The Labyrinth of Osiris

By: Paul Sussman

Narrated by: Gordon Griffin

Much has changed since Yusuf Khalifa of the Luxor Police and hard-nosed Jerusalem detective Arieh Ben-Roi last met. Ben-Roi is about to become a father, and Khalifa is struggling with personal tragedies. But as they each work on their own - seemingly isolated - cases, the two investigations begin to entwine. They soon find themselves drawn into a sinister web of violence, abuse, corporate malpractice and anti-capitalist terrorism. And at the heart of the web lies the Labyrinth...

©2012 Paul Sussman (P)2012 W F Howes Ltd

The Best Book I've Received

If you could sum up The Labyrinth of Osiris in three words, what would they be?

Excellent Excellent Excellent

Who was your favorite character and why?

Do not know the spelling ... but the two detectives.

What does Gordon Griffin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Accents and emotions

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both

Any additional comments?

Read it! .. or Listen to it! ............. its good

Another dead author

What made the experience of listening to The Labyrinth of Osiris the most enjoyable?

I keep finding great authors who have died. Paul Sussman is recently deceased, and now I discover him - same thing happened with Stieg Larssen, whose 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' hooked me. I'll read all of Sussman's books, and mourn when I've read the last of them.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

There's lots of detail of an historical nature, which I find enjoyable. The characters are compelling.

Suprise

I had never heard of tis book or Paul Sussman. The book was fast-paced, suprising, interesting, and entertaining. I know Israel and Israeli's fairly well and could recognize man of these characters. The narrator occasionally stumbles over Hebrew words, but this does not detract (especially since most will not know or care). I was somewhat put off at the climax, but enjoyed the entire novel so well, I rate it a 5

Great story .

only reason I didn't give it five stars was the language. I really don't like books and movies that can't tell a story without using foul language. makes me not want to finish it. didn't grow up with that language, and our family doesn't use it.

TOO Long - Gets Boring

I have read all of Sussman's books and without doubt this is his worst. It is way too long and the author drags its out with character’s soliloquies about what is happening and wondering what to do next.

We meet our old friend Khalifa and Ben-Roi, the heroes of two previous novels. In this volume both characters are caught up in personal problems over which they meditate for what seems a long time. Thus the story advances at a snail’s pace. A great part of the plot is concerned with actually finding the Labyrinth of Osiris and the clues which point to it.

There are many sub plots in this book, which are rather uninteresting. One of the subplots deals with bringing Romanian girls to Egypt to be prostitutes. Those who are bringing in the prostitutes actually work for a major American company whose current business is disposing of toxic waste, which they are dumping into the Labyrinth of Osiris hidden away in the Egyptian Desert. This waste is causing the poisoning of local wells which is why Khalifa is involved.

Ben Roi gets involved due to the murder of a journalist. As he explores the journalists writing and life trying to figure out who killed her, he discovers the prostitution ring.
As you might expect the story overlaps at this point and both detectives once again are working together from different ends but on the same story.

While these two subplots are what set the stage for a search for the Labyrinth itself, nevertheless they take up way too much time due to the personal problems each character is experiencing. The characters spend too much time worrying about their personal problems as they investigate the subplots and this bogs the book down.

This should not have been so long – but the author spends a lot of time with each man’s thoughts and worries about his personal problems, which intersect slightly with the main plot. But these personal meditations take up way too much time. In the past Sussman’s books moved along and were exciting – but this one simply drags along and I found it hard to finish.

The narrator is excellent and gives each character a unique voice. It is only the narration which saved the book and stopped me from rating it a ONE.

The best book that Sussman ever wrote is The Lost Army of Cambyses. This was his first book and it was his best. Not too long but excitement on every page and it focused on the modern problem of terrorism. It does not have the two detectives which were to become features of his later books.

Great story and narration

Really liked this one. Suspenseful to the end and adventurous. Narration made this story realistic