Book Summary and Reviews of Three Envelopes by Nir Hezroni

Three Envelopes by Nir Hezroni

Three Envelopes

A Thriller

by Nir Hezroni

  • Critics' Consensus (7):
  • Published:
  • Apr 2017, 320 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

A thrilling debut, Three Envelopes delves into the twisted mind of a rogue agent in the Israeli intelligence agency and his mysterious plot for revenge.

Agent 10483 carried out his missions perfectly. Too perfectly. So perfectly that he needed to be stopped...

When Avner, a top agent in The Organization receives a notebook, written by the mysterious and psychopathic 10483, ten years after his supposed death, he realizes that something has gone terribly wrong.

The notebook not only reveals the truth about 10483's missions, which include some of history's most notorious unsolved crimes, but it also reveals that 10483 might still be alive and desperate for vengeance against the Organization.

As Avner reads the long-lost notebook, questions abound. Was 10483 a psychopath who outwitted his handlers for years or was he merely a tool, manipulated by his superiors to carry out some of the most monstrous mass killings in history? Why was he the only agent to receive three envelopes that carried the names of targets on a special hit list? And was he responsible for a basement of horrors where he locked up innocent victims and staged their deaths as art installations? Or was he himself merely the victim of a brilliant scientist who found a way, through cutting-edge technology, to manipulate his brain?

Offering a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse into the technology of high-level intelligence operations, Nir Hezroni's dark thriller is a chilling exploration of the mind of a master killer.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Hezroni's superior thriller debut will send chills up the spines of even jaded genre fans.... Hezroni maintains a high level of suspense as he expertly toggles between past and present en route to the heart-stopping conclusion." - Publishers Weekly

"This is one of the most brilliant Israeli thrillers I have read in a long time. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to learn what happens next, and stayed up half the night because I simply could not put it down. I truly hope Hezroni is planning a sequel…" – Jerusalem Post (Israel)

"[A] dark and disturbing Israeli novel, which may well become an international bestseller … a true and intense thriller … captures the reader's attention from the first moment, as a thriller ought to do." - Makor Rishon (Israel)

"This is an intelligent thriller that raises heavy questions: How far can an undercover government organization go to prevent crimes against humanity, while at the same time becoming responsible for such crimes? In Hezroni's thriller, both sides of the moon are dark… [This is written] in persuasive yet eloquent prose usually found in canonical works rather than in sophisticated thrillers." – Ha'aretz (Israel)

"Expertly paced, surprising and international in scope." – Ma'ariv (Israel)

"What a ride! An intelligence world of cracked mirrors, weird echoes, and haunting dreams. The story is stunning. It will bend your mind six ways to Sunday and then some. The writing, precise as a laser, runs circles around what you thought you knew was real." - James Church, author of the Inspector O series

"Nir Hezroni's Three Envelopes isn't your average thriller. Imaginative, fast-paced and originally strange. It reads like a spy-thriller gone mad or out of control." - D. A. Mishani, author of The Missing File

"Nir Hezroni has created a genre of his own!" - YiftachReicher Atir, author of The English Teacher

This information about Three Envelopes was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Click here and be the first to review this book!

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

Nir Hezroni

Nir Hezroni was born in Jerusalem in 1968. After studying physics in high school and completing several years of military service in intelligence, Hezroni retired to study economics and business management. He then proceeded to build a career in high tech. In 2014 he published his first thriller, Three Envelopes, which was enthusiastically received by critics and readers alike. He lives with his family near Tel Aviv.

More Author Information

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Three Envelopes, try these:

  • Eight Perfect Murders jacket

    Eight Perfect Murders

    by Peter Swanson

    Published 2021

    About this book

    From the hugely talented author of Before She Knew Him comes a chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction's most ingenious murders.

  • The Tourist jacket

    The Tourist

    by Olen Steinhauer

    Published 2010

    About this book

    Milo Weaver used to be a “tourist” for the CIA—an undercover agent with no home, no identity. But when the arrest of an assassin exposes new layers of intrigue in his old cases, he has no choice but to go back undercover and find out who’s holding the strings once and for all.

  • An Ordinary Spy jacket

    An Ordinary Spy

    by Joseph Weisberg

    Published 2009

    About this book

    A former CIA case officer’s novel about two embattled spies who go to extraordinary lengths to keep their informants out of harm’s way, published as vetted by the agency itself.

We have 11 read-alikes for Three Envelopes, but non-members are limited to three results. Join free to see the complete list of recommendations.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!
Book Club Giveaway!
Win L.A. Women

L.A. Women by Ella Berman

Two ambitious writers in 1960s LA face betrayal when one writes a novel based on the other's life.

Enter

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    Days of Sun and Shadow
    by India Hayford
    A young woman’s coming-of-age story set in the early American frontier, shaped by tragedy, nature, and resilience.
  • Book Jacket
    Merry-Go-Round Broke Down
    by David Woo, Margalit Shinar
    Nine linked stories reveal how globalization sparks life-changing consequences across continents.
  • Book Jacket
    Chelsea Girls
    by Catherine Lloyd
    A glamorous biographical novel on Mary Quant, whose daring design of the miniskirt revolutionized fashion.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket
    Summer of Love
    by Kerri Maher
    Three women reshape their family's Napa Valley winery after the 1967 Summer of Love.
  • Book Jacket
    An Infinite Love Story
    by Chanel Cleeton
    “A tender, romantic drama that soars as high as it’s astronauts.” —Kate Quinn
Book
Trivia
  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

The C is A R

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.