Gur, Batya 1947–2005
Gur, Batya 1947–2005
OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born September 1, 1947, in Tel Aviv, Israel; died of cancer May 19, 2005, in Jerusalem, Israel. Educator, critic, and author. Gur was best known for her mystery novels, and was one of the first Israeli authors to focus on this genre. Educated at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she earned her master's degree, her first career was as a high school English teacher. However, she wanted to write novels, and selected the mystery genre as a comfortable way to start because it had prescribed literary conventions that gave her a structure to follow. Beginning with Retsah beShabat baboker (1988; translated as The Saturday Morning Murder: A Psychoanalytic Case in 1992), Gur began a series of police procedurals set in Jerusalem and featuring Chief Superintendent Michael Ohayon. Four more Ohayon novels followed, all of which were translated into English. These include Literary Murder: A Critical Case (1993), Murder on a Kibbutz: A Communal Case (1994), Murder Duet: A Musical Case (1999), and Bethlehem Road Murder (2004). Gur, a literary critic and a columnist for the newspaper Haaretz, also authored several other books, including a memoir, which remained untranslated at the time of her death.
OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:
PERIODICALS
Los Angeles Times, June 1, 2005, p. B11.
New York Times, May 30, 2005, p. A17.
Times (London, England), June 2, 2005, p. 69.
Washington Post, June 6, 2005, p. B6.