Guest Review: A Possibility of Violence

Summary: Haunted by the past and his own limitations, Israeli Detective Avraham Avraham must stop a criminal ruthless enough to target children in this evocative and gripping tale of mystery and psychological suspense that is the follow-up to The Missing File, the acclaimed first novel in D. A. Mishani’s literary crime series that was shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger Award.

An explosive device is found in a suitcase near a daycare center in a quiet suburb of Tel Aviv. A few hours later, a threat is received: the suitcase was only the beginning.

Inspector Avraham Avraham, back in Israel after a much-needed vacation, is assigned to the investigation. Tormented by the trauma and failure of his past case, Avraham is determined not to make the same mistakes—especially with innocent lives at stake. He may have a break when one of the suspects, a father of two, appears to have gone on the run. Is he the terrorist behind the threat? Is he trying to escape Avraham’s intense investigation? Or perhaps he’s fleeing a far more terrible crime that no one knows has been committed?

No matter how much Avraham wants to atone for the past, redemption may not be possible—not when he’s entangled in a case more deceptive and abominable than any he’s ever faced. -- Harper

A POSSIBILITY OF VIOLENCE by D.A. Mishani definitely sounds like a book I would have enjoyed. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately because his reviews are terrific!), I gave it to my dad to read. It's described as a literary crime series and has elements of mystery and psychological suspense. Here are his thoughts:

A POSSIBILITY OF VIOLENCE by D. A. Mishani is a suspense novel featuring Israeli Police Inspector Avraham Avraham. Inspector Avraham is returning from a vacation in Brussels recovering from his last case. Already guilt-ridden by the outcome of that case involving the unfortunate death of a teenage boy, he returns to find that his mentor has written a critical report on his performance. 

Avraham is immediately assigned a case involving the placement of a suitcase bomb near a child care center that will test him as to whether he learned anything from the prior case. The bomb turns out to be a fake but Avraham later learns that the bomb was followed up by a more serious threat that convinces him that he must solve the case before innocent lives are lost. The first suspect, arrested at the scene, is quickly released after the evidence was not sufficient to hold him. Avraham, driven by the fear that the case will end up like the prior one, quickly turns his attention to a father of a child at the day care center who has had words with the headmaster when he suspected her of beating his son. The case becomes more complicated when he learns that the father’s wife has disappeared and the father is planning a trip with his two sons outside of Israel. Those around him think he may be overlooking key evidence and rushing to decisions to quickly but Avraham is too guilt-driven by the prior case to pay any heed to them.

Author D. A. Mishani tells the story in a unique way by alternately telling it from the perspective of Avraham and them from the perspective of the father. The characters and scenes are not physically described to any great extent but the deep psychological look at the effect of guilt on the psyche of the main characters more than compensates for it. The many vulnerabilities and troubles of the main characters add a complexity to the novel that keeps the reader interested to the very end.

I recommend A POSSIBILITY OF VIOLENCE to anyone who enjoys a good suspense thriller. 

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy of this novel and to Booking Pap Pap for his review.