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Lie In The Dark (2015)

Lie In The Dark (2015)

Book Info

Author
Genre
Series
Rating
3.86 of 5 Votes: 1
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ISBN
0552772682 (ISBN13: 9780552772686)
Language
English
Publisher
black swan

About book Lie In The Dark (2015)

Imagine my shock when I realized the author of this nicely-written, suspenseful story is the same one who wrote the ludicrous Layover in Dubai, which I only finished because of my participation in the "Around the World in 80 Books" challenge. It's a good thing I didn't make the connection before I bought this one; I would have run away screaming if I'd known. I actually enjoyed this! I admit that at first, I was a little annoyed by it, because I found myself getting my usual "doesn't anyone have a friggin' light bulb?" response before reality set in and I thought, "of course not, idiot. The book is set in Sarajevo in early 1994, the city is under seige by Serbs, and the main character's salary is $1 a month. Paid in cigarettes. Get over it."Fesperman did a good job of highlighting the futility of life under seige, and I had a real sense of frustration over Vlado's difficulties in carrying out his investigation while trying not to run afoul of the local people who really run the city.The story falls short in its resolution, which is rather abrupt and doesn't give the sense of closure that I look for in my detective fiction. I'm going to read the second book in hopes that I'll get a little of that.

I have to say that this book is a major disappointment to me.It comes with excellent praise from Ian Rankin, classing it as a great crime novel.It tells the story of a homicide detective working in the war torn streets of Sarajvo during the war there in the early ninties. A high ranking official is found murdered by the banks of the river and initially, it looks like another sniper attack. These are constantly referenced in the book and the state of people trying lead normal lives in this state of fear is one of the books highlights.The other is the central investigation about art theft, which also brings in the 2nd world war and subsquent recovery.... this provides an interesting interlude.However, the characters are weak and supporting characters are difficult to keep track off. Maybe it is the foreign names, I dont know. The pace is far too slow and a 380 page book becomes a real chore to get through.Disappointing, as there seems to be a number of good reviews for him, but I can't see me going back for more.

Do You like book Lie In The Dark (2015)?

Dan Fesperman's police procedural, LIE IN THE DARK, was first published in 1999. It is a powerful story about a Bosnian homicide detective, Investigator Petric, who tries to solve crimes while staying honest among corrupt colleagues, gangsters and drop-in newspaper correspondents in wartime Sarajevo. The copy of the book I read says that Fesperman is a reporter for the Baltimore Sun. He has a way of incorporating relevant information, (about the roots and realities of the conflict between Bosnians, Serbians and Croatians and the sometimes malign influence of the United Nations) into his plot that adds immensely to the story, but doesn't slow it down. However, you will need to have patience with the first fifty pages, as Fesperman puts in place the context. I totally agree with Ian Rankin, who ranked LIE IN THE DARK as "A quite astonishing first novel which injects the reader into the heart of the darkness which was Sarajevo at the height of the Yugoslav conflict."
—John Gaynard

il poliziotto di sarajevo GM 2717 �Di notte la citt� sembra una bocca guasta di costruzioni rose dall�interno come denti divorati da una carie. Il buio diventa l�apocalisse. Non c�� traccia di vita. Le sirene degli allarmi sono voci dimenticate da un�allerta che non pare servire pi� a nessuno. Ogni notte Sarajevo muore. La notte � il coperchio che si chiude. I superstiti sono formiche che hanno seguito il destino della citt� per ostinata affezione e sono rimaste murate nella bara. Di notte resta solo il vento, che cala dalle montagne e si aggira come uno spirito inquieto in questa bocca sdentata.� Secondo voi, uno che ha paura che un cecchino faccia saltar via la faccia o ricordando quei momenti, pensa in quel modo? Con quell'albero di natale di metafore?. Al massimo dice "gi� o ti sparano". Infatti il brano non appartiene a questo libro, questo nel suo piccolo � serio.
—Procyon Lotor

I am a fan of historical mysteries. This one is set in Yugoslavia during the ethnic wars of the 1990's. A homicide detective in a pared-down Sarjevo PD. His friends kid him about his job comparing him to a plumber fixing someone's leak in the middle of a flood. With all the ethnic cleansing going on, why concern yourself with a murder? But, when the head of the National Police is murdered and, to avoid further suggestions of corruption and coverup, the national police turns the investigation over to this lowly detective. They obviously had no idea he was so diligent in his work. Lots of twists and turns with an ending that is actually not a let down or a simple wind down as so many books have. This ending leaves room for speculation but still with a hint of completion. I think satisfying endings are a novelist's biggest challenge and Fesperman got this one right.
—Geo Forman

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