The Thirteenth Hour

Packed with drama and suspense, journalist Barbara Sofer’s debut thriller is so timely it could be featured on the evening news. Two American-born women living in Israel—one Jewish, the other Arab—are enmeshed in a violent conflict that threatens their national loyalties and personal values.

After she defeats a terrorist single-handedly in Jerusalem, biologist Deborah Stern receives unwanted publicity from television reports. Suddenly she is running for her life from raving Arab fanatics—while the Israeli General Security Service ruthlessly pressures her to work in a dangerous undercover assignment. Reluctantly giving in to Israeli demands, Deborah agrees to gather intelligence. Soon she clashes with Raba, an American-Arab woman with centuries-old allegiances of her own.

Filled with gritty realism, The Thirteenth Hour reflects American-born author Barbara Sofer’s experience living in Jerusalem.

“Vivid and all-too-believable … a superb exploration of the Arab-Israeli conflict.”—Kirkus Reviews