The Samaritan's Secret

December 22, 2008
No crime, whether a theft or murder, is an isolated event in Palestine; it's an intersection of religious, cultural and political issues, as shown in Rees's absorbing third Omar Yussef mystery (after 2008's A Grave in Gaza
). Omar Yussef, a 57-year-old history teacher, becomes immersed in finding who killed Ishaq, a member of the tiny, ancient Samaritan community on the outskirts of Nablus. While his fellow Samaritans didn't respect Ishaq, he controlled millions of dollars of government money through his job at the Palestinian Authority—money that's now missing. Unless the funds can be found, the World Bank will cut off all financial aid to Palestine. If the quiet Yussef stretches believability as a sleuth, Rees excels in capturing the essence of Palestine, from the claustrophobic casbah with its myriad scents to the harsh beauty of the countryside. Rees vividly illustrates daily Palestinian life, where violence is a constant threat and religious attitudes permeate each decision.

December 1, 2008
Layers of secrets and a tradition of distrust complicate a mysterious Israeli murder case.

Visiting the Palestinian city of Nablus to see his grandchildren and attend the wedding of a friend, Lt. Sami Jaffari of the National Police, Omar Yussef (A Grave in Gaza, 2008, etc.) gets drawn by inches into an unusual murder. Sami spots him on the street, pulls up in a Nablus police car and drives him to a Samaritan synagogue, where the priceless Abisha Scroll has been stolen. When Samaritan priest Jibril Ben-Tabia reports that the Scroll has been safely returned, Sami and Omar Yussef prepare to deconstruct this obvious lie, but murder thickens the plot. The victim, a Samaritan named Ishaq who worked for the Palestinian Authority, was beaten, tortured and thrown down a hill. The cool reaction of Ishaq 's widow Roween to his death piques Omar Yussef 's interest. His discovery that the dead man was homosexual is the first piece of a complex puzzle set in a town a world apart from Bethlehem, where Omar Yussef works for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. The local turmoil clashes strangely with the festivity of the upcoming wedding and, despite some distance from his son, Omar Yussef 's joy over his grandchildren. Rees probes the racial and political crosscurrents of volatile Nablus from Omar Yussef 's perspective as a Palestinian Christian who no longer drinks alcohol or believes in God.

The depth and heart in Omar Yussef 's third case makes it a tearjerker as well as a page-turner.

(COPYRIGHT (2008) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from January 15, 2009
Stressing that there are good people on either side of any political/religious conflict (Fatah vs. Hamas and Palestine vs. Israel), journalist Rees spins a tale of secrets in his third book featuring Omar Yussef, a Palestinian teacher with police contacts. The death of a young Samaritan who controlled the Palestinian Authority's millions of dollars launches a race to find the missing funds and places Yussef's family in the path of danger. Much touted for his previous mysteries ("The Collaborator of Bethlehem; A Grave in Gaza"), Rees does not disappoint here. His smooth writing style and careful plotting are on a par with the much-acclaimed Israeli author Batya Gur. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 10/1/08.]

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 15, 2008
Rees makes it three for three with his latest Omar Yussef mystery. This time the Bethlehem history teacher is in strife-torn Nablus to attend the wedding of a family friend. Nablus is home to the small Samaritan community, which follows its ancient traditions in the midst of the ongoing violence between Palestinians and Israelis. Yussef, ever the historian, jumps at the chance to visit the Samaritan synagogue and learn more about their beliefs, but he is quickly engulfed in a murder investigation. One of the Samaritans, a young man who worked for Arafat (the old president) and controlled millions of the leaders under-the-table money, has been murdered, and the funds are missing. Yussef throws himself into the daunting task of following the money and thus stopping the World Bank from cutting off aid to Palestine. As in The Collaborator of Bethlehem (2007) and A Grave in Gaza (2008), Rees not only offers a perceptive look at complex international political issues but also help us to understand those issues in the context of everyday livesof Palestinians attempting to dodge bullets coming in all directions (from Israelis but also from rival factions within their own country) and carry on with the business of falling in love, marrying, raising children. Constantly at risk from all manner of idealists with guns, Yussef soldiers on, his concern for individual human lives standing in stark contrast to the world around him.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

December 1, 2008
Layers of secrets and a tradition of distrust complicate a mysterious Israeli murder case.

Visiting the Palestinian city of Nablus to see his grandchildren and attend the wedding of a friend, Lt. Sami Jaffari of the National Police, Omar Yussef (A Grave in Gaza, 2008, etc.) gets drawn by inches into an unusual murder. Sami spots him on the street, pulls up in a Nablus police car and drives him to a Samaritan synagogue, where the priceless Abisha Scroll has been stolen. When Samaritan priest Jibril Ben-Tabia reports that the Scroll has been safely returned, Sami and Omar Yussef prepare to deconstruct this obvious lie, but murder thickens the plot. The victim, a Samaritan named Ishaq who worked for the Palestinian Authority, was beaten, tortured and thrown down a hill. The cool reaction of Ishaq's widow Roween to his death piques Omar Yussef's interest. His discovery that the dead man was homosexual is the first piece of a complex puzzle set in a town a world apart from Bethlehem, where Omar Yussef works for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. The local turmoil clashes strangely with the festivity of the upcoming wedding and, despite some distance from his son, Omar Yussef's joy over his grandchildren. Rees probes the racial and political crosscurrents of volatile Nablus from Omar Yussef's perspective as a Palestinian Christian who no longer drinks alcohol or believes in God.

The depth and heart in Omar Yussef's third case makes it a tearjerker as well as a page-turner.

(COPYRIGHT (2008) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)