Tag: historical crime

Book Review: The Year of the Snake by M. J. Trow & Maryanne Coleman

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The Year of the SnakeAbout the Book

Sometimes, a snake is just a snake. And sometimes…

First-century Rome. Senator Gaius Lucius Nerva is taken ill at a dinner party and dies a few days later. His heartbroken wife, Flavia, is told it was a natural death. Calidus, Nerva’s recently freed slave, suspects otherwise.  As he embarks upon the funeral ceremonies, Calidus becomes more and more convinced that his master was murdered and begins an investigation, seeking out everyone who had attended the dinner party.

His enquiries lead him to rub shoulders with the ‘great and good’ of Rome; senators, soldiers, even the ruthless and mercurial Emperor Nero. And his former lover, Julia Eusabia, who seems intent on rekindling their romance and luring him away from his wife and daughter.

Calidus’ quest is by no means easy or safe as he encounters the darkest and most dangerous people in Rome. But he knows he must keep searching for the person responsible, to bring justice to the master he had loved.

Format: ebook (313 pp.)              Publisher: Endeavour Media
Published: 16th July 2018           Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

In The Year of the Snake, the authors certainly succeed in bringing to life the sights, smells and sounds of ancient Rome, describing customs, festivals, food and clothing in meticulous detail.  I particularly enjoyed the description of the Juvenal Games near the end of the book with its panoply of exotic creatures and extravagant procession.

Calidus’s investigation into the death of his beloved master, Gaius Lucius Nerva, centres on those who attended a dinner the evening before Nerva’s unexpected demise.  It plunges Calidus into the murky world of politics, ambition and ancient cults.  ‘Dark deeds are done are done in darkness.’ He also finds himself drawn into the decidedly dangerous ambit of the power-crazed (actually pretty much everything-crazed) Emperor Nero.  ‘But this was Nero’s Rome, a city crawling with the cruel, the licentious, the insane.’ Within the Imperial Household there is extravagance, excess, debauchery, plots and intrigue aplenty.  And then, of course, there’s Calidus’s old flame, Julia, now a lady of the court but is that flame still flickering?  Calidus’s wife, Paula, certainly begins to suspect there’s no smoke without fire…

In The Year of the Snake, the authors give readers a lot of characters to get to grips with, especially when you include the husbands, wives, servants and mistresses of key characters.  A dramatis personae would perhaps have been helpful.  My favourite character was Piso the pickpocket who, through his knowledge of the seedier side of Rome, helps Calidus with his investigation.  Piso has a great turn of phrase and a scathing view of those who would like to think they are his betters. After listening to Emperor Nero’s obsequious speech at the Juvenal Games, ‘Piso toyed with throwing up in the corner, but somebody like him would have to clean it up and so, in an unusual rush of solidarity with the people of Rome, he thought better of it.’

The book description promises an Agatha Christie-style finale and it certainly delivers on that promise with Calidus adopting the mantle of Hercule Poirot to unravel the mystery of Nerva’s death and reveal the culprit while the tension builds.  Events of the past cast long shadows, it seems.

I enjoyed The Year of the Snake.  I very much liked the historical detail that was clearly the product of extensive research on the part of the authors.  As the book progresses I did find, however, that the investigation of Nerva’s murder takes second place to the shenanigans in the Imperial Household and the politics of ancient Rome.

I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Endeavour Media, and NetGalley in return for an honest and unbiased review.  There a few issues with the formatting of the book, especially the sudden changes of scene mid-chapter with no indication except for an asterisk which could easily be overlooked.  Hopefully, since I was reading an eARC, this will be corrected for the final version.

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In three words: Entertaining, humorous, immersive

Try something similar…Roman Blood (Roma Sub Rosa #1) by Steven Saylor

M J TrowAbout the Author

Meirion James Trow is a full-time teacher of history who has been doubling as a crime writer for seventeen years. Originally from Ferndale, Rhondda in South Wales he now lives on the Isle of Wight. His interests include collecting militaria, film, the supernatural and true crime.

Connect with Meirion

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Book Review – The Ashes of Berlin by Luke McCallin

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About the Book

ashes

It’s 1947 and Gregor Reinhardt has been hired back onto Berlin’s civilian police force. The city is divided among the victorious allied powers, tensions are growing, and the police are riven by internal rivalries as factions within it jockey for power and influence with Berlin’s new masters.

When a man is found slain in a broken-down tenement, Reinhardt embarks on a gruesome investigation. It seems a serial killer is on the loose, and matters only escalate when it’s discovered that one of the victims was the brother of a Nazi scientist.

Reinhardt’s search for the truth takes him across the divided city and soon embroils him in a plot involving the Western Allies and the Soviets. And as he comes under the scrutiny of a group of Germans who want to continue the war – and faces an unwanted reminder from his own past – Reinhardt realizes that this investigation could cost him everything as he pursues a killer who believes that all wrongs must be avenged…

Format: ebook (450 pages) Publisher: No Exit Press
Publication date: 8th December 2016 Genre: Historical Fiction, Thriller

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My Review

The Ashes of Berlin is is the third in the series of stories featuring Gregor Reinhardt, now an Inspector in the post-war Berlin police force, and to my mind, it is the strongest so far.  Like its predecessors, The Man From Berlin and The Pale House, it is an extremely well-crafted detective story in which Reinhardt pursues a ruthless killer across the divided city of Berlin.

The meticulous research of the author is apparent in the evocative descriptions of the ravaged city, the orphaned children, the food and fuel shortages where a packet of Lucky Strike cigarettes is valued currency. The turbulent political situation in which each of the Allies is attempting to exert and protect their power and influence is realistically brought to life.

In Gregor Reinhardt, the author has created a compelling character with  believable doubts and flaws. A loner, shunned by colleagues suspicious of his allegiances and unsure who he can trust, in this book he reminded me of Alec Leamas in John Le Carre’s masterful The Spy Who Came In From the Cold.   Prone to almost obsessive introspection, Reinhardt once again questions himself and his principles, battling his inner demons – his capacity for violence (the “darker side of himself)”, his weakness for alcohol, driven by the desire to atone for perceived past actions (or inactions). However, he is also proud of his skill and experience and unwilling to “bend with the wind” like so many of his colleagues.

Widowed and estranged from his son who is missing on the Russian front, there is a touching scene in which Reinhardt is drawn to seek a connection with his past life.  Behind the search for the killer, which has plenty of satisfying twists and turns, the novel depicts the dreadful legacy of the war on individuals; the stories they cannot bear to tell but that weigh heavy on them and, in some cases, drive their actions.

I thought this was a terrific read and I was torn between wanting to find out what happened and not wanting it to end. My personal wish for Reinhardt (who I confess I’m a little in love with) was fulfilled in the last sentence.  Thank you for that, Luke.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of No Exit Press via NetGalley.

In three words: Atmospheric, gripping, satisfying
Try something similar: A Death in Berlin by Simon Scarrow

About the Author

Luke McCallin was born in England, grew up in Africa, was educated around the world, and has worked with the UN as a humanitarian relief worker and peacekeeper in the Caucasus, the Sahel, and the Balkans. His experiences have driven his writing, in which he explores what happens to normal people put under abnormal pressures, inspiring a historical mystery series built around an unlikely protagonist, Gregor Reinhardt, a German intelligence officer and a former Berlin detective chased out of the police by the Nazis. The Man From Berlin was published in 2013, followed by a sequel, The Pale House in 2014, The Ashes of Berlin in 2017 and Where God Does Not Walk in 2021.

He lives with his wife and two children in an old farmhouse in France in the Jura Mountains. He has a master’s degree in political science, speaks French, is learning Spanish, and can just get by in Russian. When he’s not working or writing or spending time with his family, he enjoys reading history, playing squash, and keeping goal for the UN football team.

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