Crime Fiction Review: Lineup by Liad Shoham

Release Date - September 2013


HarperCollins

Book Review by Bob Walch

A young woman is raped in a Tel Aviv neighborhood. The police draw a blank when it comes to finding the rapist, so the victim’s father sets out to find the man. When the distraught father delivers the individual he is convinced assaulted his daughter, the police are glad to make an arrest and send the man before a magistrate.

Then things begin to come unraveled. The accused rapist, who works for the mafia, doesn’t try to explain why he was seen around the rape victim’s apartment nor does he attempt to defend himself in any manner. But when the case is thrown out on a technicality, the man walks free and the detective assigned to the case is fired.

Suddenly the freed man is on the run. His mob connections have soured and his boss is after him, plus another rape has occurred and the police are convinced he is the person responsible. Only by forming an alliance with the disgraced detective, fired because of his acquittal, will this suspected rapist be able to clear his name. Unfortunately, his crime connections complicate matters and place the man’s life in jeopardy.

Based on a real event that occurred in Israel, Liad Shoham has created an intriguing thriller about mistaken identity, organized crime, a man on the lam and a cop seeking redemption. Well respected in his native country and lauded throughout Europe, this novel introduces Shoham to American audiences. It shouldn’t take long before he acquires a following for his well constructed crime fiction here.