Readers searching for another of those cliche ridden thrillers about brave Israeli Mossad agents pursuing bloody Arab terrorists or conniving Iranian arm smugglers should not read this book or any other mysteries about Avram Cohen, an Israeli detective whose complex personality and the moral dilemmas he faces in his work reflect the Real Reality of contemporary Israel.

It is an Israel that is a colorful social and political mosaic,and has a dark side that is unfamiliar even to those Americans and Europeans who observe the politics of the Jewish state on a daily basis: the decadent lifestyle of Tel-Aviv; religious fanatics and political extermists; Russian gangsters and serial killers; a society that is moving beyond the idealism and unity of the early Zionist era, projecting the kind of political and social polarization that led to the assassination of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin.

Rosenberg, a former correspondent for The Jerusalem Post and Time magazine,who operates an Israeli based webzine is able to provide us with the flavor and the vibes of this New Israel. He is also a very talented writer who has created in Avram Cohen an original character who is becoming more interesting and more intriguing in each new mystery that is added to the series.

I don't want to ruin the reader's pleasure by revealing the plot in "An Accidental Murder." What Rosenberg does in his new novel is to tie the past with the present, and focus on the way history -- including the Holocaust -- still effects the Israeli psyche.

In any case, if you like intelligent and literary mysteries, if you enjoy reading John Le Carre, if The Third Man is one of your favorite films, and if you are interested in the politics of Israel and the Middle East, you should get to know Avram Cohen.

Leon Hadar

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