I have read one other book by the author and was not impressed by his portrayal of a Japanese widow who ends up playing detective. Here, the story was set in Algiers with a prominent focus on the political unrest and the main narration being split between an Englishman and an Algerian Detective.
I found yet another piece of recent history that I was unaware of when I picked this up. Even if you disregard the central plot and the mystery, the background and the horrific details that go with it made me aware of yet another piece of the world’s political situation.
Algiers has a turbulent history. One of the detectives left from an older time is being tasked with finding an old man who has escaped police custody. I am not sure how accurate most of the information or behaviour of the locals was, but even if it was partly true, the entire story sent shivers through me. It paints a very uncomfortable picture for the average individual. No peace of mind or stability exists in any but the highest in power.
A long time ago, two men were convicted by the then ruling party and sentenced. Only one served his time before being let out to die in peace. This man has absconded from heavy police supervision, leaving many with multiple feelings, ranging from suspicion to embarrassment. Then begins an unlikely partnership which forms a pretty solid foundation to carry the rest of the story. On the other side, the Englishman has a tenuous connection to the country and has suspicions about what happened to his sister all those years ago. He is approached by a woman to talk about certain pieces of information that have come to her. It is then that we delve properly into the past and learn what the political complications were and, on the fictional side, where these facts aligned with our plot.
It does not have the kind of ending I usually appreciate, but in this case, it is hard to see anything else make sense.
I enjoyed the book because of the new situations that I read about and about all those grey characters that provide a significant amount of tension to an already strained situation. It was also a pleasant surprise to like a book and the writing of an author I had previously not liked a book of!
I would highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction with adventure and secrets in it.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is based on my own reading experience.
Superfluous Reading 