Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Mar 2014
240 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
Dahlia Barr does not suffer fools - or her own government, with which she is normally at odds. Shrewd, brash, and as tough as she is beautiful, the controversial Israeli attorney specializes in defending Palestinians accused of terrorism. She is also a devoted mother, a soon-to-be-divorced wife, and the lover of a handsome American television correspondent.
To Dahlia's astonishment, the Israeli security establishment one day approaches her with a tantalizing proposition: Join us, and become the beleaguered nation's arbiter on when to use the harshest of interrogation methods - what some would call torture. Dahlia is intrigued. She has no intention of permitting torture. Can she change the system from within?
Then, as Dahlia settles into her new job, her son Ari, a twenty-year-old lieutenant in the Israel Defense Forces, is kidnapped by Hezbollah and whisked over the border to Lebanon. The one man who may hold the key to Ari's rescue is locked in a cell in police headquarters. Edward Al-Masri - professor, activist, media gadfly - is an Arab who has a long and complicated history with Dahlia. And he's not talking. Yet.
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The Lie is a nail-biting thriller, pulsing with insight into the inner workings of Israel's security apparatus. It is an unforgettable story of human beings on both sides of the terror equation whose lives turn out to share more in common than they - and the reader - could ever have imagined.
"Starred Review. An utterly riveting thriller that is likely to rank as one of the year's best…. The Lie has everything: memorable characters, a compelling plot, white-knuckle military action, and an economy and clarity of prose that is direct, powerful, and at times beautiful." - Booklist
"[Kestin] settles for soap opera instead of meaningfully engaging with the moral issues raised by the ticking-time-bomb scenario of this clever, if contrived thriller. " - Publishers Weekly
"A page-turner that will engage your mind and emotions in a way few novels do. The narrative is headlong, the issues have never been more current, and the characters come alive from the page." - Stephen King
"The Lie is a page-turning triumph, foaming with emotional resonance and ripped-from-the-headlines suspense. Welcome to the next generation of political thrillers." - David Goodwillie, author of American Subversive
This information about The Lie was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Hesh Kestin was for two decades a foreign correspondent, reporting from the Middle East on war, international security, terrorism, arms dealing, espionage, and global business. He was the London-based European correspondent for Forbes and is an eighteen-year veteran of the Israel Defense Forces. His articles have appeared in Newsday, the Jerusalem Post, Inc. and Playboy. The father of five, Kestin lives on Long Island in New York.
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