For decades, Omar Yussef has taught history to the children of Bethlehem. When a favourite former pupil, George Saba, is arrested for collaborating with the Israelis in the killing of a Palestinian guerrilla, Yussef is convinced that he has been framed. With George facing imminent execution Yussef sets out to prove his innocence.As Yussef falls foul of his headmaster and the local police chief, time begins to run out for this teacher-turned-detective. His classroom is bombed and members of his family are threatened. But with no one else willing to stand up for the truth, it is up to Omar to act, even as bloodshed and heartbreak surround him.
The Bethlehem Murders
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Matt Rees's cunning, atmospheric book about life in the dark labyrinth of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian statelet passes every important test. It absorbs you to the end. It conjures up a world of which most of us know nothing and makes it real and believable, with details discovered from personal experience. Like Eric Ambler, whose main characters are always reassuringly imperfect, Rees is careful to make sure his hero is not too good to be true. Omar Yussef is a history teacher, old and not too well, tempted by the bottle, near the end of his career, unwisely trying to do an honest job in a school system controlled by political gangsters and informers. Yussef's sort of history, cool and truthful, is at odds with the Palestinan authorities who want propaganda and myths about martyrdom. -- Peter Hitchens -- The Mail on Sunday 12/8/2007
The Bethlehem Murders has been nominated for the Crime Writers Association's John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger. Judges' comments: `The intensity and integrity of the novel gave it credibility and placed the crime into its social and political context. The scenes of destruction and terror in Bethlehem are well explored and the characterisation excellent. An excellent debut novel.' -- Crime Writers Association website, June 4, 2008
The Bethlehem Murders has been nominated for the Crime Writers Association's John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger. Judges' comments: `The intensity and integrity of the novel gave it credibility and placed the crime into its social and political context. The scenes of destruction and terror in Bethlehem are well explored and the characterisation excellent. An excellent debut novel.' -- Crime Writers Association website, June 4, 2008
From the Author
The aim of my fiction is to take real stories I covered as a
journalist and to weave them together to make a single mystery. It's
thrilling crime fiction, but I believe it also gets much closer to the
truth about the Palestinians and the way they live than anything you'll
read in news reports.
The site has audio and video from Bethlehem, including some of the real
locations featured in the book, as well as reviews and interviews. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
journalist and to weave them together to make a single mystery. It's
thrilling crime fiction, but I believe it also gets much closer to the
truth about the Palestinians and the way they live than anything you'll
read in news reports.
The site has audio and video from Bethlehem, including some of the real
locations featured in the book, as well as reviews and interviews. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful
By Danny K
Format:Hardcover
I've read quite a lot of crime fiction set in countries other than the US and the UK but this has to be the pick of the bunch so far. What I loved about it was that it pulled off the classic challenge that I think all crime writers face: To both suck you in entirely by its pure story-telling and yet to sort of quietly educate you and let you into an entirely new world. To be honest, I've always found the Middle East a bit confusing and I haven't paid an enormous amount of attention but after reading The Bethlehem Murders the place is more real to me than anywhere else I see on the news or read about in the newspapers. I can see the people and the places in my mind's eye. But back to the story...I won't give anything away, of course, but to have a slightly bumbling, older history teacher as your detective is a brilliant idea. He's so likeable, in his grumpiness, and so human. You really find yourself willing him along as he looks for the truth. I can't wait to read what he gets up to in the second book in the series. When is that coming out, by the way?
I could go on but I'd just say that if you want a fast, exciting read that also tells you more about this fascinating, crucial part of the world than you'll ever pick up from the papers, this is for you.
I could go on but I'd just say that if you want a fast, exciting read that also tells you more about this fascinating, crucial part of the world than you'll ever pick up from the papers, this is for you.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the first in Matt Rees' Omar Yussef novels, and he's a great find.
With so many other authors treading the line of American detectives, FBI agents and the like, Rees introduces us to Yussef, a school teacher, caught up in the madness that is present day Bethlehem.
Forced to investigate a strange murder, Yussef discovers there's disturbing things going on amidst his fellow Palestinians as they target a traditional Christian family for daring to stand up for truth. Yussef, himself a Muslim, finds that hate and money are powerful bedfellows, no matter what place you are born, or what you believe.
Well paced, original thriller, give it a go.
With so many other authors treading the line of American detectives, FBI agents and the like, Rees introduces us to Yussef, a school teacher, caught up in the madness that is present day Bethlehem.
Forced to investigate a strange murder, Yussef discovers there's disturbing things going on amidst his fellow Palestinians as they target a traditional Christian family for daring to stand up for truth. Yussef, himself a Muslim, finds that hate and money are powerful bedfellows, no matter what place you are born, or what you believe.
Well paced, original thriller, give it a go.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The ageing, history teacher of ill health seems a little slow/cerebal or possibly odd as the central character. However you are very quickly drawn into the world of his family, work, local palestinian politics and the murder investigation. Even working out the who did what and what would be the outcome (unusual for me) did not spoil a damn good read. The sence of place and a window on its culture was really interesting. I will be ordering the next Omar Yussef novel.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
another great birth in bethlehem
I loved this book right from the start and feel I have found a new hero whose exploits I look forward to following. Read more
Published on 9 Feb 2011 by A. Browne
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping novel based on very sad real events
This is the first of the Omar Yussef detective novels and it introduces us to the dark world of the Palestinian intefada. Read more
Published on 13 May 2009 by Colin Fortune
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dubious career choice
By the end of this novel, clearly written as the first in a series, the protagonist has decided that his future lies in being a detective. Read more
Published on 11 Sep 2008 by Graham R. Hill
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