Batya Gur's entrancing novel captivates readers with its rich plot and well-developed cast of lively characters. Gur masterfully intertwines the murder mystery genre with an academic genre of literary interpretation, allowing readers to understand her book on different levels. The murder plot itself is gripping from the beginning of the novel when two Hebrew University literature colleagues are found dead. Readers follow chief police inspector Michael Ohayon's painstaking procedure of discovering whom he can and cannot trust. The process of fathoming the mystery shows that everyone has secrets and lies, whether they are directly related to the murder or not. Emphasizing the constant tension of discerning truth from lies, Michael and his staff constantly rely on and refer to the polygraph machine, which indicates that nearly all witness testimonies are "inconclusive." The solution of the novel in fact reveals that false identities in fact lie at the center the mystery.
The motivation behind the murders is perhaps more fascinating to the reader than the basic "whodunit" question; revealed at the book's conclusion, the reasoning and background behind the crimes shock readers more than the actual killers. In order to fully enjoy and appreciate the novel, readers must pay close attention to Gur's literary allusions and analogies throughout the plot. Gur interweaves academic lectures on the nature of poems and interpreting lectures within her murder mystery. Although readers may be tempted to skip over the academic speeches as seemingly unrelated to the mystery at hand, the lectures actually parallel, hint at, and comment on the mystery's solution. Connecting the literature professors' lectures on poetry with the reasoning behind the crimes allow readers to perceive a larger implication about the nature of art and its relative importance in the world.

The title embodies the text: quality literature combined with a murder mystery. When acclaimed professor Shaul Tirosh is found dead in his office the same weekend his young collegue, Iddo Dudai, has died in a scuba 'accident,' the quiet Hebrew University braces for intrusion and attention from the community and police. Chief investigator, Michael Ohayon, must decipher the clues to understand if the murder of Tirosh, a womanizer and popular icon known for his poetry, is at all linked to the death of Dudai. Tuvia Shair, Tirosh's number one fan and friend, who so respects Tirosh that he allows for him to conduct an affair with his wife, is eventually placed on the suspect list. This quiet man driven by his passion for teaching and Tuvia's poetry serves as an example of how the people in this area treat their icons and local celebrities. When it comes down to the solution to the murders, as in classic mysteries, the most crucial clue is uncovered at the start of the investigation but is mistakenly overlooked.

The plot not only entertains but also is didactic, exploring a serious world of poetry and literature. Over the course of the text, Gur skillfully incorporates a class led by suspect Tuvia Shai in which an excellent discussion is led about the poem, 'Samson's Hair.' Beautifully and believably written, this section truly places readers in the culture and atmosphere of the fictional but representative Hebrew University and its scholars. The intertwining lives of the characters in the forms of friendships, romances, and affairs weaves a text full of vivid personas through which the Hebrew lifestyle and intellectual pursuit is well developed. In the police's view, several professors like Ariyeh Klein (recently returned from abroad), Tuvia Shai and University staff seem to be hiding something critical to the solution of the case. Who will be the murderer(s) and what has been the motive behind two such violent deaths? Ultimately, the ending is a surprise, relying more upon the affects of the literary community, copyright laws, and fame through writing than on the typical motive of revenge, hate, or accidental murder. Following Investigator Ohayon through the plot, the revelation he uncovers will have drastic effects upon the academics and ethics of literature while entertaining and drawing readers into a fast-paced and information filled Jerusalem.

I discovered this novel quite by accident, and I found a real treasure! "Literary Murder" is by far the best written and most intellectual example of the mystery genre I've seen in quite some time. It's set in academia, at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, with some action taking place in the United States. The characters have depth and dimension, and are profoundly interesting. The plot is integrated well into the setting and the characterization. And the prose and poetry are superb.

I can't recommend this novel highly enough!

Ms. Gur does an outstanding job of describing and playing out life on a Kibbutz. This is the first of its kind that I have read. The place comes alive and the crime is certainly realistic.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Kibbutz life or a good mystery.

Subtitled "A Communal Case," this novel invites to reader into the idealized world of an Israeli kibbutz, where a policeman who is an outsider must try to solve the mystery of who could have possibly killed a member of the kibbutz family. Gur interweaves lessons in social history and a social critique of the effect of bourgeois ideas on socialist ideals. I find the novel an intriguing yet relatively traditional murder mystery. Some people might get tired of the social commentary, but people who like to learn as they are entertained will like following the mystery and find the social ingredients essential to the resolution of the mystery. The book is quite suspenseful and thrilling. If you like this one, Batya Gur has others, as this one is the third in her mystery series based on the sleuth Michael Ohayon.

It is as though Batya Gur were trying to finish this book. It was a book in need of editing, but that would have left only a third of the pages. Too much angst, as others have pointed out here in the reviews. Very nasty murders, these, and not nearly as sparkling and atmospheric a solution. Very little Israeli backgound here, an aspect of Batya Gur's previous Ohayon novels that has been wonderful, and lackluster plot development. A midlife crisis of a book. PLEASE read this talented woman's previous Ohayon novels.

I enjoyed this new book by the Israeli novelist Batya Gur just as much as her previous Michael Ohayon mysteries - in order, "The Saturday Morning Murder", "Literary Murder", and "Murder on a Kibbutz" (and they are best read in the order in which they were written to get the full flavor of the development of her detective's character). These books feature a truly interesting detective - Michael Ohayon, medievalist turned policeman - inside a series of well-drawn and fascinating situations set in Israel - a firm of psychiatrists, a university department of literature professors, a kibbutz, and now a symphony orchestra. In each of these books Ms. Gur brings to life the passions and debates which divide members of these groups and which lead to killing consequences which await the arrival of her detective to unravel the identity of the murderer. I cannot decide any more if her books are character studies wrapped in mysteries or mysteries wrapped in character studies, not do I much care. What I do know is that I get the same pleasure from these mysteries that I have received from the novels of John Le Carre and the "entertainments" of Graham Greene, where those writers seamlessly combined espionage with a drama based on character and not just action. I am as interested in the development of Michael Ohayon's personal life as I am in his resolution of the murders he is tasked to solve. I eagerly await the next volume in this series.

As usual with Batya Gur's inspector Ohayon's books, the murder mystery and its solution are connected to a specific world - this time professional classical musicians, and the argument between "authentic" and "modern" playing practices. Highly entertaining and intelligent, full of empathy to the characters and their occupation, and for sure - Ms. Gur is in love with her hero. Beautiful and highly recommended.

I admire anyone who can write a novel. I greatly admire anyone who can get a novel published. In the case of this book, I admire myself for reading this novel, to the end, no less! The beginning would have you believe that something, anything is going to happen, and it does! A woman is murdered. The mystery here does not lie in finding out who murdered her, but in when the author intends to acknowledge that she is writing a murder mystery. In page after page, after page . . . one reads of the training involved in becoming a traditional Freudian psychoanalyst. When the book finally, and agonizingly slowly, wends its way back to fiction, you no longer care who was killed, who killed her, or why. You think of her demise as a blessed release. As my captioned title implies, the entire world in which these people live and work is so incredibly mind numbing that I am surprised that they all haven't either killed each other or committed suicide long before the author conceived the plot. I finished this novel as a test of superhuman will power, akin to losing 100 pounds or kicking a heroin addiction. If, however, I can save one fellow human being from having to read this book, my life will not have been lived in vain.

When Shlomo Gold finds his mentor well known psycho analyst Eva Neidorf, dead early one Saturday morning in Jerusalem, detective Michael Ohayon begins his search for the murderer. Batya Gur meticulously lays out the clues while providing the reader with information about Freudian psychoanalysis.

Gur's writing is not the fast paced mystery that some prefer, it slowly draws the reader to the conclusion. providing little steps along the way. She does give away the culprit before the end of the book and the mystery that remains is how Michael Ohayon will manage to snare the murderer. Gur's use of the setting and background information regarding Freudian psychology deftly adds to the interest of this book.

Michael Ohayon is an interesting detective. He is a troubled, thoughtful man who could use some psychoanalysis himself. Ohayon is a complex creature who has the feel for solving crimes.

This book is to be recommended especially to those who enjoy psychology and who have at least some background in the Freudian technique. Those readers who prefer fast paced reading should avoid the Saturday Morning Murder.

I always enjoy a good who-dunnnit, and "Saturday Morning Murder" was certainly enjoyable and well written.

The main character and investigator, Michael Ohayon, isn't your usual take-charge and hunt-'em-down police detective. He takes a more intellectual approach to investigating the murder of a prominent Psychoanalytic Institute's most respected member. The reader can see the obvious (and in this case, ironic) parallels between psychoanalysis and police investigation. The depth to which the author is able to illuminate the art of psychotherapy and how its unique conditions contribute to the mystery of this murder is also fascinating and makes this story more than just your average murder mystery.

This could be thought of as a thinking person's mystery -- there's very little gore or lurid descriptions of crime scenes, and no violent confrontational scenes you might find in Patricia Cornwell's or Jonathan Kellerman's writing. The horror of the crime and the necessity of figuring out who committed it is no less compelling, however. The book takes a slow start, introducing the characters in a philosophical/analytical style, but the complexity of the case and the implications of "whodunnit" were more than interesting enough to draw me in until the last page.