Walls of Jericho [Hardcover]

Jon Land (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1999

When a serial killer stalking Jericho threatens peace talks taking place between the Palestinians and the Israelis, an Arab-American detective and an Israeli Shin Bet agent must set aside their differences and stop the killer before he singlehandedly destroys the peace talks. 30,000 first printing.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In an attempt to preserve an uneasy peace between their peoples, Palestinian cop Ben Kamal and Israeli government agent Danielle Barnea team up to catch a West Bank serial killer. With the assistance of a motley assortment of helpers picked up along the way, they quickly find their killer but soon discover that there is something even more sinister behind both the murders and their forced collaboration. Thanks to intriguing characters, a timely backdrop, and short, action-packed chapters, Land (The Fires of Midnight, LJ 11/1/95) delivers more than just your average thriller. Fast, exciting, and, even more important, believable, this is recommended for most collections.?Melissa Kuzma Rockicki, NYPL
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Arab American cop Ben Kamal has returned to the West Bank from Detroit after watching a serial killer wipe out his family. Assigned to the Palestinian police, Ben is given a horrifyingly ironic mission: find the serial killer who's stalking the ancient city of Jericho. In a rare moment of cooperation, the Arabs and Israelis agree to work together on the case, and Ben finds himself partnered with Danielle Barnea, a member of the Israelis' crack Shin Bet security force. As Danielle and Ben track the killer, they develop a mutual respect that soon grows into deep affection. But the two can't stop to think about anything so mundane as love. First they must find the killer and expose a sinister plot that threatens the tenuous Arab-Israeli peace process. Land's diabolically clever thriller is packed with emotion and suspense, offering larger-than-life heroes and a nightmarish glimpse of life in today's conflict-ridden Middle East. A highly entertaining thriller. Emily Melton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: World Pubns (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0766998908
• ISBN-13: 978-0766998902
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,785,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good airplane book, October 13, 2000

By 

Orrin C. Judd "brothersjudddotcom" (Hanover, NH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Walls of Jericho (Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea Novels) (Paperback)

You can't spend too much time at Book Sales & Bookstores without stumbling upon the many books of Jon Land. But I'd managed to avoid reading one because of their generic Ludlumesque titles--Omega Deception, Doomsday Spiral, Gamma Option, etc. But this book grabbed my attention. With the end of the Cold War, the Middle East seems to offer the most fertile ground for thriller writers. Land has savvily set his 19th novel in the newly independent Palestinian West Bank. The story follows Ben Kamal, an American Arab policeman who has returned to his homeland to help train the Palestinian Police Forces, and Danielle Barnea, a female Shin Bet agent, as they join forces to track down a serial killer, Al-Dib "The Wolf".

This book is a marvel. It contains all that is best and worst in current writing. Land's story is exciting and the plot rockets forward. The characters are extremely likable. The opposition that Kamal and Barnea face from their own bosses & from a hostile populace add a terrific layer of tension. However, the book also has about three endings & just keeps going on & on; it would be much better less 75 pages. And it contains one of the most annoying creatures in modern detective fiction, the rogue hero, in this case ex-Colonel Frank Brickland, who will do the dirty work that our central heroes can not do--think of Hawk in the Spenser series.

With all that, I think if you're about to get on an airplane & you're looking for a good, quick, big-print read, you won't do much better than this one.

GRADE: C+

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A new era of Land thrillers, February 25, 2003

By 

D. A. Dodd (Huntsville, AL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Walls of Jericho (Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea Novels) (Paperback)

"The Walls of Jericho" marks a departure from the typical Jon Land thriller. While many of his earlier works were non-stop action, this one is lighter on the action and more on the development of the overall story and character development. One reason for the added character development was due to the introduction of two major new characters -- Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea. These two are the central figures in all but one of Land's last seven novels.

This one centers around Ben and Danielle's search for a serial killer who has committed a number of murders in the city of Jericho. Their job is to discover the identity of the killer who calls himself the Wolf and capture him before the killings continue. The tracking of the serial killer is reminiscent of Ben's tracking of another serial killer named the Sandman, who in the past had killed his family. Danielle's motivation is to better herself and prove herself to her ailing father.

While tracking the Wolf, Ben and Danielle learn that there's more to the situation than the serial killer. Both Ben's and Danielle's superiors want the Wolf captured to avoid worsening the already tense political situation between their two peoples -- the Israelis and the Palenstinians. As they get deeper into the investigation, they discover a third party is involved which only complicates matters.

"The Walls of Jericho", while still a good read, is not up the standards set by the better of the Blaine McCracken novels ("The Omicron Legion", "The Fires of Midnight", etc.). The storyline moves slowly at times and some characters are introduced only to be quickly removed from the storyline. The third party involved, while integral to the overall plot, felt a bit out of place at times. Overall, it's still a worthy read if you're a fan of Jon Land's works and political thrillers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Suspenseful Book!, November 18, 2000

By 

Melvin Hunt (Cleveland,, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Walls of Jericho (Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea Novels) (Paperback)

I bought this book to try out a new author. I was not dissapointed. A Palestenian detective is paired with a female Shin-Bet investigator to solve a series of serial killings. The Palestenian detective was formerly a detective in Detroit.After the murder of his family he returned home. He and the Shin-Bet agent form a good working relationship that eventually leads to a romantic laison. This book does a good job of describing the worlds of both Palestine and Israel. The team have to deal with some dangerous and seedy characters with their investigation. When they finally reach the guilty parties the killers are very shocking to say the least. A plot to destabilize the peace process is under way. This is definitely a well written book. It also impressed me with Jon Land. Read this. You will not be dissapointed.