The plot of this German suspense novel is convoluted, full
of surprises and echoes from the dark past of the Nazi era. It’s part of a series, but I hadn’t read the
first two. The characters include a
somewhat too familiar sensitive and perceptive male detective, Oliver von
Bodenstein, teamed with a more aggressive and rough-edged female assistant, in
this case, Pia Kirchhoff. Both
characters, as well as the secondary cast of the police, are well-drawn. When Holocaust survivor Jossi Goldberg is
found shot execution style in his new German home -- he had returned to Europe after long living
in the United States and becoming a citizen – it is the first in a series of
interrelated murders. Bodenstein and
Kirchhoff, racing against time to prevent even more deaths, become aware that
none of the victims is who he or she seems to be. The final standoff in a ruined East Prussian
castle brings yet more twists to the plot.
Intriguing, but a bit long. 342
pp.
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