Yochi Brandes was born in 1959 in Haifa to a family of Hassidic rabbis. Earning her BA in biblical studies and an MA in Judaic studies, Brandes taught bible and Judaism for many years. She is the author of novels and essays on biblical women-all of them best-sellers in Israel. She has been awarded the Book Publishers Association's Platinum Book Prizes for seven of her books, including The Secret Book of Kings, and the Steimatsky Prize forAkiva's Orchard. She lives outside of Tel Aviv.
"Praise for The Secret Book of Kings ""Like Dan Brown's bestselling The Da Vinci Code, the book uses religious intrigue and conspiracy to create a pacey thriller."" --Reuters ""This book made waves even before it was published, and ever since it appeared, it has not moved from the bestseller lists. It is an incomparably excellent and important book."" --Tarbut Hapnai ""A thrilling and sweeping novel that gives life to ancient stories....Brandes's Biblical women play important and significant roles. They are the ones moving the wheels of history. They are the ones who make things happen."" --La'ishah The Secret Book of Kings offers an original and revolutionary commentary on the blood-soaked story of the wars of David and Saul, heightening the voice of the Princess Michal, the Bible's most tragic figure. --Ma'ariv Although I am a Jew who does not believe in the holiness of the Bible, The Secret Book of Kings thrilled me indescribably and opened an innovative line of thought for me about our heroes of old, especially the women. --YNET Apart from the enormous pleasure of the fluid and thrilling prose, Yochi Brandes presents in this novel an important and unprecedented approach to the scriptural stories. Readers without great Biblical knowledge will discover a thrilling and ever-surprising novel of love, betrayal, and loyalty. But those who are familiar with the Bible will experience something even deeper that will open before them new possibilities and understandings of what happened or didn't happen in our ancient history. --Ha'aretz Books"