The Missing File: A Novel

The inspiration for the Peacock Original series The Calling, streaming now!

"A tense, gripping page-turner that I devoured in two days—it’s hard to believe it’s a debut.”  — S.J. Watson, New York Times bestselling author of Before I Go to Sleep

Israeli detective Avraham Avraham must find a teenage boy gone missing from the suburbs of Tel Aviv in this first volume in the thrilling crime series by D. A. Mishani.

Crimes in Avraham’s quiet suburb are generally not all that complex. But when a sixteen-year-old boy goes missing and a schoolteacher offers up a baffling complication, Avraham finds himself questioning everything he thought he knew about his life.

Told through alternating points of view, The Missing File is an emotionally wrought, character-driven page-turner with plenty of twists and turns. It’s a mystery that will leave readers questioning the notions of innocence and guilt, and the nebulous nature of truth.

Police detective Avraham Avraham knows that when a crime is committed in his quiet suburb of Tel Aviv, there is little need for a complex investigation. He has found that the simplest explanation is always the answer . . . until now.

“A wonderfully satisfying detective mystery, with a heartbreaking finale. A tense, gripping page-turner that I devoured in two days—it’s hard to believe it’s a debut.” - S.J. Watson, New York Times bestselling author of Before I Go to Sleep

“Mishani weaves a densely complex psychological mystery…[and] provides a stunning and surprising conclusion.” - Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

“[A] solid brainteaser…. satisfying…. a thoughtful character study of a good man deeply troubled by issues of innocence and guilt. ” - Marilyn Stasio, New York Times

“[A] very well-written and well-plotted story.” - Daily American

“[A] promising debut…[that] examines issues of truth, lies and perspective…. Raders of edgy mysteries set in unusual places will eagerly await his planned sequel.” - Richmond Times-Dispatch

“The sense of place here is fascinating (Tel Aviv’s suburbs seem both familiar and exotic), and the focus on Avi’s state of mind, which is plumbed continuously, brings psychological depth. Procedural details are intriguing, too, suggesting that policing, at least in Holon, is a more humane enterprise than in the U.S. Armchair-traveler crime aficionados will welcome Mishani’s debut and look forward to Avi’s return.” - Booklist

“When sixteen-year-old Ofer disappears one morning while on his way to school, Detective Avraham Avraham is brought in to investigate a case that will consume his life. As Avraham discovers more about the boy, the mystery of his disappearance becomes even tougher to solve. D. A. Mishani’s The Missing File is the first installment of a gripping new crime series.” - World Literature Today

“A gripping new crime series.” - World Literature Today

“The sense of place here is fascinating, and the focus on Avi’s state of mind, which is plumbed continuously, brings psychological depth. Procedural details are intriguing, too. . . . Armchair-traveler crime aficionados will welcome Mishani’s debut and look forward to Avi’s return.” - Booklist

“A compelling debut in a complex case aimed straight at the reader’s heart.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Outstanding. . . . Mishani puts his expertise in the genre to good use in combining the procedural and the puzzle with artful misdirection.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Impressive! . . . Dror Mishani writes with profound originality. . . . A truly interesting story.” - Henning Mankell

“There’s an old saying: ‘Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.’ It is a fitting reverse description of the author of this debut novel. He is a literary scholar and editor of international fiction and crime literature at Keter Books in Israel and a literary scholar, specializing in the history of detective literature. So he is something of an anomaly. He has created a new…memorable…protagonist, Israeli detective Avraham (‘Avi’) Avraham. The translation is smooth, and the twist at the end is so unexpected that it is worthy of a more seasoned novelist. … Recommended" - Theodore Reit, Spinetingler Magazine

“[Mishani] has created a new…memorable…protagonist, Israeli detective Avraham (‘Avi’) Avraham. The translation is smooth, and the twist at the end is so unexpected that it is worthy of a more seasoned novelist. … Recommended." - Spinetingler Magazine