The Saturday Morning Murder: A Psychoanalytic Case

The Saturday Morning Murder was recommended to me by a psychoanalyst friend and I cannot thank him enough for turning me on to a whole series of novels by a writer who deserves to be far better known. I do not generally read detective stories. But I found that Batya Gur is an impeccable writer whose eye and ear are attuned to the nuances of general human behavior and the sociology of Israeli life in Jerusalem in particular. I could not put this book down and I plan to read through everything this author has written

This is Batya Gur's best book in my opinion. The atmosphere and locale are wonderfully well-drawn, as are the characters. This book truly communicates a time and place. The tensions and dilemmas of life in Israel at that time, the histories that each of the characters bring with them to the story are rich and convincing.

Just sent this novel to some shrink friends. As usual, the author offers crisp narrative (well rendered by a supple translation), a panorama of vivdly drawn characters, a strong sense of time and place (O Jerusalem!), and a plot of decent complication. As well, there are the author's usual faults: a somewhat pretentious detailing of the rituals and nomenclature of a heuristic community; and, as with all women authors (yes!!) of detective stories, she adores her hero, who is much too good to be true (see, for example, Cmndr Dalgliesh or Lord Peter or Marshal Guarnaccia or Commisario Brunetti, etc., etc; is Mr Darcy the prototype Ms hero?). The author offers a novel's eye-view of upper-middle-class, cosmopolitan Jerusalem in the late 1980s. Sharply written, this novel aims, patently, to instruct as well as to entertain. As usual, with the latter, the author succeeds.

When Shlomo Gold finds his mentor well known psycho analyst Eva Neidorf, dead early one Saturday morning in Jerusalem, detective Michael Ohayon begins his search for the murderer. Batya Gur meticulously lays out the clues while providing the reader with information about Freudian psychoanalysis. Gur's writing is not the fast paced mystery that some prefer, it slowly draws the reader to the conclusion. providing little steps along the way. She does give away the culprit before the end of the book and the mystery that remains is how Michael Ohayon will manage to snare the murderer. Gur's use of the setting and background information regarding Freudian psychology deftly adds to the interest of this book.Michael Ohayon is an interesting detective. He is a troubled, thoughtful man who could use some psychoanalysis himself. Ohayon is a complex creature who has the feel for solving crimes. This book is to be recommended especially to those who enjoy psychology and who have at least some background in the Freudian technique. Those readers who prefer fast paced reading should avoid the Saturday Morning Murder.

I always enjoy a good who-dunnnit, and "Saturday Morning Murder" was certainly enjoyable and well written. The main character and investigator, Michael Ohayon, isn't your usual take-charge and hunt-'em-down police detective. He takes a more intellectual approach to investigating the murder of a prominent Psychoanalytic Institute's most respected member. The reader can see the obvious (and in this case, ironic) parallels between psychoanalysis and police investigation. The depth to which the author is able to illuminate the art of psychotherapy and how its unique conditions contribute to the mystery of this murder is also fascinating and makes this story more than just your average murder mystery.This could be thought of as a thinking person's mystery -- there's very little gore or lurid descriptions of crime scenes, and no violent confrontational scenes you might find in Patricia Cornwell's or Jonathan Kellerman's writing. The horror of the crime and the necessity of figuring out who committed it is no less compelling, however. The book takes a slow start, introducing the characters in a philosophical/analytical style, but the complexity of the case and the implications of "whodunnit" were more than interesting enough to draw me in until the last page.