Last Bullet Calls It

Written by Amir Gutfreund

Narrated by Assaf Cohen, Amin El Gamal, Kathleen Gati and 3 more

In this award-winning mystery by one of Israel’s best-loved authors, a plot of vengeance reveals deeper truths about the complexity of being human.

Coupon-clipping police superintendent Jonah Merlin thinks he has an open-and-shut case on his hands after the body of a beautiful woman is found discarded in a run-down building in Tel Aviv. All evidence points to two suspects, but finding them will require unorthodox methods to decode the cryptic words sprayed at every crime scene.

As the body count rises, graffiti expert Rai Zitrin and precocious seventeen-year-old Zoe Navon agree to help Merlin uncover the connection between the killing spree and the words of Polish writer Bruno Schulz, who was murdered by Nazis seventy years ago.

Why would a serial killer quote the famous author’s poetic words of unrequited love? The search leads this unlikely trio on a race against the clock to solve the case before the killer has the last laugh...and the last bullet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Translator: Yardenne Greenspan and Evan Fallenberg
• Release date: Apr 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9781536626162

Amir Gutfreund

Amir Gutfreund was born in Haifa in 1963. After studying applied mathematics at the Technion, he joined the Israeli Air Force, where he worked in the field of mathematical research. The author of five novels and a collection of short stories, he received the Buchman Prize from the Yad Vashem Institute in 2002, the Sapir Prize in 2003, the Sami Rohr Choice Award from the Jewish Book Council in 2007, and the Prime Minister’s Award in 2012. Last Bullet Calls It was awarded the 2015 Ramat-Gan Prize for Literature. Gutfreund lived with his family in the Galilee in northern Israel. In November 2015, at the age of fifty-two, he passed away after a brave battle with cancer.

Reviews for Last Bullet Calls It

[datrappert · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Israeli detective searches for a serial killer (or killers) who leave Bruno Schultz quotes painted on the walls of the crime scene. He is aided by two misfit colleagues, a 17 year old girl, and a graffiti expert who doubles as as construction worker. With its settings and oddball cast of characters, the book succeeds in drawing the reader in and remains compelling throughout. But the writing, or perhaps the translation (two translators) is at times pedestrian or awkward. The finale, while incredibly cinematic, also doesn't hold up in retrospect since there would be no reason for the local detective to allow the final journey to take place. Still, I can't say I regret reading this. It definitely has its moments, but it suffers from too many digressions in too many voices (the killer's constant monologue, the victims thoughts, etc.) that are inconsistently written. The characters, while very interesting, are not fully fleshed out either, and their motivations are vague--other than the killer and the detective's one colleague who is just looking for an opportunity to use violence against someone. There is just too much going on in this story and it isn't well constructed. The author's running joke about the detective always trying to use coupons and failing also falls flat. It is a good example of the unsuccessful mixture of the truly interesting and truly mundane that makes up this book.