The Dead Sister (Adam Lapid Mysteries Book 2)

“I knew he was an Arab the moment I saw him.” With these words, Jonathan Dunsky opens The Dead Sister, the second in a series of mysteries featuring Adam Lapid. They are pregnant with meaning, given that the story takes place in Tel Aviv in October 1949.On May 14, 1948, Israel had declared independence. The next day, five Arab nations declared war on Israel, vowing to fight with and on behalf of Palestinian Arabs in order to erase the Jewish state. A U.N.-sponsored armistice ended the war on March 10, 1949.In the aftermath of the war, approximately 700,000 Palestinian Arabs were displaced from their homes, an event they memorialize to this day as the Nakba (“Disaster”). A slightly larger group of Jews were expelled from their ancestral homes in the Middle East, most of them settling in Israel. Tensions continued to run high between Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews, many of whom had literally fought one another just months earlier.So when Ahmed Jamalka asks Adam Lapid to solve the mystery of his sister’s murder, it’s not a foregone conclusion that Lapid will take the case. They had fought on opposite sides of the recent war, after all. But the case has languished in the hands of Tel Aviv police, who think the woman’s death is an honor killing. But larger forces are at work, and Lapid’s sense of justice drives him to follow the clues wherever they lead, whatever forces they offend.And in the end, we discover, as Solzhenitsyn so famously put it: “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart—and through all human hearts.” Arab and Israeli.

It’s not every day that a man who was fighting to destroy you a year ago asks you to help find who killed his sister. Private investigator Adam Lapid, who had fought heroically in Israel’s War for Independence in 1947-48, is confronted with that request. So much for enjoying your coffee at Greta’s Café in downtown Tel Aviv.The client is an Arab; the police suspect his older brothers may have killed the young woman as part of the family’s honor code. She had fallen in love with a Christian, who was more instrested in a short-term fling. The brothers likely killed the Christian but have adamantly denied killing their sister, since someone got to her before they could. Lapid undertakes the job, and soon finds himself dodging pimps and the henchmen; low-life types who haunt seedy hotels; threatening police officers; and his own nightmares about Auschwitz, where his wife, children, and family died in 1944.“The Dead Sister” is the second novel in the Adam Lapid mystery series by Israeli author Jonathan Dunsky. It’s a fast-paced, action-packed novel, and a fine example of the mystery sub-genre of Israeli noir. Dunsky advances Lapid’s personal story as well, and we learn about what happened at Auschwitz (to his family and himself) and how it’s left him a man fundamentally broken.In “The Dead Sister,” Dunsky tells a grabber of a good story, mixing period politics, the violence of organized crime, and a private detective who still can’t come to terms with the loss of his family in the Holocaust. The novel also raises the question of law and justice, and what can happen when the law can’t stretch far enough to ensure justice.

Excellent. It’s a little like a friend who got a new car then asks you to take it for a spin. So you start it up And you’re off. Almost immediately, as you are swept along, you realize this is something very special. Well crafted, rawly exotic, immersive, and it’s only first gear. Then you shift into second and what had been promising in the first is realized in the second. You are swiftly propelled more smoothly, more efficiently, into a culture and time in history that are as complex and intriguing as the environment and characters that form the flesh of this excellent second in the series.I think it won’t take a week........

Adam lapid holucast survivor and PI is,a guy I will like to have in my corner. I have read all the books in this,series a d they are gripping page turners that you never want to put down. Got very emotional a,few times. If you have not read any of these books please do so.

This is another Adam Lapid mystery. Auschwitz survivor and private detective, Lapid has been hired by an Arab to find his sister's killer. The trail leads Lapid into the Tel Aviv underworld, but where it ends up is startling. The story picked up in the end and led to a satisfying ending. The story was good, a little slow in places, and the writing was good. Now, I will start reading the next one.

This was my fourth Adam Lapid mystery. I stumbled onto the first one, and went on from there. Adam is a character of great depth and dimension. He is a fascinating man. The mystery in each book is always a complex puzzle . Each story is intriguing, the setting, the rich details, it all comes to life. I read and feel the heat and the grit.The writing of each book, masterful!

This is my second in the Adam Lapid series and I have enjoyed both of Dunsky's first two books in the series. The mysteries have been interesting, the protagonist appealing and the stories fast paced. My only disappointment is that they get read too quickly. That doesn't mean that the story is too short - it's just that it is one you don't want to put down. I just ordered book number 3 in the series.

Second in the series, the main character develops further. The mystery is good; the historical setting us interesting. What makes these novels special is the characters and situations are closer to reality than in a standard mystery. Justice may be served but in a different method from what is typical in this type of story. In addition to that, the characters are not perfect; they have flaws.

The second book in the Adam Lapid series of crime thriller books by this writer. I downloaded it immediately after finishing the first and have become a fan of this Detective and the books set in the era of the early days of the State of Israel just a few short years after the end of the second World War and with the holocaust and the loss of his entire family very much a part of who Adam is and how he feels about death loss and retribution in his work as a Private Investigator, his own experiences colouring the way he thinks about justice. "I was not averse to killing murderers, especially not the murderers of women.". I like the way Mr. Dunsky writes , and I feel his first person protagonist has a lot more depth than many crime main characters do. He doesn't step away from challenges and the cases are different and unusual. "I was pursuing a case the police higher-ups wanted dead and buried and forgotten and I was in possession of a police report I had no business reading ."So : great stuff. Enjoyed it enormously. Not quite as gripping as the first book in the series (for me) but still good and I will definitely be buying the third book as I find the writing and main character engaging.

I kept seeing these books advertised on Facebook by Jonathan Dunsky so decided to give them a go. I read his first book Ten Years Gone. The series is about a detective called Adam Lapid in the late 1940's set in Israel. They gave you an insight to what had happened during and before that time period regarding WW2 and Israel. I found his second book The Dead Sister more or less the same as his first book....a bit repetitive. I'm undecided whether to read anymore in this series?

The second episode in the Adam Lapid series. Adam works as a private detective in 1949 Tel Aviv, and is hired by a local Arab to find the murderer of his sister. This leads Adam to the darker side of life in Tel Aviv and Jaffa, where the local criminals and corrupt officers in the police force hold sway.You get a true period feel of life in newly independant Israel, where shortages and rationing are the norm --- I like the fact that Adam either walks or travels by bus --- private vehicles being uncommon at the time.A worthwhile follow up to Ten Years Gone

I really like this author and enjoyed his first book. And he didn't disappoint with this book. Starts off slowly and draws you in. It's like your in the book with Adam and willing him on. The characters are very believable so are the storylines.

This is the second Adam Lapis book I have read but it won't be the last. If you like books of this genre, I would give these a try. I found it difficult to put down. The narrative rattles along; Adam Lapid is the honourable private detective who makes sure justice is done; and it's all set in a very believable world. Now, let's get the third book.