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A Jazmine Davidson Adventure #1
Murder, Jaz, & Tel Aviv
Ahhh…Tel Aviv in the summer: hot sun, beautiful beaches and a popping nightlife! Just the answer to Jazmine Davidson’s dead-end life as an English teacher in cold and foggy San Francisco.
Cousin Sara, up on the kibbutz, is thrilled to hear that Jaz has finally decided to give Israel a chance and plans for her arrival. But since kibbutz living might entail living in tents and washing her own clothes, Jaz opts to try and find work in Tel Aviv. Before long she gets her first private student and is on the road to living the life. Or at least she thought she was.
A dead student? The mob? A cute cop? The CIA? Or is it the Mossad? Jaz finds herself in an insane world being interrogated by the police and assaulted by strangers, all of who seem to think she knows something she doesn’t, and all of it in a language she doesn’t understand even when they speak English.
Frantic calls from Cousin Sara, faxes from the psychic aunt in California, questionable men in questionable professions …Will Jaz be able to put all the pieces together before she herself is taken apart?
Cousin Sara, up on the kibbutz, is thrilled to hear that Jaz has finally decided to give Israel a chance and plans for her arrival. But since kibbutz living might entail living in tents and washing her own clothes, Jaz opts to try and find work in Tel Aviv. Before long she gets her first private student and is on the road to living the life. Or at least she thought she was.
A dead student? The mob? A cute cop? The CIA? Or is it the Mossad? Jaz finds herself in an insane world being interrogated by the police and assaulted by strangers, all of who seem to think she knows something she doesn’t, and all of it in a language she doesn’t understand even when they speak English.
Frantic calls from Cousin Sara, faxes from the psychic aunt in California, questionable men in questionable professions …Will Jaz be able to put all the pieces together before she herself is taken apart?
204 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
3 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Kate McVaugh
13 books30 followersKate McVaugh writes fast-paced, fun-filled adventures, mysteries, and literary fiction. All are set in foreign countries where she has lived, worked, and traveled.
She grew up in the cold, foggy San Francisco Bay Area, but always felt that she should be living somewhere else. Preferably in a hot, tropical climate, exploring the culture and learning the language.
A two-year stint with the Peace Corps in Brazil is where she first fulfilled that desire for international adventure. From there, she went on to work as an educator both in the US and abroad. Except, that is, when she required a break from the profession. She found her respite while working in bars and running nightclubs.
Kate is also a travel essayist whose work has appeared in Lonely Planet.
Contact: McVaugh.books@gmail.com
She grew up in the cold, foggy San Francisco Bay Area, but always felt that she should be living somewhere else. Preferably in a hot, tropical climate, exploring the culture and learning the language.
A two-year stint with the Peace Corps in Brazil is where she first fulfilled that desire for international adventure. From there, she went on to work as an educator both in the US and abroad. Except, that is, when she required a break from the profession. She found her respite while working in bars and running nightclubs.
Kate is also a travel essayist whose work has appeared in Lonely Planet.
Contact: McVaugh.books@gmail.com
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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October 16, 2022DNF
This mystery novel had been sitting in my Kindle forever. Now, on my trip to Israel, it seemed fitting to start reading it. Sadly, I didn't like it. Didn't like the protagonist, and the mystery wasn't intriguing enough to continue reading. Besides, the protagonist's attitude towards Hebrew bordered on insulting. Yes, Hebrew is not like English, but it is the language of the country you live in. There is no need to be snotty about it. I don't speak Hebrew either, but I know better that to get all arrogant about it just because I can speak English.
DNF.
This mystery novel had been sitting in my Kindle forever. Now, on my trip to Israel, it seemed fitting to start reading it. Sadly, I didn't like it. Didn't like the protagonist, and the mystery wasn't intriguing enough to continue reading. Besides, the protagonist's attitude towards Hebrew bordered on insulting. Yes, Hebrew is not like English, but it is the language of the country you live in. There is no need to be snotty about it. I don't speak Hebrew either, but I know better that to get all arrogant about it just because I can speak English.
DNF.
August 18, 2016
I received this e-book as a review copy from the author through the Basically Books group
I don’t own an e-reader and I am not a fan of e-books but with such a title I couldn’t resist. And I’m so glad I didn’t!
I really enjoyed this book and within the first few paragraphs I was giggling out loud.
The author was describing such a familiar Tel Aviv with the constant noise, ridiculous housing prices and the beach close by.
'I even have a small, two foot wide balcony, where I can stand and inhale the sea breeze mixed with bus fumes.'(p. 11)
As someone who has spent many years wrangling with the Hebrew language I found her comments both humourous and accurate while not over done.
'I couldn’t read all those squares and 7’s they call Hebrew. Honestly, I don’t know how they do it. One letter is fairly indistinguishable from the next, not to mention that they read and write backwards.'(p. 12).
However scene setting is not enough and the book opens with a dead body. After meeting the, well observed, staff at the local bar and encountering a gorgeous detective we get going with a murder mystery. Nothing too complicated or contrived but enough to keep turning the pages.
There is an encounter with the local ‘Mafia’ and a reasonable amount of peril but the murder is solved in a believable and satisfying fashion with only a passing mention of commandos and not a word about terrorism or the political situation - such a refreshing change!
This book is a quick, fun read and I recommend it to anyone who has ever visited or wanted to visit Tel Aviv or just enjoys a light murder mystery.
'I took another gulp of the local beer; Maccabi. I had always wondered what had happened to all those Maccabi’s we hear about each year at Chanukah. Doing fine and well in the brewing business, thank you.' (p. 14).
I don’t own an e-reader and I am not a fan of e-books but with such a title I couldn’t resist. And I’m so glad I didn’t!
I really enjoyed this book and within the first few paragraphs I was giggling out loud.
The author was describing such a familiar Tel Aviv with the constant noise, ridiculous housing prices and the beach close by.
'I even have a small, two foot wide balcony, where I can stand and inhale the sea breeze mixed with bus fumes.'(p. 11)
As someone who has spent many years wrangling with the Hebrew language I found her comments both humourous and accurate while not over done.
'I couldn’t read all those squares and 7’s they call Hebrew. Honestly, I don’t know how they do it. One letter is fairly indistinguishable from the next, not to mention that they read and write backwards.'(p. 12).
However scene setting is not enough and the book opens with a dead body. After meeting the, well observed, staff at the local bar and encountering a gorgeous detective we get going with a murder mystery. Nothing too complicated or contrived but enough to keep turning the pages.
There is an encounter with the local ‘Mafia’ and a reasonable amount of peril but the murder is solved in a believable and satisfying fashion with only a passing mention of commandos and not a word about terrorism or the political situation - such a refreshing change!
This book is a quick, fun read and I recommend it to anyone who has ever visited or wanted to visit Tel Aviv or just enjoys a light murder mystery.
'I took another gulp of the local beer; Maccabi. I had always wondered what had happened to all those Maccabi’s we hear about each year at Chanukah. Doing fine and well in the brewing business, thank you.' (p. 14).
June 28, 2012
A thirty something woman lands in Israel and complains that she doesn't understand Hebrew--oh my gosh, it is written in squiggles and backwards! Also the coffee is terrible, people actually drink instant--"Nes"cafe (an understandable complaint, given the density of specialty coffee shops in California). Jaz (short for Jasmine) thinks the guys from any kibbutz must be red necks; she prefers the seedy low rent apartment in Tel Aviv. She finds her first student of English conversation murdered, gets a job in a bar, etc. There is the cousin on a kibbutz with four always screaming kids and the mysterious Aunt in Santa Cruz who provides some pieces with which to solve the puzzle -- some bad guys, some Tel Aviv Family, and, ah, a hard-body cop...
Personal trainers make a distinction between Exercise and physical activity. This is a quick and pleasant read--you won't break a sweat.
Personal trainers make a distinction between Exercise and physical activity. This is a quick and pleasant read--you won't break a sweat.
July 30, 2012
I started to skim this book the day it arrived in the mail, and the first few lines sucked me in. I continued to read the book throughout the day, snatching time here and there. I finished it before I went to sleep that night. Phew!, rarely do I do that. But it was a fun read, entertaining, fast-paced and just the ticket for a homesick American-Israeli spending the summer in the states. Hope to see new titles by this author.
September 7, 2015
Heroine got on my last nerve
February 3, 2012
Jazmine Davidson had been living in San Francisco, teaching English and unhappy with her life. She decided that a big change was in order, so she went to Israel to visit her cousin Sara who lived on a kibbutz. Jaz didn’t think that kibbutz living was for her, but was giving a new life in Tel Aviv a try. She had an apartment, her first paying English student, and had found a jazz bar where she liked to hang out—momentarily things seemed to be going OK. Then everything changes. When she arrives at her student’s office for a second lesson, she finds him sitting behind his desk with a bullet hole in his forehead. Jaz has accidentally gotten herself involved in something way over her head in a land where she is a stranger and unable to speak the language or even read the street signs. People are trying to kill her and she doesn’t know who or why.
This tale is full of a wide variety of colorful characters and one zany scene after another. Jazmine Davidson is reminiscent of Janet Evanovich’s character Stephanie Plum, but in a radically different environment. It is a fun read that keeps you turning the pages and smiling at the same time. I enjoyed my time in Tel Aviv.
Thanks Goodreads for another First Reads win!
This tale is full of a wide variety of colorful characters and one zany scene after another. Jazmine Davidson is reminiscent of Janet Evanovich’s character Stephanie Plum, but in a radically different environment. It is a fun read that keeps you turning the pages and smiling at the same time. I enjoyed my time in Tel Aviv.
Thanks Goodreads for another First Reads win!
May 17, 2012
For me, there isn’t anything much better than combining a mystery with exotic travel. “Murder, Jaz and Tel Aviv” by Kate McVaugh offers a fascinating story of a young single woman from the United States living in Tel Aviv.
For more read http://www.examiner.com/mystery-books...
For more read http://www.examiner.com/mystery-books...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews