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Foreign Detective #2
Pattern Crimes
When a young prostitude, an Arab boy, and a nun are slashed and murdered exactly the same way, David Bay-Lev, the head of Jerusalem's Pattern Crime Unit, must solve the case to attain peace
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 2, 1987
6 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
William Bayer
53 books28 followersWILLIAM BAYER is the author of nineteen fiction and non-fiction books. Thirteen of his novels are now available in ebook and audiobook editions. His books have been published in fourteen foreign languages. Two of his novels, Switch and Pattern Crimes, were New York Times best sellers.
Bill was born in Cleveland, Ohio, son of an attorney-father and screenwriter-mother ( Eleanor Perry). He was educated at Phillips Exeter and Harvard where he majored in art history. His Harvard honors thesis was an analysis of a single painting by Paul Gauguin: “D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?” For six years he served in Washington, Vietnam and New York as an officer with the U. S. Information Agency. He has been a grantee of The American Film Institute and The National Endowment of the Arts.
His novels have won the following awards: Peregrine (The Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel, aka “The Edgar”); Switch, (the French Prix Mystère de la Critique); Mirror Maze, (the French Le Grand Prix Calibre 38); The Magician’s Tale (The Lambda Literary Award for Best Mystery); The Dream Of The Broken Horses (the French Prix Mystère de la Critique).
His novel, Switch, was the source for seven television movies, including two four-hour mini-series. In all of them the main character, NYPD Detective Frank Janek, was played by the actor Richard Crenna. All seven movies were broadcast nationally by CBS in prime time.
Bayer is married to food writer, Paula Wolfert. They have lived in Paris, New York, Connecticut, Tangier (Morocco), and San Francisco. They currently reside in the Sonoma Valley, an area North of San Francisco which Jack London called “The Valley of the Moon.”
Bill was born in Cleveland, Ohio, son of an attorney-father and screenwriter-mother ( Eleanor Perry). He was educated at Phillips Exeter and Harvard where he majored in art history. His Harvard honors thesis was an analysis of a single painting by Paul Gauguin: “D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?” For six years he served in Washington, Vietnam and New York as an officer with the U. S. Information Agency. He has been a grantee of The American Film Institute and The National Endowment of the Arts.
His novels have won the following awards: Peregrine (The Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel, aka “The Edgar”); Switch, (the French Prix Mystère de la Critique); Mirror Maze, (the French Le Grand Prix Calibre 38); The Magician’s Tale (The Lambda Literary Award for Best Mystery); The Dream Of The Broken Horses (the French Prix Mystère de la Critique).
His novel, Switch, was the source for seven television movies, including two four-hour mini-series. In all of them the main character, NYPD Detective Frank Janek, was played by the actor Richard Crenna. All seven movies were broadcast nationally by CBS in prime time.
Bayer is married to food writer, Paula Wolfert. They have lived in Paris, New York, Connecticut, Tangier (Morocco), and San Francisco. They currently reside in the Sonoma Valley, an area North of San Francisco which Jack London called “The Valley of the Moon.”
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 20, 2013
Book Info: Genre: Mystery/Police Procedural
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of twisty mysteries, lots of red herrings, political intrique
Trigger Warnings: murder, torture, conspiracy, attempts to start a war
My Thoughts: This was a great book and an excellent story. There were so many twists and turns and it was almost impossible to figure out what was going on. I certainly had no idea what the denouement would end up revealing. Fans of mysteries and puzzles should absolutely love this.
Written in 1987, in some ways this book has really stood the test of time well. Of course there have been significant world changes in the past decades, but at the same time, murder and mysteries are pretty much the same. I was fascinated by this book being set in Israel, and particularly with the descriptions of the city and the people of the area, and the descriptions of the tourists and events in the city.
I was particularly taken by the love letter to Jerusalem that ends this book. The descriptions are so magical that it made me want to visit and see the place for myself. It sounds like a lovely city. If this book sounds like your sort of thing, don't hesitate to find your own copy.
Disclosure: I picked this book up used several years ago. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: It begins when the strangely marked body of a young prostitute is found just outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. A similarly disfigured corpse of an American nun turns up. Then an Arab boy. As the list of victims grows, their only apparent connection is the bizarre markings on their bodies; it appears that Israel is facing its first serial murder case.
David Bar-Lev, chief of the Pattern Crimes Unit of the Jerusalem police, is not so sure. A tough yet sensitive investigator with a powerful intelligence and a querying mind, he begins searching for a pattern that will explain the apparently random killings.
At first the disorder is overwhelming, the case unfathomable. But then, as David probes deeper into this particular pattern crime, he is not so sure he wants to understand it. Pieces emerge that suggest that this time the key may lie within his own life. During the course of his investigation he must uncover and confront many painful secrets:
• The mysterious behavior of his father, Avraham, a retired psychoanalyst;
• The tragic suicide of his brother, Gideon, a talented fighter pilot;
• The hidden past of his beautiful Russian lover, the cellist Anna;
• The possibility of corruption within the Jerusalem police and the ultra-secret General Security Services(Shin Bet).
But despite the pain of these and other revelations, David probes on until he finally glimpses his astonishing solution—for, as one cop says of David Bar-Lev, "It is not enough for him to investigate. David has to understand."
The Jerusalem of Pattern Crimes is not the idealized Holy City of the guidebooks. Depicted as the capital of an angry, anguished, torn-up nation, a city of prostitutes, narcotics dealers, lusting journalists, ruthless politicians and zealots of every stripe, it becomes here an arena for a remarkable story of crime and punishment.
This is a book about patterns—in love, in relationships, in politics, in art, in death. And always at the center is David Bar-Lev, one of the most memorable characters in recent crime fiction, relentlessly searching for the pattern that will unlock his case—the pattern he must uncover in order to clarify his vision … of himself, his family, and the country that he loves.
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of twisty mysteries, lots of red herrings, political intrique
Trigger Warnings: murder, torture, conspiracy, attempts to start a war
My Thoughts: This was a great book and an excellent story. There were so many twists and turns and it was almost impossible to figure out what was going on. I certainly had no idea what the denouement would end up revealing. Fans of mysteries and puzzles should absolutely love this.
Written in 1987, in some ways this book has really stood the test of time well. Of course there have been significant world changes in the past decades, but at the same time, murder and mysteries are pretty much the same. I was fascinated by this book being set in Israel, and particularly with the descriptions of the city and the people of the area, and the descriptions of the tourists and events in the city.
I was particularly taken by the love letter to Jerusalem that ends this book. The descriptions are so magical that it made me want to visit and see the place for myself. It sounds like a lovely city. If this book sounds like your sort of thing, don't hesitate to find your own copy.
Disclosure: I picked this book up used several years ago. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: It begins when the strangely marked body of a young prostitute is found just outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. A similarly disfigured corpse of an American nun turns up. Then an Arab boy. As the list of victims grows, their only apparent connection is the bizarre markings on their bodies; it appears that Israel is facing its first serial murder case.
David Bar-Lev, chief of the Pattern Crimes Unit of the Jerusalem police, is not so sure. A tough yet sensitive investigator with a powerful intelligence and a querying mind, he begins searching for a pattern that will explain the apparently random killings.
At first the disorder is overwhelming, the case unfathomable. But then, as David probes deeper into this particular pattern crime, he is not so sure he wants to understand it. Pieces emerge that suggest that this time the key may lie within his own life. During the course of his investigation he must uncover and confront many painful secrets:
• The mysterious behavior of his father, Avraham, a retired psychoanalyst;
• The tragic suicide of his brother, Gideon, a talented fighter pilot;
• The hidden past of his beautiful Russian lover, the cellist Anna;
• The possibility of corruption within the Jerusalem police and the ultra-secret General Security Services(Shin Bet).
But despite the pain of these and other revelations, David probes on until he finally glimpses his astonishing solution—for, as one cop says of David Bar-Lev, "It is not enough for him to investigate. David has to understand."
The Jerusalem of Pattern Crimes is not the idealized Holy City of the guidebooks. Depicted as the capital of an angry, anguished, torn-up nation, a city of prostitutes, narcotics dealers, lusting journalists, ruthless politicians and zealots of every stripe, it becomes here an arena for a remarkable story of crime and punishment.
This is a book about patterns—in love, in relationships, in politics, in art, in death. And always at the center is David Bar-Lev, one of the most memorable characters in recent crime fiction, relentlessly searching for the pattern that will unlock his case—the pattern he must uncover in order to clarify his vision … of himself, his family, and the country that he loves.
November 24, 2022
An atypical serial killer scenario, in an atypical setting. The sequence of murders, the investigation caused by this (which may or not end up linking to some other crimes that crop up throughout the book - we have a team of detectives and lots for them to do, constantly), and the explanation for ever-unfolding complexities all work just fine. But this is more Third Man than Silence of the Lambs...right down to dubious witnesses to a strange vehicle collision that may or may not have happened, or may have happened but not the way it seems, and a couple mystery-dudes helping some other mystery-dude limp away from the accident. A big question is: could this possibly the nexus point of a series of random killings. And will we be sticking with the word 'random' throughout...?
Just keep one phrase in mind: complicated, but not confusing.
For me, this book rounds up to 4 stars because I felt transported to Jerusalem, or certainly as it was in the late 1980s. The people, the places, the tour - even if it was a tour of murder sites, a lot of the time - I would swear all six senses got to experience this, but surely that didn't happen.
If the crime plot is merely above-average but compelling in the moment, and if the book ends up with a slightly patchy feel to it because of all the other subplots clicking along (if not rubbing up against) - well, I certainly loved the trip to Jerusalem.
Just keep one phrase in mind: complicated, but not confusing.
For me, this book rounds up to 4 stars because I felt transported to Jerusalem, or certainly as it was in the late 1980s. The people, the places, the tour - even if it was a tour of murder sites, a lot of the time - I would swear all six senses got to experience this, but surely that didn't happen.
If the crime plot is merely above-average but compelling in the moment, and if the book ends up with a slightly patchy feel to it because of all the other subplots clicking along (if not rubbing up against) - well, I certainly loved the trip to Jerusalem.
May 21, 2015
Pattern Crimes is an interesting mix of an Israeli detectives hunt for a serial killer while delving into mysteries surrounding his own family. The Jerusalem of the book, even with its unique religious background, comes across to this reader as a big city with big city problems for cops. It is a very well-written police procedural offerring glimpses into Israeli life
I read on kindle voyage while listening to the audible book for several hours and I am glad I did as some of the Israeli names would have tripped me up had I not seen them in print. The kindle book is poorer for not having a table of contents and not having x-ray enabled. X-ray, in particular, would have been very helpful to check on past actions of a character.
The narrator, Dick Hall, did an outstanding job with the characters and the accents involved.
I bought the kindle book and received the audible book in exchange for an honest review through Audio Book Blast.
January 21, 2016
Although somewhat slow to start, this is a suspenseful story that eventually grabs the reader's attention and holds it through its satisfactory conclusion.
One thing that seems a bit off about this story is the lack of denial and complacency of the perpetrators when confronted. The main characters are fairly
well drawn, although an understanding of the Israeli culture might be helpful.
I chose to listen to this audiobook because of its narrator, Dick Hill. As i expected, his performance is outstanding. The story is average, his narration
is great.
NOTE: I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for this unbiased review.
One thing that seems a bit off about this story is the lack of denial and complacency of the perpetrators when confronted. The main characters are fairly
well drawn, although an understanding of the Israeli culture might be helpful.
I chose to listen to this audiobook because of its narrator, Dick Hill. As i expected, his performance is outstanding. The story is average, his narration
is great.
NOTE: I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for this unbiased review.
July 8, 2018
This was a satisfying and very intriguing read, and one of the best mystery/thrill books that I've read in a long time. This book started with many puzzle pieces that seemed to not relate to one another at all, and then, at the last few parts of the book, it finally fits together. I think this book would definitely make my top three favorite mystery books, even if the book was a little bit too complex for me. Other than that, it was a great read!
July 31, 2018
Als een boek begint met een lijst van belangrijkste personages is dat meestal een teken dat er een vrij complex verhaal volgt. Maar dat valt nog mee. Er zitten wel meerdere verhaallijnen en rode draden in verweven maar al bij al kon ik het nog goed volgen. Maar de lijst van personages kwam wel van pas. Vooral omdat de personages ofwel Israëlische ofwel Russische namen hebben en dat is voor mij niet zo vlot leesbaar waardoor ik bij het lezen die namen onbewust oversla (raar misschien maar het is wel zo).
Hoofdpersonage is de rechercheur David Bar-Lev die het onderzoek leidt naar een aantal gewelddadige moorden in Jeruzalem. Er wordt vanuit gegaan dat er een seriemoordenaar aan het werk is maar al snel wordt duidelijk dat het niet zo “eenvoudig” is. Beetje bij beetje wordt duidelijk dat die moorden kaderen in een operatie om een veel groter complot te verdoezelen dat grote gevolgen kan hebben voor de toekomst van Israël en de wereldvrede in het algemeen.
Maar het is meer dan een puur politieverhaal. David Bar-Lev zelf is een complexe persoonlijkheid die worstelt met zijn eigen demonen. Het feit dat hij “maar” politieman is (in Israël blijkbaar een minderwaardige job, althans volgens Bayer en misschien in de tijd dat het verhaal geschreven is, nl. 1987), zijn relatie met de Russische dissidente Anna, zijn moeilijke relatie met zijn vader en met zijn dochter uit een vroeger huwelijk, enz.
Bayer geeft ook treffend weer hoe tijdrovend en frustrerend een nauwgezet onderzoek kan zijn.
Het verhaal kwam wel traag op gang. Na zoveel jaren leesplezier weet ik nog steeds niet of ik dat goed of slecht moet vinden omdat ik besef dat er altijd wel een inleiding nodig is. De personages moeten eerst voorgesteld worden, de context moet geschetst worden en eventuele belangrijke achtergrondinformatie moet aan de lezer voorgeschoteld worden. Maar ik wil als lezer ook zo snel mogelijk weten waar het nu eigenlijk om gaat.
Maar van zodra ik in het verhaal was gezogen heb ik het in één ruk uitgelezen.
Hoofdpersonage is de rechercheur David Bar-Lev die het onderzoek leidt naar een aantal gewelddadige moorden in Jeruzalem. Er wordt vanuit gegaan dat er een seriemoordenaar aan het werk is maar al snel wordt duidelijk dat het niet zo “eenvoudig” is. Beetje bij beetje wordt duidelijk dat die moorden kaderen in een operatie om een veel groter complot te verdoezelen dat grote gevolgen kan hebben voor de toekomst van Israël en de wereldvrede in het algemeen.
Maar het is meer dan een puur politieverhaal. David Bar-Lev zelf is een complexe persoonlijkheid die worstelt met zijn eigen demonen. Het feit dat hij “maar” politieman is (in Israël blijkbaar een minderwaardige job, althans volgens Bayer en misschien in de tijd dat het verhaal geschreven is, nl. 1987), zijn relatie met de Russische dissidente Anna, zijn moeilijke relatie met zijn vader en met zijn dochter uit een vroeger huwelijk, enz.
Bayer geeft ook treffend weer hoe tijdrovend en frustrerend een nauwgezet onderzoek kan zijn.
Het verhaal kwam wel traag op gang. Na zoveel jaren leesplezier weet ik nog steeds niet of ik dat goed of slecht moet vinden omdat ik besef dat er altijd wel een inleiding nodig is. De personages moeten eerst voorgesteld worden, de context moet geschetst worden en eventuele belangrijke achtergrondinformatie moet aan de lezer voorgeschoteld worden. Maar ik wil als lezer ook zo snel mogelijk weten waar het nu eigenlijk om gaat.
Maar van zodra ik in het verhaal was gezogen heb ik het in één ruk uitgelezen.
February 2, 2022
Great crime Novel with ingenious plott. The State of Israel its past, present and future interwoven inside insidious scheme. Hoever the style of the Novel lack of fast passed action IT is more A.C.Doyle Meets A.Ch but the last fifty pages of the Novel the moment when all peaces of the puzzle fall all in the right Place that is the moment when the reader can say to himself " iami al sabbahtan "
October 20, 2020
Interesting to have one set in Jerusalem, with the Chief of pattern designs in the police. Many murders in different countries with these markings. To find there is a lot more behind them. Different and narration was good. Given audio for my voluntary review
January 25, 2023
This was a very good book.There were a few storylines and I found it a bit long,but it was good. Narration by Dick Hill was very good.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
May 6, 2017
Jerusalem centered mystery. No bad. A fun change from the normal USA city centered novels. Give it a try. You might enjoy it even more than I did.
January 27, 2024
Disappointed. Excellent plot, but poorly executed.
February 11, 2014
Interesting murder mystery...I didn't think all the different facets of the plot would tie together but they did and quite well. Enjoyed a book set in Israel; I like things set in places that I have been so that I can imagine the events more clearly.
March 5, 2015
This is a very satisfying police procedural set in Jerusalem. It is fast paced and very intense. Highly recommended reading, very entertaining.
October 16, 2016
Very good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews