An unexpected murder. A suspect with a reason. The power of unwavering belief.
A murder has been committed in an office in Jerusalem. That’s for sure. The rest is not as clear-cut as it might seem.
Asaf languishes in his cell, unable to tell his story even to himself. How can he tell it to someone who elicits such fear within him?
His colleague, Nathalie, has studied Beauty and the Beast. She understands its moral. Maybe that’s why she’s the only one who believes in Asaf, the suspect. But she’s new in the company – and in the country. Would anyone take her opinion seriously?
She coerces her flatmates, Yarden and Tehila, into helping her investigate. As they uncover new trails, will they be able to reverse popular opinion?
In the end, will Beauty’s belief be strong enough to waken the Beast? Or, in this case, can Style waken the Solitary?
Review
Having lived in Jerusalem for a year I jumped at the chance at being able to read this book as I love anything to do with Jerusalem. I also love crime fiction, so this was a no brainer. I loved the premise of the book, a retelling of beauty and the beast and was intrigued to see if it would work.
Let me reassure you straight away that it most definitely worked. From first word to last, this book is fabulous. The characters are well drawn with a lot of depth and nuances of characterisation. I found myself both drawn to them and empathising. I would say they are true to the Israeli people and culture. Asaf and Nathalie, the main characters are realistic and I found myself imaging them and their character traits, perfectly. I could genuinely feel Asaf's bewilderment, confusion and pain, and found myself wanting to take him away from it all.
Drori is a skilled wordsmith, with a real gift for writing, something which is evident in every skilful word and sentence. She uses the words to draw the reader in and to keep them reading. The pace is swift and at no point did I feel the storyline flagging; in fact, the very opposite was true. I toyed the story which tantalises and intrigues in equal measure and I genuinely wanted to know the outcome.
I could not review this without mentioning the setting, Jerusalem. Whilst setting does not play a major part in this story, what was sprinkled in was enough to give the reader a flavour and transport me back to my time living in the City.
To conclude, an excellent and well written crime novel which I would highly recommend.
That is it for another week, Bookaholics. I will be back soon with another reading or writing blog. Until then, keep reading and keep writing.
I was given a copy of this book from the author and blog tour operator as part of the Reading Between the Lines Blog Tours. At no point was I asked to provide a positive review and my review is based on my reading of the book. The links above are affiliate links and I will receive a few pence if you buy the book via the link.
