For decades, Omar Yussef has been a teacher of history to the children of Bethlehem. When a favourite former pupil, George Saba, is arrested for collaborating with the Israelis in the killing of a Palestinian guerrilla, Yussef is convinced that he has been framed. With George facing imminent execution Yussef sets out to prove his innocence. As Yussef falls foul of his headmaster and the local police chief, time begins to run out for Saba. Saba's home is bombed, members of his family are murdered. But with no one else willing to stand up for the truth, it is up to Yussef act, even as bloodshed and heartbreak surround him.
Accolades
Winner of CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger 2008.
Author Biography
Matt Rees was born and raised in South Wales. He has covered the Middle East as a journalist for a decade and is currently Time magazine's Jerusalem bureau chief and the author of the non-fiction work Cain's Field: Faith, Fratricide, and Fear in the Middle East. The Bethlehem Murders is his first novel. Matt Rees's website is: www.mattbeynonrees.com.
