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Oranit #1
Crossed Lines
An Arab collaborator's body is found by a collapsed wall in the new Israeli settlement of Oranit. His death is hushed up and the body burned by the Palestinian villagers who hated him. Most people claim he died in his own village, although this is apparently untrue. Two years later his death is all but forgotten until a bullet is found by a wall, and everything changes. Old speculations of foul play are confirmed, and the collaborator’s death becomes a murder case.
Formerly a member of Israeli military field security, Oranit resident Jeannie now works for the Shin Bet Security Service. She's given the dubious task of "putting the case to rest again." Delving into the circumstances surrounding the Arab's death, Jeannie discovers a hidden world of smuggling, forgery and other doubtful activities tied to minor politicians and founding members of the Oranit settlement. Everyone, including Jeannie's own father, seems to be a suspect.
Author and retired Israeli army psychiatrist Michael I. Benjamin weaves an entertaining and occasionally humorous murder mystery through the tangled politics and racial tension of the Green Line, the Yom Kippur War, and the Holocaust. As Jeannie uncovers the truth, she'll never see Oranit in quite the same way.
170 pages, Paperback
First published April 16, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 26, 2020
4.25 Stars — Oranit is not your average modern-fiction, yes it blends ‘genre’ & navigates numerous complex & thoughtful themes etc However, the setting, the slightly off-centre core of its Main characters and the subtly subliminal arc of its story is utterly compelling. It gnaws away at your forehead for pages and pages and you are not even sure what ‘it’ is..
But the ‘it’ — is what raises the level of this middle-eastern thriller, with elegance and eery wonder I was taken away to a surround of high sandstone-walls and dirt pathways that continually felt like a maze within a labyrinth. Yet somehow you never feel lost, through the use of well thought out narrative MB keeps control just out of reach, so the answers where always there, but they were never a chance of being revealed.
Some excellently written 2-way dialogue kept the pace up just enough and the lack of self-assurance in the narrator enabled some really deep and bendy roads of plot just one step out of reach until the author decides to reveal some of the subtext one then feels silly for missing.. before ultimately realising this is in-fact untrue. Cover-ups and Kansas-city-shuffles are about which only sharpens the ‘whats-missing’ ache seeping off the pages.
Small snippets of the political hostilities helps bios tension and further along that feeling that something is missing, if you can embrace it, you’ll love the pay-off.
Yes, there are some bits of malaise & the author’s prose might feel a little disjointed in parts whilst there are also some pages that go nowhere but overall, this is a class-a t and deserves more attention.
Looking forward to my next Michael Benjamin read.
But the ‘it’ — is what raises the level of this middle-eastern thriller, with elegance and eery wonder I was taken away to a surround of high sandstone-walls and dirt pathways that continually felt like a maze within a labyrinth. Yet somehow you never feel lost, through the use of well thought out narrative MB keeps control just out of reach, so the answers where always there, but they were never a chance of being revealed.
Some excellently written 2-way dialogue kept the pace up just enough and the lack of self-assurance in the narrator enabled some really deep and bendy roads of plot just one step out of reach until the author decides to reveal some of the subtext one then feels silly for missing.. before ultimately realising this is in-fact untrue. Cover-ups and Kansas-city-shuffles are about which only sharpens the ‘whats-missing’ ache seeping off the pages.
Small snippets of the political hostilities helps bios tension and further along that feeling that something is missing, if you can embrace it, you’ll love the pay-off.
Yes, there are some bits of malaise & the author’s prose might feel a little disjointed in parts whilst there are also some pages that go nowhere but overall, this is a class-a t and deserves more attention.
Looking forward to my next Michael Benjamin read.
January 16, 2016
It's my book- so what can I say?
July 6, 2015
What would you do if you were involved in a murder that was being covered up? When there is a death and you are so bad that the villagers burn your body instead of looking for your killer, you might be doing something wrong.
If you are lucky, somewhere down the line, someone will start to ask questions or evidence will be found. Jeannie is given the job of finding out exactly what happened in this hush hush case. Along the way she uncovers all sorts of illegal things even a whole world of illegal stuff.
It seems like everyone is a suspect and that includes someone from her own family. Will she be able to find out what happened in this murder that occurred so long ago...or will she fall victim to the secret underground world that she discovered?
I love how well this book was written and how well it sucked me in. I couldn't get enough. Very good book!
I received this product in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion/review/feedback.
If you are lucky, somewhere down the line, someone will start to ask questions or evidence will be found. Jeannie is given the job of finding out exactly what happened in this hush hush case. Along the way she uncovers all sorts of illegal things even a whole world of illegal stuff.
It seems like everyone is a suspect and that includes someone from her own family. Will she be able to find out what happened in this murder that occurred so long ago...or will she fall victim to the secret underground world that she discovered?
I love how well this book was written and how well it sucked me in. I couldn't get enough. Very good book!
I received this product in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion/review/feedback.
July 15, 2015
I loved this book, this was one of those mystery books that I just love to read, I just couldn't put it down.
It is set in Israel and for me it was an little bit of an eye opener at to what life is like there. We meet Jeanine who is working for the Shin Bet Security Service and is tasked with finding out what actually happened on a case from a few years ago that turns out involves her father and several other people that she is close to.
She is uncovers information about the case only to be met with more questions. It was just a fantastic read and the build up was brilliant, it was a little slow for me to start with but we got the background of the story I loved the characters and thought it was very well written. Great mystery novel.
It is set in Israel and for me it was an little bit of an eye opener at to what life is like there. We meet Jeanine who is working for the Shin Bet Security Service and is tasked with finding out what actually happened on a case from a few years ago that turns out involves her father and several other people that she is close to.
She is uncovers information about the case only to be met with more questions. It was just a fantastic read and the build up was brilliant, it was a little slow for me to start with but we got the background of the story I loved the characters and thought it was very well written. Great mystery novel.
August 28, 2020
This is a complication book about foreign intrigue.
May 4, 2021
Did not finish. Too confusing. Must have lost a lot in the translation to English.
July 28, 2015
Most of the fiction I read is historical fiction (with a healthy dose of time travel mixed in), so I was anxious to read Oranit: Crossed Lines because I have never read any books on Israeli history. I really enjoyed the book. Although I don’t have a lot of background in Israeli history, Dr. Benjamin did such a nice job with the exposition that I was able to follow the complex story without confusion. His explanations of the conflicts in the area, especially with the Palestinians, were fascinating and informative. The descriptions of the countryside were intriguing and beautiful. The characters are also wonderfully written; I felt as if I knew each character, his strengths, and his foibles. His characterizations of the veterans of the wars were particularly poignant and realistic. The story was very readable, and I finished it quickly. I liked how the main character, Jeannie, learned new facts about her family, friends and the history of Oranit as the reader did.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.
February 4, 2016
Jeannie is in Israeli intelligence and her boss asks her to open an old death case. The story takes place in a Jewish town that some of the land was obtained in questionable dealings. Mahmud was the one forging land plots and blackmailing people and when he is killed no one wants to find the killer because they all figure they are better off without him. But Jeannie must dig up what really happened, even if her father is involved.
The story winds around two or three wars, much heartache, a bank robbery, and a lost woman scam. When Jeannie finds who murdered Mahmud it changes every relationship she has, plus she changes her job. Although this is fiction it doesn’t hide the fact that these people went through similar heartache to just find a life they could live with. Or the things they could do so their children would not have to see war, if they could just keep their lineage going.
The story winds around two or three wars, much heartache, a bank robbery, and a lost woman scam. When Jeannie finds who murdered Mahmud it changes every relationship she has, plus she changes her job. Although this is fiction it doesn’t hide the fact that these people went through similar heartache to just find a life they could live with. Or the things they could do so their children would not have to see war, if they could just keep their lineage going.
July 6, 2015
Twist and turns at every chapter
"Oranit: Crossed Line" is a mystery filled with secrets, lies, manipulation, and interesting characters. Jeannie is put on an assignment that involves many people with whom she is close, including her own father. Everyone knows something about the events leading up to the death of a collaborator two years prior, but each leg of her investigation leads to just as many questions as answers. This is the kind of book that you want to keep reading chapter after chapter so that you can find out more answers and try to understand why someone died and what everyone is fighting for.
"Oranit: Crossed Line" is a mystery filled with secrets, lies, manipulation, and interesting characters. Jeannie is put on an assignment that involves many people with whom she is close, including her own father. Everyone knows something about the events leading up to the death of a collaborator two years prior, but each leg of her investigation leads to just as many questions as answers. This is the kind of book that you want to keep reading chapter after chapter so that you can find out more answers and try to understand why someone died and what everyone is fighting for.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews