Dilemma of a tough attorney

In Hesh Kestin's new thriller, The Lie (Scribe, £8.99), Dahlia Barr, a feisty Israeli lawyer, specialises in defending Palestinians accused of terrorism. She is shrewd, brash, tough and doesn't suffer fools. One day, she is approached with a request to become the government's arbiter on when to use the harshest of interrogation methods - torture, in other words.

As she has no intention of permitting torture, could she perhaps change the system from within? Soon after she starts her new job, Dahlia is presented with a conundrum. Her 20-year-old son Ari, a lieutenant in the Israeli Defence Forces, is kidnapped by Hizbollah - and tortured. Edward Al-Masri, a professor and activist with dual Canadian/Israeli nationality may hold the key to Ari's rescue. However, locked in a police cell, Al-Masri has so far refused to talk. He also shares a long and complicated history with Dahlia.

To reveal any more of the plot would spoil the enjoyment of this consummate thriller, with its many twists and turns and a devastating ending.

Kestin is a natural storyteller. His prose is punchy, direct and occasionally elegant. He is adept at building tension and creating believable, flawed characters. Prior to becoming a writer, he spent 18 years in the IDF. He also has extensive experience as a foreign correspondent, reporting on the Middle East and elsewhere, on matters of war, international security and terrorism.