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The Righteous Men
The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth. . . .
A teenage computer prodigy is mortally strangled in Mumbai. A far-right extremist is killed in a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest. A wealthy businessman is murdered in Thailand. A pimp in Brooklyn is found stabbed to death and mysteriously covered by a brown shroud. What connects the victims is an ancient prophecy that leads to the end of the world, and it's up to Will Monroe, a fledgling reporter at the New York Times, to stop it.
But Monroe's investigation quickly makes him some shadowy enemies, who kidnap his wife and hold her hostage in Crown Heights. Desperate to find the link between the killings and to save his wife, he enlists his college sweetheart, TC, an eccentric artist and Kabbalah expert. As the death toll rises, they follow a trail of clues that seems to lead inexorably to a set of ancient texts containing a prophecy that promises to save the world—or to destroy it.
What will happen when the one secret that has kept the world safe for thousands of years is revealed to all? In The Righteous Men, a blistering thriller filled with mystery, romance, and suspense, Sam Bourne takes readers deep into the hidden worlds of fundamentalist religion, mysticism, and biblical prophecies. This is a visionary tale that is as frightening as it is entertaining. Readers won't stop turning the pages until the very end.
A teenage computer prodigy is mortally strangled in Mumbai. A far-right extremist is killed in a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest. A wealthy businessman is murdered in Thailand. A pimp in Brooklyn is found stabbed to death and mysteriously covered by a brown shroud. What connects the victims is an ancient prophecy that leads to the end of the world, and it's up to Will Monroe, a fledgling reporter at the New York Times, to stop it.
But Monroe's investigation quickly makes him some shadowy enemies, who kidnap his wife and hold her hostage in Crown Heights. Desperate to find the link between the killings and to save his wife, he enlists his college sweetheart, TC, an eccentric artist and Kabbalah expert. As the death toll rises, they follow a trail of clues that seems to lead inexorably to a set of ancient texts containing a prophecy that promises to save the world—or to destroy it.
What will happen when the one secret that has kept the world safe for thousands of years is revealed to all? In The Righteous Men, a blistering thriller filled with mystery, romance, and suspense, Sam Bourne takes readers deep into the hidden worlds of fundamentalist religion, mysticism, and biblical prophecies. This is a visionary tale that is as frightening as it is entertaining. Readers won't stop turning the pages until the very end.
574 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
169 people are currently reading
5,013 people want to read
About the author
Sam Bourne
46books334followersSam Bourne is the literary pseudonym of Jonathan Freedland, an award-winning British journalist and broadcaster. He has written a weekly column for The Guardian since 1997, having previously served as the paper's Washington correspondent. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, The New Republic, and The Jewish Chronicle, and he presents BBC Radio 4's contemporary-history series The Long View.
For nearly two decades he has covered the Middle East conflict, and in 2002 he chaired a three-day dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, which was sponsored by The Guardian. The participants in that meeting went on to broker the 2003 Geneva Accord.
Freedland is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Righteous Men, also a number-one bestseller in the UK, which has been translated into thirty-one languages, and the nonfiction works Jacob's Gift and Bring Home the Revolution. He lives in London with his wife and two children.
For nearly two decades he has covered the Middle East conflict, and in 2002 he chaired a three-day dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, which was sponsored by The Guardian. The participants in that meeting went on to broker the 2003 Geneva Accord.
Freedland is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Righteous Men, also a number-one bestseller in the UK, which has been translated into thirty-one languages, and the nonfiction works Jacob's Gift and Bring Home the Revolution. He lives in London with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 425 reviews
December 1, 2022
The '' effect continued seeing me pick up similarly themed books to read from the library, like this one - yet another conspiracy thriller built around real world mysteries and events.
Despite what seems to be a very well researched book; what would appear to to be a great concept packed with takes on real-world mysteries and conspiracies, this proved a struggle to get through. Maybe the general tempo and short chapter-larger text style of most thrillers was missing, or it was a simple case of the writer and editor not being good enough? The reported strong book sales would beg to differ, although he doesn't sell anywhere near as well as the very successful people in the thriller genre. Just your basic world spanning suspense thriller with a few insights into religious history. 4 out of 12.
2006 read
Despite what seems to be a very well researched book; what would appear to to be a great concept packed with takes on real-world mysteries and conspiracies, this proved a struggle to get through. Maybe the general tempo and short chapter-larger text style of most thrillers was missing, or it was a simple case of the writer and editor not being good enough? The reported strong book sales would beg to differ, although he doesn't sell anywhere near as well as the very successful people in the thriller genre. Just your basic world spanning suspense thriller with a few insights into religious history. 4 out of 12.
2006 read
July 15, 2015
�The Righteous Men� was the first book from Sam Bourne that I have read and I have mixed feelings about the book. I bought �The Righteous Men�, �The Last Testament� and �The Final Reckoning� � all from the same author - together in 2008 while on a trip and read all three of them back-to-back as I had no other titles with me at the time. All these books are thrillers with political & religious angles and have a fair dose of ancient manuscripts, mysterious artifacts, historical enigma, secret societies and ancient brotherhoods sprinkled within them. The amount of research that has gone into each title is impressive; but when compared to some of the very best writers in the thriller business, Sam Bourne fails to connect much with the reader or captivate.
In ‘The Righteous Men� the plot revolves around the hero Will Monroe � a reporter for New York Times � who is probing about some unexplained killings spread across the globe soon gets threatened by followers of a menacing ancient cult and gets embroiled in a conspiracy of great magnitude with it’s mysteries buried deep into Jewish theology. The part where the author describes the history & practices of Hasidic Jewish community shows that the author has placed some effort into his research, but as a thriller the writer should have put in more efforts.
My experiences with both ‘The Last Testament� and ‘The Final Reckoning� were also in the similar lines with the later being a bit more thrilling and captivating than his first two books.
I have copies of the later novels from the author, ‘The Chosen One� and ‘Pantheon� shelved unopened in my library, but haven’t yet decided on whether to read them or not. I am not saying that his books are total duds, as his novels have all the ingredients necessary for a political/ religious/ historical thriller but his weak characterization and rather long winding narration doesn’t captivate the reader like a master thriller. The writing is not fluid and has its moments of failure and most of the characters including the lead protagonist are hollow and irritating at times.
If you are looking for a passive read with a fair amount of action, mystery, adventure and glimpses of thrills, then you can go for Sam Bourne novels but as a true thriller you may find it a bit disappointing.
In ‘The Righteous Men� the plot revolves around the hero Will Monroe � a reporter for New York Times � who is probing about some unexplained killings spread across the globe soon gets threatened by followers of a menacing ancient cult and gets embroiled in a conspiracy of great magnitude with it’s mysteries buried deep into Jewish theology. The part where the author describes the history & practices of Hasidic Jewish community shows that the author has placed some effort into his research, but as a thriller the writer should have put in more efforts.
My experiences with both ‘The Last Testament� and ‘The Final Reckoning� were also in the similar lines with the later being a bit more thrilling and captivating than his first two books.
I have copies of the later novels from the author, ‘The Chosen One� and ‘Pantheon� shelved unopened in my library, but haven’t yet decided on whether to read them or not. I am not saying that his books are total duds, as his novels have all the ingredients necessary for a political/ religious/ historical thriller but his weak characterization and rather long winding narration doesn’t captivate the reader like a master thriller. The writing is not fluid and has its moments of failure and most of the characters including the lead protagonist are hollow and irritating at times.
If you are looking for a passive read with a fair amount of action, mystery, adventure and glimpses of thrills, then you can go for Sam Bourne novels but as a true thriller you may find it a bit disappointing.
August 10, 2016
Will Monroe, a NY Times Metro reporter trying to prove himself, writes two seemingly unrelated stories that get prominent attention on the newspaper's front page and suddenly finds his world turned upside down.
The first part of the story moved painfully slow, not because of the pace but due to the overwhelming amount of information that couldn't be connected to anything. I struggled to keep focused so it took me longer to finish. Without revealing details you should discover for yourself, Will's main reason for continuing to investigate is what kept me in the story because I had to know.
I'm glad I stuck with it because when that crucial moment came where things started to make more sense, I finished the book in a day. In addition to a really complex mystery was the fascinating world of the Hasidic community, including the customs, practices and history of the Jewish faith. The ending had some jaw-dropping twists, one I suspected, others not so much. My initial issues were worth it in the end.
The first part of the story moved painfully slow, not because of the pace but due to the overwhelming amount of information that couldn't be connected to anything. I struggled to keep focused so it took me longer to finish. Without revealing details you should discover for yourself, Will's main reason for continuing to investigate is what kept me in the story because I had to know.
I'm glad I stuck with it because when that crucial moment came where things started to make more sense, I finished the book in a day. In addition to a really complex mystery was the fascinating world of the Hasidic community, including the customs, practices and history of the Jewish faith. The ending had some jaw-dropping twists, one I suspected, others not so much. My initial issues were worth it in the end.
March 11, 2016
Mother and I have a fair few bookies (that's what we call our second hand book sellers, because we like thinking we're cool), and one of them sold us a second hand copy of this book at dirt cheap rates. I was 15 or something, and really into thrillers back then, so I thought it was a pretty lucrative deal. But I'd never heard of Sam Bourne before, so I didn't jump into the book with utmost enthusiasm. Turns out, he's not half bad. The mystery was pretty fast paced, and it had a serial killer (kinda) in it. I wasn't the biggest fan of William, but I liked the women; both his wife and his ex-girlfriend. The ending was predictable, but yeah, it was pretty damn good.
April 8, 2025
“The Righteous Men� isn’t bad but a bit silly in parts but also a solid page turner. It’s obvious this first novel by Sam Bourne, a pen name for an award-winning journalist from the UK, Jonathan Freedland, is trying to ride the coattails of the then mega bestseller “The Da Vinci Code� by Dan Brown. It even says on the cover of the novel that this is the biggest challenger to Dan Brown’s crown.
The plot concerns a young journalist named Will Monroe, an American who was raised overseas in the UK. He never knew this father very well until he was an adult living in New York City. He’s also married. His wife gets mad at him one day because he forgot the appointment of visiting a fidelity doctor, and that’s the last time he sees her before she is kidnapped. I was a little hazy on the details of how she got kidnapped, and the book doesn’t dive too much into that. However, we quickly find her kidnaping is part of a bigger conspiracy where good men around the world are being killed. Soon Will is thrown into a vast conspiracy which includes a cult which shares beliefs with more mainstream Jewish branches. He also teams up with an old flame, who is constantly described as hot. The author describes her being attractive way too many times throughout the book. However, she has a secret of her own.
The book kept me turning pages and is a solid enough mystery. However, at 568 pages, the book felt a bit too long. “The DaVinci Code�, by contrast, was 489 pages, which felt like enough. It’s going to be hard not to bring up “The DaVinci Code� in this review, because this book obviously wants to be it. One of the things other reviewers pointed out about this book is it’s better written than “The DaVinci Code�, which isn’t that hard but also missing the point. People don’t read Dan Brown for great proses. They read Dan Brown for a conspiracy thriller crossed with travel porn. I’ve read just about every Dan Brown novel myself, and I would be lying if I didn’t say they are fun reads.
However, New York City doesn’t make for great travel porn like Robert Langon running through Paris, and a Jewish cult having a conspiracy isn’t as interesting as an established mega religion like the Catholic Church having one. There are a ton of twists and turns in this book, and Will keeps getting text messages with religious riddles. I was mostly interested in why good people around the world where being murdered. These men being murdered where all doing good deeds, but a good chunk of this book was scenes of Will and his ex-girlfriend running through New York City.
The twist at the end of the book didn’t surprise me, but I’ve read so many of these types of these. All in all, it was a solid page turner.
The plot concerns a young journalist named Will Monroe, an American who was raised overseas in the UK. He never knew this father very well until he was an adult living in New York City. He’s also married. His wife gets mad at him one day because he forgot the appointment of visiting a fidelity doctor, and that’s the last time he sees her before she is kidnapped. I was a little hazy on the details of how she got kidnapped, and the book doesn’t dive too much into that. However, we quickly find her kidnaping is part of a bigger conspiracy where good men around the world are being killed. Soon Will is thrown into a vast conspiracy which includes a cult which shares beliefs with more mainstream Jewish branches. He also teams up with an old flame, who is constantly described as hot. The author describes her being attractive way too many times throughout the book. However, she has a secret of her own.
The book kept me turning pages and is a solid enough mystery. However, at 568 pages, the book felt a bit too long. “The DaVinci Code�, by contrast, was 489 pages, which felt like enough. It’s going to be hard not to bring up “The DaVinci Code� in this review, because this book obviously wants to be it. One of the things other reviewers pointed out about this book is it’s better written than “The DaVinci Code�, which isn’t that hard but also missing the point. People don’t read Dan Brown for great proses. They read Dan Brown for a conspiracy thriller crossed with travel porn. I’ve read just about every Dan Brown novel myself, and I would be lying if I didn’t say they are fun reads.
However, New York City doesn’t make for great travel porn like Robert Langon running through Paris, and a Jewish cult having a conspiracy isn’t as interesting as an established mega religion like the Catholic Church having one. There are a ton of twists and turns in this book, and Will keeps getting text messages with religious riddles. I was mostly interested in why good people around the world where being murdered. These men being murdered where all doing good deeds, but a good chunk of this book was scenes of Will and his ex-girlfriend running through New York City.
The twist at the end of the book didn’t surprise me, but I’ve read so many of these types of these. All in all, it was a solid page turner.
August 14, 2007
THE RIGHTEOUS MEN (Suspense-NYC-Cont) � Poor
Bourne, Sam � 1st book
HarperCollinsPublisher, 2006- UK Hardcover
British born Will Monroe is a fledgling reporter with the New York Times. Murders are occurring around the world. The victims seem to be random until it is realized that each person performs deeds which define him as a righteous man. Will’s wife, Beth, is kidnapped and told not to call the police, they do not want money and that she will be released unharmed in a few days. Will’s search takes him to his father, two old friends, and into the Hassidic community of New York City.
*** The legend behind this story is, apparently, real and I really wanted to like this book. The best thing I can say about this book is that it did keep me turning the pages, but I’m not certain why. Will was neither a particularly interesting or bright character. The strongest character in the book was his former girlfriend, TC. One major point in the book which prevented Will from being immediately murdered was painfully wrong; obviously the author did not know about medical procedures common for U.S. male babies as recent as the 1980s. Toward the end, I was really hoping the story was not taking the very predictable path it was; but it did. So I read it, I finished it, but don’t know that I’ll read another Mr. Bourne who is, in fact, England’s Guardian's political correspondent Jonathan Freedland. I’d have used a pseudonym, too, had I written this.
Bourne, Sam � 1st book
HarperCollinsPublisher, 2006- UK Hardcover
British born Will Monroe is a fledgling reporter with the New York Times. Murders are occurring around the world. The victims seem to be random until it is realized that each person performs deeds which define him as a righteous man. Will’s wife, Beth, is kidnapped and told not to call the police, they do not want money and that she will be released unharmed in a few days. Will’s search takes him to his father, two old friends, and into the Hassidic community of New York City.
*** The legend behind this story is, apparently, real and I really wanted to like this book. The best thing I can say about this book is that it did keep me turning the pages, but I’m not certain why. Will was neither a particularly interesting or bright character. The strongest character in the book was his former girlfriend, TC. One major point in the book which prevented Will from being immediately murdered was painfully wrong; obviously the author did not know about medical procedures common for U.S. male babies as recent as the 1980s. Toward the end, I was really hoping the story was not taking the very predictable path it was; but it did. So I read it, I finished it, but don’t know that I’ll read another Mr. Bourne who is, in fact, England’s Guardian's political correspondent Jonathan Freedland. I’d have used a pseudonym, too, had I written this.
October 20, 2008
This was real page turner. Will Monroe, Jr. is a twenty-something reporter with the New York Times who has stumbled onto something odd. Someone is killing righteous men all across the planet. While investigating this, Monroe encounters troubling forces in Brooklyn’s Hassidic community, and ultimately uncovers a plot based in obscure religious belief, effected by a surprising cast of villains. Oh yeah, his wife is kidnapped by the Hassids and he is pursued by the evil-doers. It is Da-Vinci-Code-fun to read, one I was loath to put down. This is a top notch summer read.
December 10, 2019
La verdad ha sido una lectura realmente entretenida. Tiene un ritmo rapídismo, la historia transcurre en unos pocos días y llega a agobiar; porque son muchas cosas que resolver y el tiempo se agota. Tiene un final inesperado, aunque ya tenía alguna sospecha pero me hacían dudar ciertos acontecimientos....😋
Muy recomendable
Muy recomendable
July 27, 2019
Having once had high hopes for this book after finding it for a bargain of £1 at a flea market, I finally finished the chore it had become.
I don't like giving up on books so after a pretty slow start I convinced myself that Sam Bourne was just setting the scene and getting the wheels in motion - and then noticed I was halfway into the book and nothing had happened. While there's the hint of an interesting mystery or an intruiging twist always around the corner (just enough to make you keep going in the hope it will be worth it), for the most part they felt forced and disappointing.
The main character, Will, isn't likeable and the author seems to try to force Will's feelings and opinions onto the reader. Will has an unfounded hunch about a minor character you don't remember him meeting? no problem, just repeat it enough and the reader will accept it. None of characters seem to have any depth and they come and go without me noticing the difference.
Perhaps worst of all, the book is patronising to the point of insulting, especially when there's a scene containing anything that seems like it could be technical, ethnic or specialist enough to confuse anyone. These parts of the book are so cliched that they made it a struggle to continue. I finally finished it and have packed it up ready to drop off at a charity shop. A promising idea, let down on so many levels.
I don't like giving up on books so after a pretty slow start I convinced myself that Sam Bourne was just setting the scene and getting the wheels in motion - and then noticed I was halfway into the book and nothing had happened. While there's the hint of an interesting mystery or an intruiging twist always around the corner (just enough to make you keep going in the hope it will be worth it), for the most part they felt forced and disappointing.
The main character, Will, isn't likeable and the author seems to try to force Will's feelings and opinions onto the reader. Will has an unfounded hunch about a minor character you don't remember him meeting? no problem, just repeat it enough and the reader will accept it. None of characters seem to have any depth and they come and go without me noticing the difference.
Perhaps worst of all, the book is patronising to the point of insulting, especially when there's a scene containing anything that seems like it could be technical, ethnic or specialist enough to confuse anyone. These parts of the book are so cliched that they made it a struggle to continue. I finally finished it and have packed it up ready to drop off at a charity shop. A promising idea, let down on so many levels.
February 2, 2012
A mind-blowing debut novel by Bourne that had me very interested in the plot, theme, and characters The Righteous Men is surely worth the time and effort. While I am not one for religious themed books, this one left the traditional "love your neighbour as Jesus would" type and actually used the idea of orthodoxy amid both Jews and Christians to really open the reader's eyes to what is out there. I had no idea about replacement theology, nor was I familiar with the 35 righteous men, but now I can say my appetite is whetted for more.
Bourne uses some interesting plot development to really draw the reader into the tale from the beginning. What seems like a murder on the surface ends up being part of a massive ball of yarn that unravels as the chapters move along. Bourne introduces not only the religious angle, but portrays the story as a murder mystery, thriller, code-breaker thriller, and religious iconographic themed book. He weaves development of the characters, a strong understanding of Orthodox Judaism, and the intricate details of biblical verse, both Old and New Testament. I could not get through it fast enough to find out what was going on.
While he is not a series writing, I will certainly come back to see what Bourne offers. I am told DaVinci Code-ish books with biblical undertones are to be expected. I welcome the mysticism.
Bourne uses some interesting plot development to really draw the reader into the tale from the beginning. What seems like a murder on the surface ends up being part of a massive ball of yarn that unravels as the chapters move along. Bourne introduces not only the religious angle, but portrays the story as a murder mystery, thriller, code-breaker thriller, and religious iconographic themed book. He weaves development of the characters, a strong understanding of Orthodox Judaism, and the intricate details of biblical verse, both Old and New Testament. I could not get through it fast enough to find out what was going on.
While he is not a series writing, I will certainly come back to see what Bourne offers. I am told DaVinci Code-ish books with biblical undertones are to be expected. I welcome the mysticism.
February 6, 2010
Pretty much like reading a Dan Brown book -- somehow the whole style could almost have been his. Mum said she thought Sam Bourne was better: I'm not sure, maybe a little. It's enjoyable enough as light reading, a page-turner, a pot-boiler, whatever. The sense of urgency was a bit difficult -- for some people in the story, it was the end of the world; for the sceptical reader, and for the main character, it was "just" one woman and her unborn child. A bit lacking, maybe, given that the focus on mystery meant I wasn't very invested in the characters.
The background is, of course, some kind of cult. They emerge quite late in the day, really, and I'm not sure I really kept up with all that was happening. Of course, you can partially blame the huge amounts of information for that. By about halfway through I was letting a lot of it breeze past me...
The writing is okay, perhaps a bit better than Dan Brown's (I refer you, as I have done before, to : Dan Brown's writing is, in summary, shockingly bad), though some lines just made me wince. E.g. "Will turned his face into a question mark." I get what it means, but it's such a ridiculous image...
Involving enough, anyway, but nothing really special.
The background is, of course, some kind of cult. They emerge quite late in the day, really, and I'm not sure I really kept up with all that was happening. Of course, you can partially blame the huge amounts of information for that. By about halfway through I was letting a lot of it breeze past me...
The writing is okay, perhaps a bit better than Dan Brown's (I refer you, as I have done before, to : Dan Brown's writing is, in summary, shockingly bad), though some lines just made me wince. E.g. "Will turned his face into a question mark." I get what it means, but it's such a ridiculous image...
Involving enough, anyway, but nothing really special.
February 8, 2020
"Una antigua enseñanza judía sostiene que salvar una vida es salvar al mundo entero."
3.5
En “Los 36 hombres justos� Sam Bourne nos cuenta la historia de una serie de asesinatos que se están cometiendo alrededor del mundo, alguien pretende acabar con la vida de 36 hombres sin aparente relación entre sí, pero con un punto en común: todos realizaron una acción extraordinaria en el pasado.
La trama se basa en una creencia real de la cábala judía para, a partir de allí, desarrollar el argumento de un thriller de acción. Sin embargo, y aunque este hilo principal parece bueno, la novela es floja con respecto al protagonista principal, al que a pesar de ser un profesional inexperto, todo se le va resolviendo con suma facilidad.
La narrativa es sencilla y bastante ágil, en ningún momento resulta aburrida o tediosa; pero está repleta de lugares comunes, arritmias y algunas frases hechas.
En líneas generales, es un thriller de acción que no llega más allá de una lectura ligera, no contiene grandísimas dosis de acción, ni escenas que nos vayan a impresionar, pero te sirve para pasar un buen rato y superar cualquier resaca literaria.
3.5
En “Los 36 hombres justos� Sam Bourne nos cuenta la historia de una serie de asesinatos que se están cometiendo alrededor del mundo, alguien pretende acabar con la vida de 36 hombres sin aparente relación entre sí, pero con un punto en común: todos realizaron una acción extraordinaria en el pasado.
La trama se basa en una creencia real de la cábala judía para, a partir de allí, desarrollar el argumento de un thriller de acción. Sin embargo, y aunque este hilo principal parece bueno, la novela es floja con respecto al protagonista principal, al que a pesar de ser un profesional inexperto, todo se le va resolviendo con suma facilidad.
La narrativa es sencilla y bastante ágil, en ningún momento resulta aburrida o tediosa; pero está repleta de lugares comunes, arritmias y algunas frases hechas.
En líneas generales, es un thriller de acción que no llega más allá de una lectura ligera, no contiene grandísimas dosis de acción, ni escenas que nos vayan a impresionar, pero te sirve para pasar un buen rato y superar cualquier resaca literaria.
March 6, 2014
Scene setting: Manhattan - Cathedral - Handel's Messiah
One of these religious thrillers which now and again can be good enough to get the popcorn out.
Ubiquitous to the genre, there were many acrostics and codes; each individual one repeated ad nauseum. Overall though, a solid 2*.
2* The Righteous Men
TR The Last Testament
TR The Final Reckoning
2* The Overlook
One of these religious thrillers which now and again can be good enough to get the popcorn out.
Ubiquitous to the genre, there were many acrostics and codes; each individual one repeated ad nauseum. Overall though, a solid 2*.
2* The Righteous Men
TR The Last Testament
TR The Final Reckoning
2* The Overlook
July 14, 2015
Called next Dan Brown. Well not exactly. Average book. Not impressed.
December 2, 2020
Meh. The last 20% was okay, but lots of repetition, and some very annoying mansplaining. The protagonist’s priorities and behaviour were hard to relate to and not particularly credible, pretty much throughout the book. At least twice as long as it needed to be.
February 18, 2020
With twists and turns and much darker, this debut thriller was more to my liking than The Da Vinci Code.
May 1, 2021
La trama se va desarrollando bien, el argumento es interesante, los acontecimientos ocurridos van dándose con dos o tres vueltas de tuerca que te dejan sorprendido y pensando "debí suponerlo"
Sin embargo, como en la mayoría de libros de este género, la trama va aumentando el nivel de expectación a tal punto que esperas demasiado del final, cosa que no llega a pasar y termina de la forma más predecible posible. Esto le resta puntos a cualquier buen thriller.
Otro punto negativo es el protagonista, en varios momentos de la historia te decepciona el que a alguien novato que apenas y sabe que está haciendo todos los conflictos se le resuelvan tan fácil.
En conclusión es bueno para entretener pero sí tiene un poco de paja y uno que otro problema innecesario que sin que te des cuenta cómo, se resuelve sin causar mayores complicaciones.
Sin embargo, como en la mayoría de libros de este género, la trama va aumentando el nivel de expectación a tal punto que esperas demasiado del final, cosa que no llega a pasar y termina de la forma más predecible posible. Esto le resta puntos a cualquier buen thriller.
Otro punto negativo es el protagonista, en varios momentos de la historia te decepciona el que a alguien novato que apenas y sabe que está haciendo todos los conflictos se le resuelvan tan fácil.
En conclusión es bueno para entretener pero sí tiene un poco de paja y uno que otro problema innecesario que sin que te des cuenta cómo, se resuelve sin causar mayores complicaciones.
July 31, 2012
Had potential...blew it. The unraveling of the clues were rushed sometimes, leaving me feeling like I was missing something. Kind of uncomfortable during the christian bashing. But really all of that I could have just ignored but for Will's relationship with TC. His wife goes missing and his brilliant friend suggests to someone to help him find her...his nympho ex girlfriend. Totally logical. He didn't know she was from the Hasidic community. From what I could determine her only qualifications were that she was 'hot'. So first his friend Tom is helping him. His MALE freind Tom who adores his missing wife and would die for her (and nearly did) was helping him at first. Then he inexplicably disappears and this FEMALE who hates his wife and is apparently still hung up on him is who he feels would be a better canidate to help? Only a conclusion a man would make. His wife Beth was missing for what, a couple days. During which time Will kisses TC a handful of times, regulary checks out her body, and fanatsizes about their past. He even admits that he's had lengthy day dreams about her throughout his marriage. How is this okay? It's only when he reunites with beth that he realizes- oh wow I really did miss her. And in the end...just a happy little group of friends? Maybe this book should be shelved as fanatasy because there is no way that Beth would not pick up on the sexual tension or be okay with hanging out with her if Will was honorable and told her about the kiss. Not sure how Will can raise a 'righteous man'.
January 21, 2014
Its amazing what you will do when waiting for trains that are delayed - (Had to travel for work and after numerous and annoying train delays I ended up picking up something to read)
Well I have seen enough of Sam Bourne books about to recognise the title and author and thought why not. I must admit its a well written book with a fair share of grisley crime and mystery and suspense - its tricky to comment about a book that really is building towards a huge big reveal - (and forgive the comparisons but like Dan Brown books once you know what the punchline is - you never need to read it again) - but I will try. The book really has two stories in it - the one the character is trying to uncover and the other is a story the author wants to reveal to us. Now again without giving anything away what the author is posing - is an idea linked to Jewish Folklore, while the character is trying to understand these supposedly unconnected murders. The result is an interesting read and certainly one that helped pass the time and make me forget how cold train stations really are. I would not list this as one of my all time favourites but I certainly did enjoy it.
Well I have seen enough of Sam Bourne books about to recognise the title and author and thought why not. I must admit its a well written book with a fair share of grisley crime and mystery and suspense - its tricky to comment about a book that really is building towards a huge big reveal - (and forgive the comparisons but like Dan Brown books once you know what the punchline is - you never need to read it again) - but I will try. The book really has two stories in it - the one the character is trying to uncover and the other is a story the author wants to reveal to us. Now again without giving anything away what the author is posing - is an idea linked to Jewish Folklore, while the character is trying to understand these supposedly unconnected murders. The result is an interesting read and certainly one that helped pass the time and make me forget how cold train stations really are. I would not list this as one of my all time favourites but I certainly did enjoy it.
January 9, 2016
The story of an entirely self involved ambitious young journalist with daddy issues and a hot wife whose career he earnestly tries to support but mentally undermines. I got 150 pages into it looking for any sign of self-awareness by the author before it took a turn to the weirdly, wildly anti-Semitic. MC's hot wife gets kidnapped by someone using an Internet cafe in a Hasidic neighbourhood and the immediate conclusion is that they're all in on it, led by the big-brother-like rabbi. I quit after the 4th or 5th "these people" and condescending, othering description of kosher, or the Hasidic outfits, or the Hebrew script.
December 17, 2012
It's hard to me to say this about a book but I really really didn't like it. Predictable from start to end...
September 1, 2020
Ich habe dieses Buch ziemlich zäh gefunden. Nur aufgrund der vielen positiven Bewertungen habe ich es zu Ende gelesen - und weil ich wissen wollte, warum Beth eigentlich entführt worden ist.
July 15, 2017
Popsugar Reading Challenge 2017: "Un libro por un autor que use un seudónimo."
¿Existe la opción de poner 0 estrellas?
No sé si fue por el tema que aborda (la religión judía) o si de verdad fue un pésimo libro pero no me identifiqué en nada con él. Pensé que por lo menos iba a tener una trama interesante que lo hiciera pasable pero jamás encontré el misterio o la emoción que se buscaba transmitir.
Lo terminé únicamente por la cuestión de que no me siento cómoda abandonado libros. De ahí en adelante, fue una tortura leerlo.
¿Existe la opción de poner 0 estrellas?
No sé si fue por el tema que aborda (la religión judía) o si de verdad fue un pésimo libro pero no me identifiqué en nada con él. Pensé que por lo menos iba a tener una trama interesante que lo hiciera pasable pero jamás encontré el misterio o la emoción que se buscaba transmitir.
Lo terminé únicamente por la cuestión de que no me siento cómoda abandonado libros. De ahí en adelante, fue una tortura leerlo.
January 15, 2023
" Intre om si om. Aici salasluieste bunatatea, chiar divinitatea. Nu in ceruri, ci chiar aici pe pamant. In relatiile dintre noi. "
Niciodata nu si-ar fi imaginat tanarul reporter Will Monroe Jr. ca investigarea unei crime ii va da lumea peste cap. In loc sa ii aduca reportajul ce il va propulsa in cariera, se trezeste implicat impreuna cu familia sa, intr-o conspiratie religioasa mondiala.
Pana unde poate duce fanatismul in secolulu XXI?
"... doar daca trecem prin intuneric vom pretui lumina. "
Niciodata nu si-ar fi imaginat tanarul reporter Will Monroe Jr. ca investigarea unei crime ii va da lumea peste cap. In loc sa ii aduca reportajul ce il va propulsa in cariera, se trezeste implicat impreuna cu familia sa, intr-o conspiratie religioasa mondiala.
Pana unde poate duce fanatismul in secolulu XXI?
"... doar daca trecem prin intuneric vom pretui lumina. "
December 14, 2020
Δυσκολεύτηκα να πειστώ από όσα διάβαζα, ακόμα και γνωρίζοντας ότι πρόκειται για επινόηση.
Το βρήκα βαρετό και το τελείωσα μόνο και μόνο επειδή δε μου αρέσει να αφήνω βιβλία στη μέση, αν και πρέπει να αναθεωρήσω.
Ο ήρωας μού ήταν αντιπαθής μέχρι τέλους και η όλη παρέλαση από την πλοκή των Εβραίων με τα κοτσιδάκια και τα μαύρα καπέλα με κούρασε αφόρητα.
Πάμε για άλλα ...
Το βρήκα βαρετό και το τελείωσα μόνο και μόνο επειδή δε μου αρέσει να αφήνω βιβλία στη μέση, αν και πρέπει να αναθεωρήσω.
Ο ήρωας μού ήταν αντιπαθής μέχρι τέλους και η όλη παρέλαση από την πλοκή των Εβραίων με τα κοτσιδάκια και τα μαύρα καπέλα με κούρασε αφόρητα.
Πάμε για άλλα ...
March 31, 2023
Disappointing, with a main character I found myself increasingly disliking.
July 17, 2024
Really good book. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Nice and straight forward, no messing, religious thriller.
August 29, 2018
Very difficult 1st 1/2 half to follow, however the 2nd 1/2 picked up. Very intense with many scriptural connotations, however this book left me knowing that there are no Righteous Men in this world who can change the coming of Christ. God has a plan and he will follow it through, we mortals on earth can’t alter that, even though some think they are apostles to God.
September 5, 2017
4+. The Rebbe, lamed-vavniks, and a murder mystery, all rolled into one. Like combining the Book of Job and The Crying of Lot 49.
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