Dror Mishani

Dror A. Mishani (born 1975 in Holon, Israel) is a celebrated Israeli crime novelist, editor and literary scholar. He served as the editor-in-chief of the Haaretz Book Review (2005–2008) and has translated works by renowned French thinkers like Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault. He is best known for his internationally acclaimed detective series featuring Inspector Avraham Avraham (4 volumes so far) and his psychological thriller, Three. Mishani’s writing is often praised for its subversion of traditional detective tropes—particularly through Avraham, a detective who initially believes there are “no crimes in Israel”. Beyond his novels, Mishani is a leading expert on the history of detective fiction. He heads the creative writing program and lectures on literature at Tel Aviv University. He has served as an editor for international fiction and crime literature at Keter Books in Israel. [Google/AI]

Inspector Avraham Avraham is a detective in the Tel Aviv suburb of Holon, who often struggles with his own professional intuition and the moral weight of his cases.

The Missing File (2011): When a 16-year-old boy vanishes on his way to school, Avraham initially dismisses the case as a routine runaway situation. As the search intensifies, he becomes consumed by guilt and the baffling involvement of a local schoolteacher who seems desperate to insert himself into the investigation.

A Possibility of Violence (2013): A fake suitcase bomb is found near a daycare center, followed by a threat that this is “only the beginning”. Avraham, still reeling from his previous case, focuses on a father of two whose wife has mysteriously disappeared to the Philippines—a story that doesn’t quite add up.

The Man Who Wanted to Know Everything (2015): Now Head of Investigations, Avraham handles his first murder case: a woman named Leah Yeger, whom he remembers as a rape victim from years prior. Despite the rapist still being in prison, a neighbor reports seeing a policeman leave the scene, leading Avraham to suspect one of his own.

Conviction (2021): Avraham juggles two seemingly unrelated cases—a newborn found abandoned outside a hospital and a mysterious Swiss tourist who vanished from a hotel. The investigations take him to Paris and force him to confront people he thought he knew. 

Standalone Thriller - Three (2018): This novel follows three different women in Tel Aviv: Orna (a divorcee), Emilia (a Latvian immigrant), and Ella (a graduate student). All three become involved with the same man, Gil, a seemingly “banal” individual who hides a dark and predatory nature. The book explores how the “normalization of violence” can trap people in plain sight. [Google/AI]

Mishani, D. A. [Avraham Avraham #1], (The Missing File [hc, Harper, transl. by Steven Cohen, 2013]) 978-0062195371 [pb, Harper Paperbacks, 2014] 978-0062195388

Mishani, D. A. [Avraham Avraham #2], (A Possibility of Violence [hc, Harper, transl. by Todd Hasak-Lowy, 2014]) 978-0062195401 [pb, Harper Paperbacks, 2015] 978-0062195425

Mishani, D. A. [Avraham Avraham #3], (The Man Who Wanted To Know Everything [hc, Riverrun, transl. by Todd Hasak-Lowy, 2016]) 978-1784296902 [pb, Harper Paperbacks, 2016] 978-0062447906

Mishani, D.A., [Avraham Avraham #4], (Conviction: It’s a matter of life - and death [hc, Riverrun, transl. by Jessica Cohen, 2022]) 978-1784297473 [pb, Riverrun, 2023] 978-1784297497

Mishani, D.A., Three [hc, Quercus Books/Riverrun, transl. by Jessica Cohen, 2020]) 978-1529400090 [pb, Hachette International, 2021] 978-1529400120

Mishani, D.A., (The Little Picture (2024/2025) – A war diary written following the October 7th events, titled Hatmuna Haktana in Hebrew.  - forthcoming