The Wolf Hunt

The latest from Gundar-Goshen (The Liar) is an ethically complex literary thriller. Israeli immigrant Lilach Shuster lives comfortably in Silicon Valley, where her husband, Mikhael, is COO of a weapons tech company and their teenage son, Adam, enjoys science. But a deadly attack at a local synagogue shatters the community’s sense of safety. Adam, along with other Jewish teens, signs up for krav maga–style defense training led by the charismatic, intense Uri, an acquaintance of Mikhael’s from when they were in the Israeli army. When Jamal, a Black teen who repeatedly bullied Adam, dies at a party of an apparent overdose, Adam becomes a suspect and antisemitic graffiti surfaces at his high school. Amid escalating blame and suspicion and with little social or professional support, Lilach feels alienated—not truly part of an American community, no longer fully Israeli—and at odds with the rest of her family due to her mounting skepticism of the mysterious Uri and his methods. Gundar-Goshen effectively employs the long history of tension between Jews and the Nation of Islam, as well as the latent prejudices of her characters, to cast doubt and build suspense. These biases include Lilach’s own, which surface in her narration and make for an intriguing character study. This brainy suburban suspense novel is both taut and timely. (Aug.)