There's 'A Possibility of Violence' in Holon

Inspector Avraham Avraham is back. Following the trauma and failure of his previous case, Avraham took some time away from the Holon Police department to be with his girlfriend in Belgium. Upon his return to the interrogations room, chills go through his body. He feels like he is "leaping from a cliff into a stormy sea, with no preparations."

An explosive device has been found in a suitcase next to a day care center in a quiet neighborhood. A suspect is being held, but not enough evidence connects the man to the crime, and he is released. Avraham learns that threats have been made to the woman in charge of the center, but she never reported them and doesn't admit to them now. Avraham feels that there is more to this case than what meets the eye.

He begins to suspect an older man, a father of two whose wife is apparently overseas. This man is making travel plans; Avraham fears that the suspect is not only escaping from the scene of his crime, but that he has very dangerous intentions once he gets to his destination. Acting on his gut instincts, Avraham pursues this lead, convinced that he has uncovered something far more serious than the suitcase found near the day care center.

"In the darkness a new point of light suddenly turns on, and it illuminates the others as well," Avraham thinks, going over the evidence he has uncovered. "What looked strange turns out to be familiar," he thinks. "In the end, all the points will connect."

A Possibility of Violence is the follow-up novel to The Missing File by D.A. Mishani. Actually, it is the sequel of the first book, in that it continues the story and develops Avraham's character, all in the context of his previous case. You can read this book without having read The Missing File, however, there are many references to that book, and you should definitely not read them out of order.

The detective we meet this time around is much more mature, more confident, and more likely to act on his instincts than the man we previously knew. He is growing into his position, developing his skills and establishing a career that we, as readers, will wish to follow.

A Possibility of Violence is a suspenseful mystery, one in which we follow the clues along with Inspector Avraham. At the story's conclusion, we are left eagerly anticipating his next case.

D.A. Mishani is the editor of Israeli fiction and crime literature at Keter Books. He is also a literary scholar who specializes in the history of detective literature. Mishani lives with his wife and two children in Tel Aviv.

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Originally published at The Times of Israel.