Liad Shoham is a practicing attorney who also happens to be the Israeli equivalent of John Grisham and James Patterson. His books, as with the best of crime fiction anywhere, combine elements of culture, politics and police procedure, a mix that was very well displayed in LINEUP, Shoham’s first novel to see publication in the United States. ASYLUM CITY, which was published in Israel in early 2013 (and has been optioned for television there), has just been released in the United States, thanks to the translation of Sara Kitai. It is somewhat of a different book from its predecessor, being a bit more character-driven, but nonetheless provides an interesting read.

Shoham takes a chance in ASYLUM CITY by introducing a fairly compelling character and then taking her off the board early on. Michal Poleg is a tireless advocate and activist working on behalf of African refugees who land in Tel Aviv. She is not a universally popular person, by any means, so when she is found brutally murdered in her apartment, the police do not lack for suspects. Tel Aviv police officer Anat Nachmias finds herself thrust into the forefront of the investigation into Poleg’s killing. While Nachmias has never led such an investigation before, she welcomes the challenge and is determined not to let down either her superiors or her victim.

"Shoham keeps the narrative moving quickly with frequent changes in points of view marked with (for the most part) short chapters. And there is a definite mystery here, although veteran mystery readers should be able to discern “whodunit” early on."

It is Nachmias’ superiors, however, who ultimately let her down. When a suspect is identified in relatively quick order and turns himself in, Nachmias seems to have the case all wrapped up. The suspect in question is a young refugee named Gabriel who was close to Poleg and almost immediately confesses to the killing. Nachmias is troubled by several factors. It quickly becomes clear that Gabriel knows almost nothing about how the murder was committed. The eyewitness who claims to have seen someone flee the scene of the killing identifies someone other than Gabriel in a lineup. Nachmias’ superiors want the case closed, and they have a warm body --- Gabriel --- to account for the creation of the cold one in the Tel Aviv morgue.

Nachmias, though, will not be swayed and is determined to obtain not just an arrest in the case but justice as well. In order to do this, she needs to ascertain why Gabriel wants to confess to a crime he did not commit; the answer lies in his past and involves those with whom he has erroneously placed his trust. What Nachmias ultimately discovers and uncovers is a crime of a magnitude that stretches far beyond the streets of Tel Aviv. The only question is whether or not she will be able to prove what she finds before it is too late to save Gabriel.

While ASYLUM CITY isn’t quite as good as LINEUP, it nonetheless has much to recommend it. Shoham keeps the narrative moving quickly with frequent changes in points of view marked with (for the most part) short chapters. And there is a definite mystery here, although veteran mystery readers should be able to discern “whodunit” early on. Given that, however, there is an even stronger question of the motive behind the murder that drives the book and will almost certainly keep you guessing. This, combined with the cast of characters that populate the book --- good, bad and imperfect --- ultimately makes ASYLUM CITY worth reading.