The Covenant

The Covenant

A Novel

Naomi Ragen

Living in terror-torn Jerusalem, Elise Margulies constantly fears for the safety of her loved ones. Confined to bedrest during a difficult pregnancy, she happily awaits the return of her husband and little girl from a ballet recital, only to find that her worst fears have finally been realized.

All seems lost until a phone call to her grandmother in America unexpectedly revives a decades-old oath, creating a force that transcends time and place, to rescue her loved ones. Over the course of five terror- and hope-filled days, the ties that bind two generations forge a potent alliance against contemporary evil.

“While still maintaining her great warmth for characters, The Covenant is as suspenseful as a Mary Higgins Clark as you worry about the fate of characters hour by hour, minute by minute. The Covenant brings the headlines heartbreakingly home and redefines the unlimited boundaries of lifelong friendship.” —Gay Courter, author of The Midwife and Code Ezra
“A thrilling page turning from start to finish, Naomi Ragen's The Covenant is not only a mesmerizing tale with fine drawn characters, it is a story of truth and integrity, a multi-generational novel love, friendship and duty. This is a MUST READ book. It is Naomi Ragen at her finest hour.” —Faye Kellerman, author of Street Dreams
“Naomi Ragen's books are always compulsively readable, and The Covenant is no exception. An emotionally-charged and engrossing book, The Covenant is a tribute to the power of friendship and the strength of love in the face of evil.” —India Edghill, author of Wisdom's Daughter: A Novel of Solomon and Sheba

About the Author

Naomi Ragen is an American-born Israeli novelist whose fiction explores Jewish life, faith, and history. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she earned her degree at Brooklyn College and moved to Israel in 1971, where she has lived in Jerusalem ever since. Her books, which have been widely translated, are popular with Jewish and general readers alike.

Her novels often take readers inside the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox worlds, with a particular interest in the lives of women. In books such as Jephte’s Daughter, Sotah, and The Sacrifice of Tamar, she portrays devout communities in Jerusalem and New York with affection and honesty, examining the tension between religious tradition and individual conscience. Her characters wrestle with family loyalty, communal expectations, and the cost of silence, while the strength of their faith and bonds is shown with equal care.

Ragen also draws on Jewish history. The Ghost of Hannah Mendes follows a family of Portuguese Jews who were forced to hide their faith, and later novels such as The Saturday Wife and The Covenant address contemporary American Jewish life and the realities of modern Israel. Across her work run recurring themes of identity, continuity, courage, and moral responsibility.

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