The Samaritan's Secret (Omar Yussef Series #3) by Matt Beynon Rees
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(Hardcover)
- Pub. Date: February 2009
- 288pp
- Sales Rank: 117,434
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: February 2009
- Publisher: Soho Press, Incorporated
- Format: Hardcover, 288pp
- Sales Rank: 117,434
- Series: Omar Yussef Series, #3
- ISBN-13: 9781569475454
- ISBN: 1569475458
Synopsis
"In Nablus, there were centuries of wickedness for him to uncover beneath every ancient stone."
Omar Yussef journeys to Nablus with his family for the wedding of his policeman friend Sami Jaffari. Omar had met Sami and his fiancee on a previous trip to Gaza. When the son of the leader of the Samaritan community is murdered, Omar is pulled into Sami's investigation. They learn that the victim worked for the Palestinian Authority and controlled hundreds of millions of dollars which is now missing — and the World Bank is threatening to cut off all aid to the Palestians if the money is not found. Omar and Sami must navigate through the dark warrens of the Nablus casbah and the secrets of the Samaritan people to find the killer and recover the missing funds before time runs out.Publishers Weekly
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. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. More Reviews and RecommendationsBiography
Matt Beynon Rees is the former Jerusalem bureau chief for Time. His Omar Yussef mysteries include The Collaborator of Bethlehem (winner of the Crime Writers' Association New Blood Dagger Award) and A Grave in Gaza. He is also the author of the nonfiction work Cain's Field: Faith, Fratricide, and Fear in the Middle East. Born in Wales, he lives in Jerusalem and maintains a website at www.mattbeynonrees.com.
Customer Reviews
The third Yussef amateur sleuth mystery is a timely exciting taleby harstan
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January 09, 2009:
In Nablus, Palestine, someone murders Palestinian Authority employee Ishaq and apparently stole the millions he controlled as part of his government job. The World Bank is furious with the shoddy funds control and the strong possibility of government corruption involved in the theft; they threaten to cut off future financing unless the money is found and used appropriately.
Fifty-seven year old Palestinian history teacher Omar Yussef knows investigating on the West Bank is dangerous, but gets involved anyway. He quickly realizes no one in Nablus thought highly of the deceased; in fact most people scorned Ishaq as a bad Samaritan, who even in death gets no respect. He soon finds the murder and theft tied to religion and politics and if he is not careful he could become victim number two.
The third Yussef amateur sleuth mystery is a timely exciting tale that provides an in depth look at the Palestine situation from the Moslem perspective. Yussef is a terrific hero who just wants to be an educator, but feels obligated to investigate. Although his inquiries in this case and his previous two seem implausible, no one will care as THE SAMARITAN?S SECRET like A GRAVE IN GAZA and A COLLABORATOR IN BETHLEHEM are superb thrillers because of the profound glimpse into Palestine.
Harriet Klausner
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