Bystander

de Muriel Kagan Zager

"On the surface, the Armenian Quarter appears to be one of the more peaceful communities in Old Jerusalem, an ancient city torn by religious wars and political conflict. But as Muriel Kagan Zager's mystery novel opens, it is clear that appearances can be deceiving. A murder based on real events takes place in the Armenian Quarter during an encounter between two opposing sides in a feud involving Patriarch Yeshige Derderian and the archbishop Shahe Ajamian. Field journalist Julia Fields sets out to exonerate her young Armenian friend, Georgi Taykian, wrongly arrested and accused of the crime. Assisting Julia are the Sisters of Zion Convent, Shmuel Sundheim of the Jerusalem Post, and Ariyah Ginsburg of Time magazine. Through Julia's investigative work, a color mosaic of modern-day Israel emerges. Money, power, politics, intifada, jihad, the West Bank, and West and East Jerusalem all play their parts in this exciting, thoroughly absorbing novel"--