A Taste for Treason: A Novel - Hardcover

Gershom is the code name for a top Israeli agent who has been accepted as a Palestinian leader in Beirut for close to 20 years. But when his position as a mole is endangered, Dan Shemtov, chief of Israeli security, must devise a plan to protect his invaluable spy. Thus begins a convoluted tale of espionage and deceit that also offers a harsh look at the upper levels of Israeli society. The cynical and manipulative Shemtov decides to save Gershom by framing an innocent agent, Ben Landau, who falls into the trap even though he has been betrayed by Shemtov before. When Ben is accused of treason, his American-born wife, Kate, hires a shrewd and influential Israeli lawyer to defend him. Mendels ( Mandela's Children ) keeps a firm grip on her complex characters as she slowly peels away the veneer of an ideal Israeli society to reveal an intertwined, almost incestuous circle of power and the system of "protectsia," the strategic use of influence. Corruption, disillusionment, betrayal and revenge are deftly handled themes. A profoundly moving conclusion gives this novel particular emotional clout.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

After his bosses inflict a final humiliating insult Israeli spy Ben decides to quit his lifelong job. But spies are held to a different standard, and poor Ben must bargain for his freedom by completing just one more project--taking the rap for a trumped-up treason charge. The painful account of his personal sacrifices and the suspenseful and ever-larger repercussions of the Israeli plot to protect sources among the Palestinians is the substance of this second thriller from the author of Mandela's Children ( LJ 12/15/86). Ignoring the genre's reliance on flashy weapons and technology of death, Mendels gambles instead on the value of trust even when survival depends on ruthless manipulation of victims. Ben is a person so well developed that the central betrayal and its resolution seem valid and credible, and the novel reflects the complexity of Middle East politics.
- Barbara Conaty, Library of Congress
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.