Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
St. Martin's Griffin (2015), Edition: Special ed., 448 pages
Description
"Jack Sommers was just an ordinary accountant from Chicago-that is, until his wife passed away, his young daughter was kidnapped, and he became the main suspect in an $88 million dollar embezzlement case. Now Jack is on the run, hoping to avoid the feds long enough to rescue his daughter, Sophie, from her maternal grandfather, a suspected terrorist in Palestine. With the help of investigative team Liam and Catherine, and a new CIA operative, a secret mission is launched to not only rescue Sophie but also to thwart a major terrorist attack in Hebron. But will being caught in the crossfires of the Palestine-Israeli conflict keep their team from accomplishing the task at hand, or can they overcome the odds and save countless lives, including their own?"--… (more)
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User reviews
LibraryThing member Loried
I was delighted to receive an advance copy of Saving Sophie by Ronald Balson as I remember enjoying his previous book, Once We Were Brothers. This book struck me as being equally good but very different. I was happy that it wasn't another Holocaust book. I found this book a nice mix of several
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genres: part thriller, part legal drama, part historical fiction, etc. It was an exciting read which I found hard to put down, but I also found it educational about Israeli-Palestinian issues. I would enjoy reading more books like this, and I highly recommend Saving Sophie. I also think it would be a great book selection for book discussion groups. Show Less
LibraryThing member Beamis12
3.5 A child kidnapped by her grandparents and taken the Middle East, millions of dollars missing, two dead in Chicago, possibly planned terrorist attack and a few other background stories make up, this novel. Entertaining at times, distracting at others, feel that almost too much was going on. It
All the action and different threads occurring did keep the pages turning, but would have been less confusing if the book was more centered.
ARC from NetGalley.
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was a good read, interesting and I did like the explanation of what is going on between the Jews and the Arabs that I really had not understood. Also liked the descriptive writing describing these locations.All the action and different threads occurring did keep the pages turning, but would have been less confusing if the book was more centered.
ARC from NetGalley.
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LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
Saving Sophie, Ronald H. Balson, author; Fred Berman, narrator
Because the story goes off in many directions that are all married at the end, but are quite confusing in the beginning, a brief explanation and introduction of the characters is helpful in the interest of organization. In addition, the
Although the book begins as a mystery that seems to simply involve an enormous sum of missing money, it soon veers off into the territory of fraud, embezzlement, sporting event score fixing, kidnapping, murder, Arab/Israeli relations, germ warfare, and terrorism. The Middle East conflict is a major part of the story, but it revolves around a scheme that was hatched by an unscrupulous combination of men from assorted backgrounds. It stretched credibility, at times.
A brief summary of some of the characters follows:
1-Jack Sommers is a man of the Jewish faith. He works as an attorney with the firm of Jenkins and Fairchild, Attorneys at Law. He was one of three men in charge of a business deal that has gone awry between a man named Victor Kelsen and his law firm. Jack’s wife recently died. To add to his loss, his daughter was kidnapped shortly after, in an unrelated incident. Now, Sommers has suddenly disappeared.
2-Denny Harrington is the CFO of Kelsen Manufacturing. He worked on the Kelsen deal with Sommers. Harrington is missing, as well.
3-Jim Ellis, of the Midwestern Title Company that was selected to close the Kelsen deal, was killed when hit by a car. All of the major players responsible for sealing the deal seem to have disappeared from the scene, in one way or another.
4-Victor Kelsen is an unscrupulous man of questionable reputation who, among other things, secretly fixes sporting events. He had sold his company, Kelsen Manufacturing to Leland Industries for 300 million dollars and had engaged the firm of Jenkins and Fairchild to oversee the transaction and see to the payment of his outstanding debts so that Kelsen could get the remaining money. However, only one payment to First Bank had so far been released. Another 88 million dollars that was expected to be paid to the Exchange Bank was no longer in escrow and had gone missing. Where did the money go? Kelsen could not receive the final 96 million dollars due to him until both loans had been paid.
5-Liam Taggart is a private investigator. He was engaged to find the missing money. His role in solving the mystery expands exponentially as the novel progresses and he travels to the Middle East involved in both espionage and intrigue!
6-Catherine Lockhart is Liam’s long time girlfriend. An attorney, she had previously been terminated by the firm of Jenkins and Fairchild, but has since been rehired by Walter Jenkins to help prove that the firm is not guilty, regarding the missing money, and therefore not liable for its repayment.
7-Sharon Wilson is the sister of Jack Sommers. She claims to know nothing about his disappearance although he is using the identity of her deceased husband, Eugene Wilson. She becomes a conduit.
8-Alina al-Zahani was the wife of Jack Sommers. A Muslim and a Palestinian, she defied her father to marry Sommers. Her father did not forgive her. She dies of a mysterious illness.
9-Sophie Sommers, age six, is the daughter of Jack and Alina. She was kidnapped by her grandparents, Arif and Lubannah, and brought to their home in Hebron, in the Palestinian Territory. Hebron is a very dangerous city with a violent history.
10-Jamila is Sophie’s friend in Hebron, but for only a short while. She is soon forbidden to play with her when her father discovers that Sophie is part Jew and also an American. He does not want his daughter either exposed to American ideas or corrupted by a Jewess.
11-Dr. Arif al-Zahani, Alina’s father, comes from a long line of anti-Israel instigators. The Israelis suspect him of being a terrorist in an organization called the Sons of Canaan. He is extremely pompous and arrogant.
12-Lubannah al-Zahani is an obedient wife who loves her husband. She is often reminded by him to know her place and behave properly. She will not defy him, although she may threaten to do so. Her culture provides her with few civil rights or power. She loves Sophie, her granddaughter, and does not want to return her to her father, Jack Sommers. Her husband has hidden many things from her which will cause her great pain when they are revealed.
13-Bashir works for Dr. al-Zahani. He loved Alani and now adores her child, Sophie. He does whatever he is asked to do by Dr. al-Zahani. He is both bodyguard and caretaker. He takes care of Sophie’s needs, walking her to school and talking to her teachers. He entertains her and shows her affection. When he discovers that al-Zahani has kept horrific secrets from him, he is forced to make a difficult choice.
14-Marcy Grant had been a close friend of both Alina and Jack and is still a friend of Jack’s and a devotee of Sophie. When Jack is injured, she is his advocate.
15-Abu Hammad is a kindly shop owner in the Muslim Quarter who assists Liam in his investigation. Dr. al-Zahani dislikes Abu because he believes he is a coward because he never joined him in his anti-Israel cause.
16-Kayla Cummings is a member of an Israeli Anti-Terrorism force. She told Liam about Abu Hammad, Dr. Arif al-Zahani and the Sons of Canaan. The Sons of Canaan is a small group of agitators against Israel, of which Zahani is a member. She is trying to stop what she believes will be a massive terrorist attack, with many casualties, that is being secretly planned by this little known group.
17-Darius McCord is a teenaged basketball player involved in sporting events that Kelsen and his Russian mobster friends have fixed. He is the catalyst that connects some of the dots.
18-Dmitri is a Russian mobster who fixed the sporting events with Kelsen.
19-Evgeniy is a thug who works for Dmitri.
20-Yuri is another Russian mobster who was hired by Dmitri.
21-Dani is the young boy sacrificed, against his will, to serve Allah. The Sons of Canaan used him as a final subject in the interest of the experiments that Dr. al-Zahani conducted in his secret lab.
22-Shin Bet, Mossad, and the IDF are Israeli Security agencies.
23-CIA and the State Department are American security agencies.
There are other minor characters, but these are the ones that I felt had an impact or a message to impart that was unique to the novel.
The novel is infused with subtle entries of political correctness regarding sexual preference, employment, gender, serving one’s country, religion, civil rights and romance. Some of the dialogue seems trite and inappropriate, at times, especially the scenes with Sommers talking to his dead wife, but that might be due to the reader’s portrayal of the moment. I thought the novel might have been better had there not been silly romantic scenes which served only to distract me from the main plot which occasionally seemed contrived and very convoluted. I believe that a novel which covers Arab/Israeli/Jewish/American relations should not be trivialized with silly romances. Still, it was a good mystery with a fast and steady pace. The mastermind of the crime committed never expected it to have so many unexpected consequences. All of the loose ends in the story are knitted together in an ending which may or may not be very credible to the reader, so suspend disbelief and simply enjoy how the investigation plays out. To write any more would give away the story, but this information should at least suffice to keep all of the facts of the story straight as you read.
I thought the narrator over-emoted sometimes, making himself a part of the story instead of creating the character. As a result, although I had both an audio and a print copy, I abandoned the audio in favor of the print copy.
Because the story goes off in many directions that are all married at the end, but are quite confusing in the beginning, a brief explanation and introduction of the characters is helpful in the interest of organization. In addition, the
Show More
Middle East history that is presented is largely accurate, but the characters involved in the investigation are not, so hopefully the reader will be inspired to learn more about the Middle East and not jump to conclusions about either side because of the novel.Although the book begins as a mystery that seems to simply involve an enormous sum of missing money, it soon veers off into the territory of fraud, embezzlement, sporting event score fixing, kidnapping, murder, Arab/Israeli relations, germ warfare, and terrorism. The Middle East conflict is a major part of the story, but it revolves around a scheme that was hatched by an unscrupulous combination of men from assorted backgrounds. It stretched credibility, at times.
A brief summary of some of the characters follows:
1-Jack Sommers is a man of the Jewish faith. He works as an attorney with the firm of Jenkins and Fairchild, Attorneys at Law. He was one of three men in charge of a business deal that has gone awry between a man named Victor Kelsen and his law firm. Jack’s wife recently died. To add to his loss, his daughter was kidnapped shortly after, in an unrelated incident. Now, Sommers has suddenly disappeared.
2-Denny Harrington is the CFO of Kelsen Manufacturing. He worked on the Kelsen deal with Sommers. Harrington is missing, as well.
3-Jim Ellis, of the Midwestern Title Company that was selected to close the Kelsen deal, was killed when hit by a car. All of the major players responsible for sealing the deal seem to have disappeared from the scene, in one way or another.
4-Victor Kelsen is an unscrupulous man of questionable reputation who, among other things, secretly fixes sporting events. He had sold his company, Kelsen Manufacturing to Leland Industries for 300 million dollars and had engaged the firm of Jenkins and Fairchild to oversee the transaction and see to the payment of his outstanding debts so that Kelsen could get the remaining money. However, only one payment to First Bank had so far been released. Another 88 million dollars that was expected to be paid to the Exchange Bank was no longer in escrow and had gone missing. Where did the money go? Kelsen could not receive the final 96 million dollars due to him until both loans had been paid.
5-Liam Taggart is a private investigator. He was engaged to find the missing money. His role in solving the mystery expands exponentially as the novel progresses and he travels to the Middle East involved in both espionage and intrigue!
6-Catherine Lockhart is Liam’s long time girlfriend. An attorney, she had previously been terminated by the firm of Jenkins and Fairchild, but has since been rehired by Walter Jenkins to help prove that the firm is not guilty, regarding the missing money, and therefore not liable for its repayment.
7-Sharon Wilson is the sister of Jack Sommers. She claims to know nothing about his disappearance although he is using the identity of her deceased husband, Eugene Wilson. She becomes a conduit.
8-Alina al-Zahani was the wife of Jack Sommers. A Muslim and a Palestinian, she defied her father to marry Sommers. Her father did not forgive her. She dies of a mysterious illness.
9-Sophie Sommers, age six, is the daughter of Jack and Alina. She was kidnapped by her grandparents, Arif and Lubannah, and brought to their home in Hebron, in the Palestinian Territory. Hebron is a very dangerous city with a violent history.
10-Jamila is Sophie’s friend in Hebron, but for only a short while. She is soon forbidden to play with her when her father discovers that Sophie is part Jew and also an American. He does not want his daughter either exposed to American ideas or corrupted by a Jewess.
11-Dr. Arif al-Zahani, Alina’s father, comes from a long line of anti-Israel instigators. The Israelis suspect him of being a terrorist in an organization called the Sons of Canaan. He is extremely pompous and arrogant.
12-Lubannah al-Zahani is an obedient wife who loves her husband. She is often reminded by him to know her place and behave properly. She will not defy him, although she may threaten to do so. Her culture provides her with few civil rights or power. She loves Sophie, her granddaughter, and does not want to return her to her father, Jack Sommers. Her husband has hidden many things from her which will cause her great pain when they are revealed.
13-Bashir works for Dr. al-Zahani. He loved Alani and now adores her child, Sophie. He does whatever he is asked to do by Dr. al-Zahani. He is both bodyguard and caretaker. He takes care of Sophie’s needs, walking her to school and talking to her teachers. He entertains her and shows her affection. When he discovers that al-Zahani has kept horrific secrets from him, he is forced to make a difficult choice.
14-Marcy Grant had been a close friend of both Alina and Jack and is still a friend of Jack’s and a devotee of Sophie. When Jack is injured, she is his advocate.
15-Abu Hammad is a kindly shop owner in the Muslim Quarter who assists Liam in his investigation. Dr. al-Zahani dislikes Abu because he believes he is a coward because he never joined him in his anti-Israel cause.
16-Kayla Cummings is a member of an Israeli Anti-Terrorism force. She told Liam about Abu Hammad, Dr. Arif al-Zahani and the Sons of Canaan. The Sons of Canaan is a small group of agitators against Israel, of which Zahani is a member. She is trying to stop what she believes will be a massive terrorist attack, with many casualties, that is being secretly planned by this little known group.
17-Darius McCord is a teenaged basketball player involved in sporting events that Kelsen and his Russian mobster friends have fixed. He is the catalyst that connects some of the dots.
18-Dmitri is a Russian mobster who fixed the sporting events with Kelsen.
19-Evgeniy is a thug who works for Dmitri.
20-Yuri is another Russian mobster who was hired by Dmitri.
21-Dani is the young boy sacrificed, against his will, to serve Allah. The Sons of Canaan used him as a final subject in the interest of the experiments that Dr. al-Zahani conducted in his secret lab.
22-Shin Bet, Mossad, and the IDF are Israeli Security agencies.
23-CIA and the State Department are American security agencies.
There are other minor characters, but these are the ones that I felt had an impact or a message to impart that was unique to the novel.
The novel is infused with subtle entries of political correctness regarding sexual preference, employment, gender, serving one’s country, religion, civil rights and romance. Some of the dialogue seems trite and inappropriate, at times, especially the scenes with Sommers talking to his dead wife, but that might be due to the reader’s portrayal of the moment. I thought the novel might have been better had there not been silly romantic scenes which served only to distract me from the main plot which occasionally seemed contrived and very convoluted. I believe that a novel which covers Arab/Israeli/Jewish/American relations should not be trivialized with silly romances. Still, it was a good mystery with a fast and steady pace. The mastermind of the crime committed never expected it to have so many unexpected consequences. All of the loose ends in the story are knitted together in an ending which may or may not be very credible to the reader, so suspend disbelief and simply enjoy how the investigation plays out. To write any more would give away the story, but this information should at least suffice to keep all of the facts of the story straight as you read.
I thought the narrator over-emoted sometimes, making himself a part of the story instead of creating the character. As a result, although I had both an audio and a print copy, I abandoned the audio in favor of the print copy.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Bookish59
Exciting, fast moving read about good against evil. Some folks have a legacy of hate handed down generation to generation. They don't want to see a changing world less amenable to violence. Their depravity thrives on causing pain and suffering to those perceived as enemies including family and
This novel clearly relays the message that it is love and kindness which move the world in the right direction.
Enjoyable read but I know that only small parts of this novel will remain memorable to me going forward.
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friends. This novel clearly relays the message that it is love and kindness which move the world in the right direction.
Enjoyable read but I know that only small parts of this novel will remain memorable to me going forward.
Show Less
LibraryThing member booklovers2
It wasn't my favorite from this author - but I did like it - however, too sensational to actual believe the story.
ISBN
1250081297 / 9781250081292