Covenant

Living in terror-torn Jerusalem, Elise Margulies constantly fears for the safety of her loved ones. Confined to bedrest during a difficult pregnancy, she happily awaits the return of her husband and little girl from a ballet recital, only to find that her worst fears have finally been realized. All seems lost until a phone call to her grandmother in America unexpectedly revives a decades-old oath, creating a force that transends time and place, to rescue her loved ones. Over the course of five terror- and hope-filled days, the ties that bind two generations forge a potent alliance against contemporary evil.

"The Covenant is Naomi Ragen at her finest hour."

—Faye Kellerman, author of Straight into Darkness

"A scrupulously fair-minded and riveting tale of current Israel. A deft mix of past and present, the story's as much political thriller as conventional tale about the ties of family and friendship." -Kirkus

"Ragen's skill at storytelling has been proven time and again. In The Covenant she not only manages to keep up the exciting momentum, but it is probably her strongest book to date." -Ruth Eglash, The Jerusalem Post

"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

"The Covenant…brings the headlines heartbreakingly home and redefines the unlimited boundaries of lifelong friendship."—Gay Courter, author of The Midwife and Code Ezra

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.

Naomi Ragen is the author of five international bestsellers, including Jephte's Daughter and The Ghost of Hannah Mendes. Her weekly email columns on life in the Middle East are read and distributed by thousands of subscribers worldwide. An American, she has lived in Jerusalem for the past thirty-three years and was recently voted one of the three most popular authors in Israel.