Synopsis (from
the publisher):
When Omar Yussef travels to New York for a UN Conference, he's eager to
visit his youngest son Ala, who lives in Bay Ridge, a Brooklyn
neighborhood with a large Palestinian community. He arrives at Ala's
apartment to find the door ajar and a headless body in one of the beds.
He's initially terrified that the dead man is his son, but soon Ala
arrives and identifies the body as that of one of his roommates. He's
convinced that his other roommate is the killer. But when the cops show
up Ala refuses to give an alibi and is arrested.
Desperate to prove his son's innocence, Omar Yussef investigates. The
murderer has left clues that refer to the Assassins, a medieval Shiite
sect. When they were teenagers, Ala and his roommates had a club by
that name. What's the connection? As Omar Yussef delves deeper, he
uncovers a deadly international conspiracy.
— ◊ —
— ◊ —
The Fourth Assassin
An Omar
Yussef Mystery
Matt
Beynon Rees
Soho Crime (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-56947-619-5 (1569476195)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-619-2 (9781569476192)
Publication Date: February 2010
List Price: $24.00
— ◊ —
Review: Omar
Yussef tries to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding the
murder of one of his son's friends in The
Fourth Assassin, the fourth mystery in this series by Matt
Beynon Rees.
Omar Yussef is in New York City to attend a United Nations conference.
The trip is made more bearable because his son, Ala, lives in the city
with two childhood friends. When Omar Yussef visits their apartment
soon after his arrival, he's shocked to discover the body of a headless
man on one of the beds. Initially fearing it might be Ala, he's
relieved when his son soon arrives and identifies the dead man is one
of his roommates. But somewhat inexplicably, Ala refuses to alibi
himself when the police arrive, and he's taken into custody. Omar
Yussef is sure his son isn't a killer, but seems equally sure neither
of his friends -- who were once students of his -- could be either. But
with Ala remaining silent, and another roommate missing, Omar Yussef is
determined to learn the truth, regardless of the consequences.
There isn't much of a mystery in The
Fourth Assassin, which is something of a disappointment,
especially when compared to the intricate puzzles Omar Yussef solved in
the previous books of the series. Rather, it's as if the author posited
a number of questions -- Can an Arab community exist as such outside of
the Middle East? Can a Muslim woman embrace the customs of her faith
while still exploring and enjoying the life of a young woman in New
York City? Can a naturalized American Muslim police officer do his job
yet retain the respect of his people? Can an Arab merchant exiled from
his home in the Middle East escape his past and start anew in another
country? -- then created characters and a story for them to try to
answer the questions. It's not always a successful exercise.
In many ways the most troubling character in The Fourth Assassin, especially
from an American perspective, is Ala, Omar Yussef's son. He's
conflicted, to be sure, but the source of that conflict isn't always
obvious. True, he's accused of murder, but even before that he's known
to hate living in New York City, even the concept of New York City,
where he's an underemployed computer engineer. He even calls the Muslim
cop investigating the case a "filthy infidel", simply because he chose
to become a US citizen. It isn't made clear why Ala is living here, or
how he came about living here, but the obvious question is: why not go
home, back to your family in Bethlehem? Why subject yourself to a
setting that was not forced upon you, that you've voluntarily chosen to
live in, when you don't have to? One might argue that, as a
Palestinian, he has no home, but that isn't the point here ... or maybe
it is.
Rees often uses environment to help set the tone for his stories, and
the New York City of The Fourth
Assassin is cold and wet, dark and dreary, forbidding and
unforgiving. If it weren't for the practical optimism of Omar Yussef,
it would be downright depressing. But this optimism is really what the
story is about: there are often no easy or simplistic answers to life's
questions, in fact, there may be no answers at all, but that doesn't
mean one cannot -- as Omar Yussef does -- adapt to the challenges and
avail oneself to the opportunities of an ever-changing landscape.
The Fourth Assassin
isn't the best novel in this series, but that is mostly because it
fails to show Omar Yussef at his intellectual best as an amateur
sleuth, something readers have come to expect from him.
Special thanks to Goldberg McDuffie Communications for providing a copy of The Fourth Assassin for this review.
Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read The Fourth Assassin? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
The
Collaborator of Bethlehem
Soho Crime (Hardcover), February 2007
ISBN-10: 1-56947-442-7 (1569474427)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-442-6 (9781569474426)
A Grave in Gaza
Soho Crime (Hardcover), February 2008
ISBN-10: 1-56947-472-9 (1569474729)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-472-3 (9781569474723)
The Samaritan's Secret
Soho Crime (Hardcover), February 2009
ISBN-10: 1-56947-545-8 (1569475458)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-545-4 (9781569475454)
The Fourth Assassin
Soho Crime (Hardcover), February 2010
ISBN-10: 1-56947-619-5 (1569476195)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-619-2 (9781569476192)
Omnimystery keywords for The Fourth Assassin ...
Location(s) referenced: New York City.
