Thriller, Action

A terrible crime was perpetrated in the Jewish ghetto of Rome some sixty years ago, and now it threatens the financial empire of the Lorenzini family. Jonathan Meislik, an ordinary Torah student from B'nei Brak, accidentally exposes the secret and is drawn unwillingly into a whirlpool of conflicts. He finds himself opposed by powerful elements committed to hush this case at any price. Itzik Peled accompanies a group of ailing children to a Dutch summer camp. He presents himself as a journalist, but he appears to be enmeshed in a case of espionage. Suspicions mount from day to day. Is he a traitor? What are his real intentions? And in Israel, a pious family from Jerusalem endures threats and persecution over a cache of ancient documents. In a heart-pounding pursuit, crisscrossing continents and oceans from New York's Little Italy through Amsterdam, Paris, and Luxembourg to the quiet streets of Bnei Brak, the tension escalates. And abruptly, everything becomes startlingly clear . . . 

This collection of books featuring Jewish main characters is decidedly non-comprehensive. As we come across books that are described as having Jewish main characters, we add them to this database. The creators of the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge have not read all (or even most) of the books in this database. We have gathered information from many sources and not all may be accurate. Inclusion of a book in our database does not imply endorsement or approval. There is always the possibility that antisemitism may be present in a book, either written into a character's experience or through malicious or ignorant caricature or stereotypical portrayal of Jewish characters and culture. Please take care of yourselves as you read. 

PLEASE let us know if you encounter a book in this database that does not have a Jewish main character, if you have corrections or additions for a book's genre categories, or if you have any other concerns about the inclusion of a particular book in this database.