*Starred Review* This historical family saga, first of a planned trilogy, invites inevitable comparison with Leon Uris' Exodus, the action picking up in 1950, directly after the historical events Uris depicts. Fletcher, however, focuses more on characters than on Israel's history as the protagonists' personal perspectives bring the interwar period (between WWII and the Six-Day War) to life. Brothers Peter and Arie, in love with the same woman, can be seen to represent Israel's political, religious, and social entities vying for dominance. Holocaust survivor Arie is a keenly competitive businessman with questionable morality, and family man Peter, a Mossad agent, battles conflicted motivations. Israel's struggles shape their lives: revenge, distrust, prejudice, and resentment that sometimes quell hope and their fighting spirit. Readers unfamiliar with Israeli and Palestinian history may struggle with factions, battles, and names, but the author's focus on the characters keeps the action alive for those who love a good family saga. Fletcher, well known for his National Jewish Book Award-winning Walking Israel (2010), and for his character-driven novels, including Jacob's Oath (2013), knows his subject and dramatizes it to great effect. Another compelling story of Jewish brothers caught in wartime conflict, Julie Orringer's The Invisible Bridge (2010), might also appeal to Fletcher's readers. Those interested in the same period, seen from a Palestinian perspective, might like Susan Abulhawa's Mornings in Jenin (2010).--Jen Baker Copyright 2018 Booklist

Two brothers are separated by war when 14-year-old Peter is sent to America to escape the growing Nazi threat, and his younger sibling Arie stays behind in Germany and is sent to Auschwitz with their family. Only Arie survives. Then, in 1950 in Tel Aviv, both young men meet and fall in love with Tamara, a Jewish refugee from Cairo, Egypt. Peter, now working for Israel's intelligence agency, the Mossad, goes on a covert mission and Arie gets the girl. Over the next two decades as the young Jewish state faces increasing challenges, the brothers take different paths. Peter heads some of Israel's top espionage operations, while Arie becomes one of the country's wealthiest men. Award-winning journalist and novelist Fletcher (The War Reporter) crafts a compelling historical novel that is sexy, suspenseful, and successfully mixes humor and high drama. Although the cast of characters is large, their names serve as chapter titles to help readers follow each twist and turn of this epic story. A lovely surprise at the end makes the whole book worthwhile, as if it wasn't already fascinating enough. VERDICT Engrossing for historical fiction fans, especially those drawn to the dramatic events of the mid-20th century.-Joel Shoemaker, Illinois Prairie Dist. P.L., Metamora © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.