A Walk in the Darkness by Jon Land (Tor)
Jon Land is an American thriller writer. He has written two detective series—the Caitlin Strong novels about a fifth generation Texas ranger and the Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea series featuring a Palestinian Detective and an Inspector of Israel’s National Police.
A Walk in the Darkness is the third book in the Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea series. The story opens with an incident that took place in Jerusalem in around 33 A.D. This relates to another incident which took place in Ephesus, Turkey almost 2000 years later.
“1948: An archaeological team in Turkey is slaughtered after making an earth-shattering discovery. More than fifty years later, a group of American archaeologists is murdered in the Judean desert”.
Inspector Barnea is investigating a crime scene in the desert. A member of the Israeli Defense Force says he wasn’t expecting someone from the National Police Force as the Judean desert falls under military jurisdiction. The Inspector informs the sergeant that would be true if there it were a security issue but the murder of foreign nationals is a civilian issue, unless terrorism is involved. However, the victims were part of an American archeological team who were invited at the request by the government of Israel.
Fourteen people had been killed, shot at point blank range, in the back of the head, twelve Americans and two others. Barnea is given a list of the victims and is shocked to see the name at the bottom. It’s a name she recognized, the nephew of Palestinian detective Ben Kamal.
Detective Kamal heads out to the Judean desert but is told by an Israeli army sergeant that he has entered a restricted area. He shows his ID and informed the Israeli army sergeant that he’s there at the request of Pakad Barnea of the Israeli National Police Force. The sergeant refuses to budge, insisting that his orders were to deny access to the area to all but those who have the proper authorization. Inspector Barnea intervenes and Ben is allowed to pass.
Although Inspector Barnea tells Ben that he’s not there in an investigatory capacity, the death of Kama’s nephew sparks in him a need to find out more. There is one witness but nobody can understand what he is saying as he speaks in a dialect the Israelis are unfamiliar with. However it’s a dialect that Ben’s father taught him when he was young.
From what Ben can gather, the archaeologists had found something of great historic value. Barnea reluctantly recruits Kamal’s help in the investigation in which they find more than just the discovery of an item that could change the world as we know it. They uncover a conspiracy that is an even greater threat to the Palestinian people and the entire West Bank.
The Middle East remains one of the most volatile regions in the world. The Arab-Israeli issue remains at the heart of the conflict. Land’s depiction of both the Israelis and Palestinians puts you in the heart of the region. His latest story blends a bit of Dan Brown-like history (as in The Da Vinci Code) with current day politics in the Middle East. It’s a fascinating blend of fact and fiction which will keep you on the edge of your seat. We can only hope that one day peace will come to the Middle East. ~Ernie Hoyt