Jonathan de Shalit — A Spy in Exile

The novel felt like several stories stuffed into one book with no real connection except Ya’ara Stein, an ex-agent of Israel’s Mossad, who is training a group of unlikely recruits to become a black ops unit. There is no overall plot, unless you count the random chapters about the sculptor, which doesn’t tie into the story until the end. There is a story with a plot in the first half of the book, but that ended in chapter thirty-something out of seventy-eight.

Lots of time is spent on character development of the unlikely recruits. The main protagonist, Ya’ara, is the least likeable—cold and cruel.

Slow paced, the story didn’t flow. I wouldn’t call it a thriller.