Behind The Trigger

A Psychological espionage thriller where one truth destroys everything

In a world built on lies,
the most dangerous truth,
is the one you tell yourself.

Written by a bestselling Israeli author and former intelligence officer, and the award-winning author of Operation Bethlehem – which won the 2023 National Jewish Book Award for Hebrew Fiction in Translation – Behind the Trigger is a psychologically charged espionage novel that explores the human toll of living in the shadows.

What if one impossible decision during a suspenseful mission shattered everything you believed about your past?

Set deep within the world of contemporary Israeli espionage, Behind the Trigger is a psychological spy thriller where covert operations collide with buried trauma, and the cost of trust is life or death.

Irit is no cliché female protagonist. She’s a Mossad field agent, mother, and wife – trained to complete missions, not confront her past. But when a thrilling assignment sparks an unexpected connection with Noor – the wife of a Syrian missile engineer – everything shifts.

Two strong female main characters, both bound by secrets, face off not only as adversaries, but as mirrors. Their growing bond becomes both a strategic intelligence asset and a raw, psychological reckoning neither of them anticipated.

If you enjoy the novels of Daniel Silva, the Tehran series, or espionage fiction that reveals the costs of living in the shadows, Behind the Trigger offers a rare, intimate glimpse into the human side of spy work.

How will Irit and Noor’s bond end when one woman’s survival depends on the other’s destruction?

Content Note: This novel includes references to sexual abuse but contains no graphic descriptions. Reader discretion is advised.

Great book, great story

A captivating listen—I couldn’t stop, and every pause left me eager to return. The characters, suspense, and story are gripping, offering a rare glimpse into an Israeli intelligence organization and the world of international espionage. A true gift.

Not the usual spy story

The author gives details of how a spy mission is carried out. He himself was a Mossad operative so I believed every word, including the car key that gave moving gps coordinates of the Syrian Alawite target. But the personal problems of the main characters, the spy Irina and the target’s wife Nor, form the substance of the novel. I was particularly interested in the Syrian attitude towards childless women. The book is on the 2026 shortlist for fiction of the National Jewish Book Award. I gave the audio only 4 stars because it was an automated reader that was flat in tone.