The Missing File

In The Missing File, Israeli detective Avraham Avraham must find a teenage boy gone missing from the suburbs of Tel Aviv in this first volume in a fresh new literary 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.

Detective Avraham Avraham must find a teenage boy who has vanished from his quiet suburban neighborhood.

Police detective Avraham Avraham knows that when a crime is committed in his sleepy suburb of Tel Aviv, there is little need for a complex investigation. There are no serial killers or kidnappings here. The perpetrator is usually the neighbor, the uncle, or the father. As he has learned, the simplest explanation is always the answer.

But his theory is challenged when a sixteen-year-old boy named Ofer Sharabi disappears without a trace while on his way to school one morning. There is no simple explanation, and Avraham's ordered world is consumed by the unimaginable perplexity of the case.

The more he finds out about the boy and his circumstances, the further out of reach the truth seems to be. Avraham's best lead is Ofer's older neighbor and tutor, Ze'ev Avni. Avni has information that sheds new light on the case—and makes him a likely suspect. But will the neighbor's strange story save the investigation?

Told through dual perspectives, The Missing File is a crisp, suspenseful tale that introduces an indelible new detective and offers an evocative portrait of suburban life and tension with a universal reach. As it draws to its startling conclusion, D. A. Mishani's twisting mystery will have readers questioning notions of innocence and guilt, and the nebulous nature of truth.

“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