Ben Kamal & Danielle Barnea Books In Order

Publication Order of Ben Kamal & Danielle Barnea Books

The ‘Ben Kamal & Danielle Barnea’ series is the creation of Jon Land. The books are technically police procedurals, though they tend to flirt with aspects of the international spy thriller genre.

+The Story

The Ben Kamal & Danielle Barnea series began publication in 1997 at a time when the Israel/Palestine conflict was showing signs of winding down. Bill Clinton was the president of the United States and there was a lot of hullaballoo surrounding the Oslo Peace Accords.

It isn’t uncommon for authors to use contemporary occurrences and events to produce fiction. In fact, the majority of police procedurals on the shelves of bookstores typically feature aspects of the news stories that were trending at the time they were written.

However, of all the authors that wrote and published novels in the 1990s, Jon Land stands out because he chose to set his newest series in the Middle East, specifically within the heart of the Israel/Palestine conflict.

‘The Walls of Jericho’, the first book in the series, immediately elicited interest from fans because it set the stage for a coordinated effort by both Palestinian and Jewish law enforcement agencies to solve a crime.

The book introduces audiences to Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea, as distinct a pair of detectives as any author has ever produced.

Ben and Danielle tend to pique the interest of readers because they are a Palestinian and an Israeli detective working hand in hand at a time when their two nations are striving to hack out a peace treaty.

Ben Kamal was raised in the United States. A Detroit detective with extensive experience in the field, like many of his countrymen, Kamal came back home to Palestine to help his country rebuild.

Where other expatriates saw fit to invest in the business sector and possibly even participate in the war effort, Kamal was recruited by the National Police and charged with helping his fellow officers master the art of accurate, unbiased detective work.

Kamal’s world is upended when a serial killer emerges on the scene and threatens to destroy Palestine/Israel peace talks.

Even with the fate of two nations weighing down on him, Kamal is relatively confident in his ability to bring the perpetrator to justice. That confidence wavers when Kamal learns that he must pursue his case in the company of Danielle Barnea, an Israeli Shin Bet agent.

Shin Bet is the equivalent of the FBI, and Danielle is one of the best the agency has to offer.

The primary attraction of the Ben Kamal & Danielle Barnea series is the idea of a Palestinian and an Israeli cop being forced to work together. And as might be expected, neither protagonist is amused by the prospect of what essentially amounts to a Palestine/Israeli joint task force.

The hatred between the Jewish and Palestine people runs deep, and not even Kamal’s time in the United States has extinguished his mistrust of Palestine’s primary foe. And having spent her whole life combating Palestinian extremists, Danielle cannot help but view Kamal as the enemy.

Danielle and Kamal must overcome their personal grudges and misconceptions if they are to save the day.

The Ben Kamal & Danielle Barnea series explores the relationship dynamics of its protagonists in far more detail than most people might expect.

These books would definitely classify as police procedurals.

Each new novel finds Kamal and Danielle living separate lives and generally investigating independent cases. However, it doesn’t take long for their individual investigations to collide, forcing Kamal and Danielle to join forces.

Jon Land’s villains are nefarious figures whose intentions threaten to engulf the Middle East in war. The stakes are typically grave because the tension between Israel and Palestine is always so high.

And both Danielle and Kamal know that it wouldn’t take much to ignite an all-out conflict between their two nations. So they are almost always working against some sort of clock.

However, at the end of the day, Danielle and Kamal are detectives, and that is what they spend this Jon Land series doing. The differences in their expertise and tactics are highlighted, but when it is all said and done, fans of this series tune in to watch a Jewish and Palestinian police officer identify clues, interview suspects and arrive at shocking conclusions.

That being said, Kamal and Danielle’s relationship always takes center stage. For all the mistrust that simmers between them, neither protagonist can ignore the magnetic attraction they feel for one another.

And it is that attraction that not only allows the pair to overcome their differences but also makes their professional relationship so complicated.

Danielle and Kamal know they can never be together. However, their resolve is frequently tested by the many cases that keep throwing them into close proximity of one another.

+The Author

Jon Land is an American author that writes thriller novels. A former student of Brown University, Jon is an experienced martial artist who has traveled extensively during his lifetime.

A screenwriter with a notable reputation in the publishing arena, it is from his many travels and the research he does at the places he visits that Jon gets inspiration for his novels.

+The Walls of Jericho

The world is watching with baited breath as Israel and Palestine strive to iron out a lasting peace treaty. However, peace talks are threatened when a serial killer strikes.

Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea are charged with bringing him to justice and keeping Israel and Palestine on the path to a bright conflict-free future.

However, neither Kamal nor Danielle is looking forward to this particular assignment. Kamal is Palestinian. He might have been raised in America but it is Palestine that the former Detroit Detective calls home.

Danielle is Jewish. And as one of the best agents Shin Bet has, she does not find the idea of working side by side with a Palestinian cop amusing. Danielle and Kamal must decide if they are willing to put their differences aside for the greater good.

+The Pillars of Solomon

Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea joined forces to stop a serial killer. That was months ago. Kamal, a Palestinian Cop hasn’t done any detective work since then. The former Detroit detective is drawn back into the action when children go missing in his native West Bank.

Meanwhile, Danielle took a break from police work to deal with some personal matters. When a tragedy forces her back into the field, Kamal is the last person she expects to see.

The pair thought they were working separate cases. But then their investigations collided, forcing Kamal and Danielle to face each other and the feelings from which they had attempted to flee.