 |
Van Gogh is a former police officer turned private investigator in Zurich, Switzerland. Complications in his life have mostly been limited to frosty interactions with his ex-wife when he has custodial visits with their daughter, Niamh. However, his latest investigation adds a new wrinkle to his life. Van Gogh is approached by a local imam and asked to look into the disappearance of a man named Mujo Hasanovic. Initially, the leads aren't promising as Hasanovic didn't have any friends and was secretive about his work, according to his wife. When Van Gogh approaches Hasanovic's employer, he notices inconsistencies in the portrait of the missing person, and it appears Hasanovic may have been living a double life. Van Gogh's questions become moot when a body is discovered that appears to match Hasanovic's description.
Three months lapse between the discovery of the battered body of Mujo Hasanovic and Van Gogh's next contact with the Imam and Mrs. Hasanovic. The brutal murder of Hasanovic demands answers, and the killer(s) must be brought to justice, so Van Gogh is rehired. The killing of Hasanovic bore the signs of an organized crime hit, but Van Gogh's instinct is to explore every avenue. The victim's wife held back when discussing her husband, and she had learned of a possible affair. When Van Gogh explores this tantalizing lead, he learns that Hasanovic's girlfriend, Sarah Rappolder, has a brother who is involved with a Neo-Nazi group. Hasanovic's Bosnian heritage displeased Sarah's brother, Dieter, but to what extent is open to debate.
Van Gogh's work requires being inconspicuous, but when he learns more about Dietrich Rappolder's associates and their connection to possible stay-behind terror networks (GLADIO), he must exercise extreme caution. When Rappolder is given an alibi for the night of Hasanovic's murder, Van Gogh is forced to consider alternative suspects. As Van Gogh discovers information about Mujo Hasanovic's past life in war-torn Bosnia, his list of suspects grows. Hasanovic had fought and survived one harrowing ordeal, only to die an agonizing death decades later.
A missing persons case transitions into a complicated murder inquiry in this intelligent and transfixing narrative. Van Gogh is a resourceful sleuth willing to bend the rules in his quest for answers, even if he takes a beating or two for his troubles. Van Gogh is a well-written protagonist, both amiable and headstrong with an undeniable tenacity. The mystery at the heart of the plot is well-crafted and suspenseful, as the victim's past and present both prove capable of being motives for his death. The depictions of the Bosnian War, as related to the backstory of Hasanovic, are both brutal and heartrending, but prove necessary in drawing out Hasanovic's character.
Aaron proves himself to be a consummate craftsman as he spins this riveting tale. The story never loses its edge as Van Gogh dives deeper into the underworld in the hopes of locating the cold-blooded killers of Mujo Hasanovic. The author evinces a wealth of knowledge about covert intelligence operations (i.e., GLADIO) along with the resurgence of hate groups in Europe. This is an exceptional detective mystery that will appeal to readers of The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson and other similar works.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review