An American-born biologist living in Jerusalem signs up for a self-defense course, never realizing that she has been chosen for a special assignment. A Muslim woman from the States returns to Jericho, never suspecting that someone close to her is responsible for a devastating terrorist attack. Each is about to be recruited for a deadly, secret mission, and find themselves unlikely allies in a growing web of violence that threatens their families, their heritage and their lives. Featured on the Penguin website (www.penguin.com) to tie in with Jewish Book Month.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
There's a very interesting take on the Palestinian question in this intelligent and exciting new thriller by an Israeli journalist. When Deborah Stern, an American-born biologist working at a Jerusalem hospital, witnesses an act of terrorism and signs up for a self-defense course, she gets involved in a situation that brings her first into confrontation and then into unexpected alliance with Raba Alhassan, who has just returned from Detroit to live in Jericho with her Palestinian family. Casual details, such as "In Jerusalem, three ambulances always meant a catastrophe," add to the story's heart-wrenching realism.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Two women?one Arab and one Jewish?become embroiled in a deadly terrorist scheme that explodes into savage violence in this gripping debut thriller from Sofer, a journalist who lives in Israel. Deborah Stern is an American-born biologist in Jerusalem to research a skin disease common among Arab children. One afternoon, she narrowly escapes the violence of Ibrahim, a Muslim fundamentalist who has just massacred four Jewish mothers on a public playground. Terrified, Deborah joins a women's self-defense class where her handsome instructor, Raphi Lahav, seduces her into working for the Israeli General Security Service. Deborah's Palestinian counterpart is Ibrahim's sister, Raba Alhassan. Raised in Detroit, she's returned to Jericho to live with the aristocratic Palestinian family of her husband, a famous heart surgeon. She is coerced into joining an ultra-violent fundamentalist cell by threats against her husband's life. On one level, the narrative concerns the courage of two women whose lives converge when terrorists plan to blow up the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, in an attempt to smother peace negotiations. On a deeper, more sinister level, it concerns the potentially violent nature lurking just below the surface of eminently civilized women. Deborah and Raba find new depths of anger in reacting to the cruelty that adds a visceral lash to the narrative: a bomb blast hurls an innocent child through a bus windshield; a woman is tortured; a throat is slashed ear to ear; a man kills by thrusting a knife into his victim's gut and twisting it back and forth "as if he were wringing out a towel." Suspense builds until the final confrontation in a Bethlehem school, where the anguished issues of the Arab-Israeli conflict are played out in bloody fashion. While Sofer is not yet a smooth stylist, she succeeds in conveying the psychological climate of a troubled land through a timely and resonant story.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, entertaining and well written.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Thirteenth Hour (Paperback)
This was a very well researched, fastpaced and exciting thriller. I thought it gave a very well balanced insight into the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is interesting that the two reviewers that gave this book a low rating, did so for political reasons, saying that the book was unfair to the Palestinians. I do not wish to make this a forum for political debate, but I must say that there is NEVER a reason to make war on women and children, as one of the reviewers implies. The book is about the dangers of ALL kinds of fanaticism, regardless of where you live or what your religion is.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent adventure thriller,
By A Customer
This review is from: Thirteenth Hour (Paperback)
A friend recently presented me with a copy of Barbara Sofer's novel, THE THIRTEENTH HOUR, in appreciation for a number of books I had recently lent him. I had never heard of either the book or Ms. Sofer and thought that in reality i would never read this work. Yet this past weekend I picked it up and started to read it, and had difficulty in putting it down. The author's tale of middle east terrorism, espionage, intellegence, violence and counter intellegence is amazing. Her characters are well developed and pretty believeable.I was particularly drawn to her main sub plot the failed marriage of Deborah the american researcher in Israel , caught in a web of intrigue. Her depiction of the Ultra Orthodox life in Israel is excellent and on target, although I wish that this sub plot would have been developed some more. The last 70 pages were action packed and filled withb unexpected events. I eagerly await more thrillers by Ms. Sofer and a movie version of this novel.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fast-paced and engrossing! You'll be hooked after page one.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Thirteenth Hour: A Novel (Hardcover)
Not being a fan of "spy stories", I resisted starting this book even after numerous recommendations, but five minutes into this novel I couldn't put it down. Nothing to put you to sleep here. I can't say anything negative and would not change a thing. The author tells a compelling and exciting story while sensitively describing real-life Arab-Israeli issues and how they effect the everyday life of people living in Israel today. One of the best books I've read all year
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