I was unable to review this book because of a conflict in my schedule. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused the publisher or the author of the work. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review for you and I look forward to reviewing for you in the future.

Need to read the first book "Murder Under the Bridge" as I felt absolutely no connection with any of the characters not had any idea of where this story picks up from the previous.

When I started reading this book, I realized it was part two of a series. I bought book 1 "Murder Under the Bridge" as it seemed necessary in order to understand this one. It couldn't hold my attention, so I stopped trying after a while. Then I started reading this book, but I didn't finish as I it didn't intrest me.
Maybe if it wasn't in the LGBT category I wouldn't have purchased it. It might me an intersting story about the Israeli Palestinian life, but it's not the topic I wanted to read about.
I can't give it star review, it wouldn't be fair, as it's probably not a bad book, just not something for me. But as NetGalley won't allow me to post this review without one, I'll give it 3 starts. But it's not fair.

It is good to get out of ones comfort zone and learn about other cultures and religions. This book is a tough read because of the subject matter and environment, but also because of the language barrier (I find I stumble and need to reread lines with words I cannot pronounce). So slow moving for me, but that's probably just me. The story was interesting and kept me reading even with my personal troubles.

One thing that bothered me was the mention of the son playing a handheld video game which was revealed to be Gears of War because he likes killing. It is not the killing that bothers me (but anyone living in a war zone must be desensitized to it). It was that Gears of War was released for Xbox in 2006 and no handheld version was out at that point. So yeah that bothered me because a simple internet research would have given the author that information if she isn't a gamer.

This is the second book in the Palestine Mystery series but the first one I read. I definitely felt like I had missed something by not reading the first. At the beginning Rania is imprisoned by Israel for something that happened in book 1 - we never quite figure out what that is. Once she is released she is manipulated into solving the murder of a young gay Palestinian man who was said to be killed by an Israeli soldier.

This book is very political on many levels and a little difficult to follow if you aren't very familiar with the politics of this area. Raphael's political views are very clear in her writing and she doesn't hold back her contempt for the Israeli government or military. I wish she had focused a little more on the Palestinian LGBT advocates and gay culture in a place where being gay is a death sentence, instead of the settlements and checkpoints although I know writing a book set in this part of the world can't eliminate this all together. It almost felt like the mystery got lost in the politics.

There are many layers to the mystery due to the secretive and hidden nature of most lgbt people in Palestine. I almost missed the big reveal of who murdered Daoud. It seemed almost anticlimactic and more of a side note.

This is a good mystery but too heavily bogged down with Palestine vs Israel politics. The author did an admirable job on touching on the Palestinian lgbt ignorance and intolerance but it still could have been more. I really wanted to like this book. I loved Rania the tough, female detective trying to balance her family and career in a very patriarchal society and culture but even with that it had a hard time keeping my interest.

3 1/2 Stars. I knew this was not going to be an easy read. But I do like to challenge myself to read something that doesn't have swords, vamps, spaceships or an angst filled romance. While it was not an easy read because of the subjects, the book flowed and was well written. This is book 2 in a series. I did not read book 1 and don't feel I am missing out on much.

The story is about a Palestinian police woman Rania, who is thrown in Jail from her last case. Her friend, a Jewish American woman Chloe, rushes back to try to get her free. The only way for Rania to be free, is to agree to solve a murder of a young Palestinian man. Will Rani be able to solve the case, and get her job and family back?

This book is pretty political. It does seem Raphael leans more towards pro Palestinian (or at least the book had that feeling). Being an American, it is more pro Israeli here. It was very interesting seeing another point of view. Raphael was able to do this without jamming it down your throat, and making it clear there is bad and good on both sides. Also, making it clear how hard it can be on women and the LGBT community in a Palestinian society. Some of it was pretty awful honestly, and not easy to read.

For me this book was more a book with LGBT characters than "lesfic", though that is an argument in its own right. Rania, is married with a son, while Chloe is a lesbian, with a girlfriend. Both main characters are very likeable, Raphael does characters well. Though to be honest, Rania's young son was a scary kid character.

I was leaning towards a 4 star rating, the book was pretty powerful. But there was infidelity that was just swept under the rug. It is a big pet peeve of mine. If you are going to tackle that subject, you have to see it through. So the book lost a half star for that.

This is not an easy read, but I'm glad I read it though. I like books that make me think and feel, and that is the perfect definition of this book.

An ARC was given to from Netgalley, for a honest review

3,5 stars.

I decided NOT to write my review immediately after I had finished this book in order to distance myself from political influence and to concentrate only on the fictional content, but it was not THAT easy. Well...It is not a fairy tale about a unicorn that got lost in the wood. It is a Palestinian mystery set in the middle of a long-time conflict, the conflict that is so old and established that meanwhile no one really knows when and how it began, but the worst is – no one really no how to solve it. Do you think it is possible to avoid politics in a novel like this?

The Plot:

The main character, Rania, is a female Palestine detective, who investigates on her own the murder of a young Palestinian man. She is officially not on duty, taking rest, after having being released from an Israel’s jail where she was kept imprisoned without charge. Rania wants to find evidence to prove that it was Israelis solders who shot the Palestinian student. That means compensation money from the Israel’s army for his family. For the local Palestinian police department the case is clear but insolvable, but not for Rania and her detective instincts. Though the deeper she gets into the investigation, the more involved people she interviews, the more doubts she has about the case. Her suspicion grows stronger when she finds out that the murdered Palestinian student was gay. Will Rania stay true to her principles of justice or will she stop digging and accept the official version?



OK. I'll try to be OBJECTIVE.

It was less a mystery but rather an exceptional introduction into the foreign cultures and traditions. It was an entertaining narrative full of vibrant and colorful images. Kate Raphael doesn't stay on a single perspective, she gives us the story from different angles, different POVs. It is why I would say, the author has more than one parallel story lines.
It made the story in the whole more richly.

At the beginning I found her using of Arabic and Hebrew in dialogues a bit annoying, but soon I understood her reason, and appreciate it. It is indispensable for the development of the plot. Her characters are Jews, Palestinians and Americans, and it is important to know who winch language uses at the very moment.

Everything in this book feels very real. The author knows too good not only the difficult backdrop of the Israel-Palestine issue but also a Palestinian day-to-day life. No wonder- she lived in Palestine for a while and have close connections to LGBT community there, she has friends in Palestine. It is the reason why this book has understandings more for the one side than for another.

But I had a hard time reading through some episodes. With all my understanding of author's personal experience. Though I am aware that this story is told from the Palestinian's view, and – desired or not – I believe that she doesn't exaggerate, unfortunately also about the mutual hatred of Israelis and Palestinians.

I won't define this book as an extremely enjoyable read, because the topic is just a way too complicated and too serious and bloody to use the word “joy”, but it was a very interesting and somehow an exceptional read. With a solid and vivid writing style, authentic characters, an entertaining narrative flow from the different perspectives, with more than just one story line coined by vibrant and colorful images and with an ending that could have been very satisfying if not a spoon of tar in a barrel of honey on the very top. But maybe it is just me being subjective.

It is a second book in the series, but one can read it as a stand-alone. And the author made me curious enough to looking forward to the next installment of the series.

A worthy installment in this series. This is my second Rania book and I'm very willing to read more.

We know clearly where Raphael's allegiance is but she is also able to give different perspectives which allowed me to get hints of the murky complicated bigger picture in which this story is set.

In a way this setting which places great danger on the 'investigator', danger of life, danger of family, danger of livelihood and danger of liberty, reminds me in a little way of reading 'crime' books set in say Italy's 'anni di piombo' were there too the investigator and his family face life threatening dangers. Raphael writes this nimble and precarious dance the investigator must dance quite well.

This was the first book I have read by this author. I gave it 3.5 stars because in my opinion it was a very political and religious novel. The story is a mystery regarding gay youths in Israel and Palestine.

The beginning was weird. It starts with the main character being imprisoned by Isreaie police. Rania is a Palestinian police woman and ten moths prior to her imprisonment she found out something about two of Israel's top military men. She thought she got away with it only to be imprisoned now. Her friend Chloe from America comes to help get her released.

When she is released many think she has been recruited as an informer. Her work will not let her return and her husband wants a baby. Everything seems to be working against her, even her son is acting weird around her. So she decides to look into the recent death of a male youth in the Palestinian district. Everyone insists the Isreal army was to blame but she wasn't convinced so started to investigate against advise of her husband and superiors. What she finds is a whole underworld network of gay and lesbian people who she apparently was totally unaware off. She now looks at Chloe differently as she is a lesbian and lives with her partner Tina. A young man Daoud has been shot and he was gay and worked as a female impersonator in a club.

Daoud was unfortunately killed because of his lifestyle and what it would do to his family. Rania and Chloe close the case finding who and why he was murdered.

It is a very good mystery but you have to work through the political and religious intricacies which are huge. Not only that the author introduces you to the correct way to speak to people and that gets really confusing. She also shows you how the Palestinians are treated and the amount of suspicion there is in their lives. It is a good read but there is a lot to sort through and the use of different languages only adds to your frustration hence the reason I gave it 3.5 stars.

The mystery itself I'd have given it 4 stars but the rights and wrongs of dealing with the various authorities and groups was immense and think it took away from the story. However I have become more aware of the struggles within the area. Maybe that was the point.

If you want something that is challenging and needs brain power this is for you. If not I would not recommend it. Enjoy!



*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2052711072

amazon 19 september

Interesting story but the mystery was a mystery and missing in action. Set in the Middle East, I thought the read was informative especially cultural information related to the people and why there is conflict and the daily life of the LGBT community. I rejoiced in the determination and tenacity of Chole and Rania.

The story was captivating enough to keep reading but the mystery was not really there. I liked the book because it explained the differences between the Isralis and Palestian people and the problems at the West bank. The book exlained the situtation of the middle east better and how the LGBT community lives there. I did not read the first book but other than a few names and some smaller backstories, I did not feel like it mattered. I think it can easly be read as a standalone book.

When you pick up a mystery with LGBT themes set in Ramallah, Palestine, you know you are in for some uniquely different reading. Chloe, a queer activist from San Francisco, flies to the Middle East when she learns that her friend Rania, a Palestinian policewoman, is in prison. The author lived in Palestine for over a year, and her depiction of the interplay between Arabs and Jews, politics, and personal relationships combine to bring insight into a largely unfamiliar culture. A glossary of both Hebrew and Arabic words is also included.

This is the first book I have read by Kate Jessica Raphael and wish that I read the first book in this series. I felt like I was playing catch-up due to the fact that there were a lot of references made of things that happened in the first book. It can be a stand alone book but better if you read the first book "Murder Under the Bridge".
The story was good but the mystery not much of a mystery. What I did find very interesting was learning more about the issues in the West Bank between the Palestinians and the Israelis. How internal politics are always at play as well as the politics between the two.. Which all related via the well developed characters old and new and the story itself.

This is a fascinating book which gave me an in depth look at a culture that I know very little about. In addition to being an absorbing mystery it gave me a look into what life is like for Palestinians, and especially what it means to be a gay Palestinian living in a culture that so disrespects that life choice. This is a story that I will remember for a long time.