Read “Murder, Jaz & Tel Aviv” by Kate McVaugh

For me, there isn’t anything much better than combining a mystery with exotic travel.  “Murder, Jaz and Tel Aviv” by Kate McVaugh offers a fascinating story of a young single woman from the United States living in Tel Aviv.  

Jazmine, Jaz for short, Davidson, a thirty four year old English as a second language teacher in San Francisco needed some excitement in her life.  As the adage goes, “Be careful what you wish for.”  


Her mother had been encouraging her to go to Israel and meet a nice Jewish boy and her cousin, who she had grown up with now lives on a kibbutz and had been begging her to visit.  So Israel seemed like a natural place, despite the fact that Jaz knew little about the culture and didn’t speak Hebrew fluently.  After visiting her cousin and reconfirming that life on the kibbutz was not for her, Jaz ends up in Tel Aviv in a cheap, dumpy, one-room apartment two blocks from the Mediterranean.

She finds her first English student, a rich businessman and things start looking up.  Unfortunately when she returns for the second meeting, Jaz finds him dead and after attempting CPR, ends up covered in his blood and is told by the police not to leave the country.  In the aftermath, Jaz is attacked by strangers and has her blood covered clothes stolen. She realizes that she doesn’t know who to trust in Israel.  

I strongly recommend this book.  It is fast paced and full of romance and intrigue.  I really enjoyed learning more about Tel Aviv and the culture there.  Reading about the difficulty that one faces not knowing the language or the culture and trying to survive is always fascinating.  The book would have been wonderful even without the intriguing mystery. I am hoping that Jaz reappears in a series as she is a compelling character.  

It is evident that the author Kate McVaugh has spent a great deal of time traveling in foreign lands and learning how to adjust to a new way of doing things.  In the 70’s, before modern technology,  Kate served as a Peace Corp volunteer in Brazil. This meant that she knew what it was like to be in a different country where few people spoke English and she needed to learn the language and the customs of a different country.  Kate, like Jaz has also worked as an English as a Second Language Teacher both in California and abroad.  She is also a travel writer and blogs for Lonely Planet.

This book is a steal from Amazon on Kindle for only $.99.

Five Stars out of Five.