounts of money by Orthodox rabbis to fund a new homeland for Jews, in Canada, takes away from Ohayon's relief at bringing the present day murderer to justice. The last scene in the book has Yigal, Ohayon's only child, now grown, informing Michael that he is moving to Canada. Ohayon is left to ponder what means more to him: his idealism and the beliefs he was raised to champion, or the continuation of his life in a world where he believes "civilization--the power of the intellectuals, the academics--has suppressed the originality, the spontaneity, the spirit and sentiment of the people." Far from being just a good murder mystery, Murder in Jerusalem projects readers into the confusion, love, and turbulence of contemporary life in the Middle East.