From Publishers Weekly
Ragen, an American writer who's lived in Israel for more than 30 years, blends tragedies of the past with headline news of today in her gripping, emotionally charged sixth novel. It's 2002, and the Margulies family—oncologist Jonathan; his pregnant, American-born wife, Elise; and their daughter, Ilana—are contentedly living in a Jerusalem settlement, until one day, on their way home, Jonathan and Ilana are kidnapped by Hamas. Elise's frantic call to her Bubbee Leah in Brooklyn reunites four women—now grandmas and great-grandmas—who, as girls, made the titular covenant: if they survived Auschwitz, they would become "one person, risking everything, giving everything, to help each other live in happiness all the days of our lives." Leah gathers up fellow New Yorker Esther, now a cosmetics millionaire; Paris nightclub owner Ariana; and Polish political activist Maria to help find the kidnap victims. It's a race against time, as the women wield their considerable influence and the Israeli army desperately tries to intercede with the kidnappers before the captives are killed. Ragen weaves in deeper, more serious undertones than the thriller plot suggests, touching on the stubborn pride and the serious purpose that keeps Israelis fighting (or, in some cases, not fighting) for their fragile country, "the land that God promised to the Jewish people in his Covenant to Abraham." Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
When Elise and Jon moved into their home in Maaleh Sara, Judea, they didn't realize that they would soon be considered "illegal occupiers" and that terrorists might be "laying in wait." Indeed, one day the unthinkable happens: Jon and the couple's young daughter, Ilana, are taken hostage at gunpoint and ransomed for an impossible political price. When Elise calls her grandmother Leah in America, she sets in motion a series of sprawling events that spring, at least in part, from an oath made at Auschwitz. Blending past and present, Ragen outlines some of the hugely complicated issues that exist in the Middle East today, and though her political sympathies seem clear early on, as events play out and more characters (perhaps too many) enter the mix, there are some welcome surprises. Innocents become political pawns, and politics becomes personal in this raw, poignant novel wrapped around a decades-old conflict. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
“"While still maintaining her great warmth for characters, The Covenant is as suspenseful as a Mary Higgins Clark as you worry about the fate of characters hour by hour, minute by minute. The Covenant brings the headlines heartbreakingly home and redefines the unlimited boundaries of lifelong friendship."
- Gay Courter, author of The Midwife and Code Ezra

A thrilling page turning from start to finish, Naomi Ragen's The Covenant is not only a mesmerizing tale with fine drawn characters, it is a story of truth and integrity, a multi-generational novel love, friendship and duty. This is a MUST READ book. It is Naomi Ragen at her finest hour.”
- Faye Kellerman, author of Street Dreams

"Naomi Ragen's books are always compulsively readable, and The Covenant is no exception. An emotionally-charged and engrossing book, The Covenant is a tribute to the power of friendship and the strength of love in the face of evil."
- India Edghill, author of Wisdom’s Daughter: A Novel of Solomon and Sheba



Book Description
Living in Jerusalem, Elise Margulies fears for the lives of her husband and daughter every day. Then comes the day when her worst fears come true. Cancer specialist Dr. Jonathan Margulies drives his young daughter home from her ballet recital. His bullet-ridden car is found empty on the side of the road hours later. Elise, in the last stages of a difficult pregnancy, desperately calls her grandmother Leah in America for help and unknowingly revives a decades-old oath. Over five terror and hope-filled days during which ordinary people join the front lines against terrorism, the ties that bind two generations form a powerful alliance against contemporary evil.



From the Inside Flap
""While still maintaining her great warmth for characters, The Covenant is as suspenseful as a Mary Higgins Clark as you worry about the fate of characters hour by hour, minute by minute. The Covenant brings the headlines heartbreakingly home and redefines the unlimited boundaries of lifelong friendship." - Gay Courter, author of The Midwife and Code Ezra A thrilling page turning from start to finish, Naomi Ragen's The Covenant is not only a mesmerizing tale with fine drawn characters, it is a story of truth and integrity, a multi-generational novel love, friendship and duty. This is a MUST READ book. It is Naomi Ragen at her finest hour." - Faye Kellerman, author of Street Dreams "Naomi Ragen's books are always compulsively readable, and The Covenant is no exception. An emotionally-charged and engrossing book, The Covenant is a tribute to the power of friendship and the strength of love in the face of evil." - India Edghill, author of Wisdom’s Daughter: A Novel of Solomon and Sheba


About the Author
Naomi Ragen is an author, playwright and journalist whose knowledgeable and intimate portraits of contemporary Jewish life have earned her an international following and the fierce loyalty of a growing list of readers. An American, she has lived in Jerusalem for the past thirty years.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"This is the story behind the headlines we read every day, the heart-wrenching reality of modern life, where terrorists reign and average citizens find themselves at the intersection of politics and history." Living in Jerusalem, Elise Margulies always fears for the lives of her husband, cancer specialist Dr. Jonathan Margulies, and their daughter, Ilana. Then comes the day when Jon and Ilana fail to return home from her ballet recital. His bullet-ridden car is found empty on the side of the road hours later. Elise, in the last stages of a difficult pregnancy, desperately calls her grandmother Leah in America for help and unknowingly revives a decades-old oath that transcends both time and place. Over the course of five terror- and hope-filled days, ordinary people join the front lines against terrorism, and the ties that bind two generations forge a potent alliance against contemporary evil.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Ragen, an American writer who's lived in Israel for more than 30 years, blends tragedies of the past with headline news of today in her gripping, emotionally charged sixth novel. It's 2002, and the Margulies family-oncologist Jonathan; his pregnant, American-born wife, Elise; and their daughter, Ilana-are contentedly living in a Jerusalem settlement, until one day, on their way home, Jonathan and Ilana are kidnapped by Hamas. Elise's frantic call to her Bubbee Leah in Brooklyn reunites four women-now grandmas and great-grandmas-who, as girls, made the titular covenant: if they survived Auschwitz, they would become "one person, risking everything, giving everything, to help each other live in happiness all the days of our lives." Leah gathers up fellow New Yorker Esther, now a cosmetics millionaire; Paris nightclub owner Ariana; and Polish political activist Maria to help find the kidnap victims. It's a race against time, as the women wield their considerable influence and the Israeli army desperately tries to intercede with the kidnappers before the captives are killed. Ragen weaves in deeper, more serious undertones than the thriller plot suggests, touching on the stubborn pride and the serious purpose that keeps Israelis fighting (or, in some cases, not fighting) for their fragile country, "the land that God promised to the Jewish people in his Covenant to Abraham." Agent, Lisa Bankoff. (Nov.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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