A Possibility of Violence

When a suitcase containing a fake bomb is found outside a daycare in Tel Aviv, police are worried it’s just a warning of more to follow. And they’re right–a few hours later a threat is called in. “This is only the beginning,” says a female voice.

Inspector Avraham Avraham, known as Avi, takes over the investigation early on. He’s just returned from an extended stay in Belgium and is expecting his fiance Marianka to join him any day. He begins to investigate the daycare, and pulls in a few of the parents for questioning. One of them, Chaim Sara, isn’t that interesting initially to Avi, who is beginning to suspect that the owner of the daycare has something to hide. He releases him, but tells the assistant teacher at the daycare to let him know if any of the families leave for vacation. The next day, Chaim announces he’s taking his 2 boys to Manila.

In the meantime, the reader is getting to know Chaim as the narrative voice moves back and forth between Avi and Chaim. We see Chaim as a somewhat insecure father, older, desperately in love with his two young sons and grieving the distance between them that he can’t seem to bridge. We know the mother is absent but we’re not sure why.

A Possibility of Violence is the second Avi Avraham, and presents us once again with a haunted detective–in this instance by the case we read about in the first book, The Missing File (linked to my review). Like the stereotypical general fighting a previous war, Avi is still trying to find peace with the mistakes he made in his search for a missing boy. The threat implied in the suitcase is followed up by an attack, but Avi by this point is desperately trying to save other children–but from what or whom he isn’t sure.

In A Possibility of Violence, Avi is more self-assured than he was in the first book. More of the focus is on the case itself. Chaim is an interesting character, one for whom I felt a strong sympathy, as we see him desperate for connection with his oldest son in particular. He’s a man who’s been beaten down by life, and who will take desperate measures to reach his goal. Avi, in the meantime, follows his instincts in spite of his supervisor’s instructions, all in a desperate search for peace and a way to live with himself. As such, he is a much more interesting character–still flawed, but more forceful.