Bethlehem Road Murder

This is a really interesting insight into the political and ethnical varieties in the Israel and specifically Jerusalem. It also examines some less than glorious moments in the country's history. Gur places her murder in an ethnically mixed neighborhood of Jerusalem and brings to the surface the suspicion and antagonism this "melting pot" causes in its inhabitants. Some of the recurring secondary characters gets a deeper involvement in this installment of the series and get to represent some of the political viewpoints, from the Arab-hating extreme to the overly liberal. As in other books in the series, the killer and the motive are pretty easy to guess, but it's still a nice mystery because of the high stakes. In earlier books, Gur has show more concentrated on very limited groups (psychoanalysts, kibbutzniks, musicians, etc.) and has stayed away from overt politics, but this story, set during the Second Intifada, relays the fear that an unstable society will cause its citizens - you just never know who and where the enemy is. show less

Setting her novel in an ethnically mixed neighborhood of Jerusalem, Israeli novelist Batya Gur continues the career of Chief Superintendent Michael Ohayon, formerly a historian, now a police investigator. In this fifth book in the series, Michael Ohayon investigates a particularly gory murder. An apparently beautiful young woman has been murdered in the attic of a house undergoing renovations, her face beaten to a pulp. No one knows how she might have been lured to such a place or why she might have been murdered.
Zahara Bashari, the victim, has been developing a small museum "for the splendor of Yemenite culture" in the basement of a local synagogue. Complex political issues exist between the Yemenites, known as the Mizrahis, and the show more Ashkenazis (Russian Jews), and Zahara believes that the Ashkenazim want to wipe out everything that distinguishes the Yemenite Jews. Furthermore, in the 1950s, Yemenite babies were kidnapped from their parents and given to others to raise, and Zahara wants to find out more about this period and what might have happened to one of her own kin.

The investigation is centered on the neighborhood, where Zahara's parents and their next door neighbors have not spoken for years. Nessia, a lonely, young girl with no friends, idolizes Zahara and follows her movements in the neighborhood, collecting "souvenirs" of Zahara's life, and looking for some sort of recognition-until she, too, disappears. Zahara's personal life proves to be complex, and her previously unknown ownership of an apartment and substantial savings account prove particularly worrisome.

The rivalries and tensions within the neighborhood and the police reflect all aspects of society and all political and social movements. Though Ohayon is a moderate in his views toward Arabs, Danny Balilty, deputy commander of the intelligence division, is a hard-liner. Within the neighborhood, however, residents work with and hire Arab contractors, some have friends who are Arabs, and some express annoyance at the strict measures imposed by their government to prohibit the work of Arabs except under certain circumstances.

Though the novel is filled with information about a unique way of life, the mystery is not always easy to follow. Pronoun references are sometimes unclear, the translation is occasionally awkward, and digressions slow down the action. Ohayon's dissertation on love during his courtship, for example, wanders on too long and lessens the tension. Still, author Batya Gur has some good psychological insights into character, especially of the fat, young girl Nessia, and Gur's ability to juggle innumerable characters and plot ideas is admirable. show less

Bethlehem Road Murder takes place in Jerusalem in a community locked in the ancient culture of Israeli society. They have their own way of governing; their own way of thinking. In the middle of this community lies a mystery. A beautiful woman is brutally murdered. Chief Superintendent Michael Ohayon must investigate the crime and solve the mystery while keeping within in line with the constraints of the rules of a close-knit community. Political and religion tensions between Jews and Arabs only serve to complicate the case. Of course, no murder mystery would not be complete without a little romantic intrigue and psychological guess work. Gur does not disappoint.

A mystery that gives us insight into Israeli culture and history. The detective, Michael Ohayon, is a sensitive yet critical observer-actor in these proceedings.

One of only a handful mysteries set in Israel (author died much too soon) which all depict a fascinating slice of life in modern Israel. In this one, in a house, ready to be renovated, the bludgeoned body of a young woman is found. She turns out to be of Yemenite background. Gur brings out all the conflicts among the different groups of jews in this not at all homogenous country, Israel.

Everything of Batya Gur's is superb.

Israelische Autorin (1947-2005).