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Straight Into Darkness

by Faye Kellerman



      Faye Kellerman steps away from her usual characters in this historical thriller, Straight into Darkness. Set in Munich, Germany, in the 1920s, this is the story of Inspector Axel Berg, Homicide. In the era of Hitler's rise to power, a woman's body has been found in an area of Munich known as the English Garden. At first Berg doesn't find anyone who knows her. Finally, she is identified as Anna Gross, wife of Anton Gross, a Jewish businessman. Anna is a German, and not of Jewish descent. Why would she be murdered? However, it seemed like an ordinary, run-of-the-mill rape and murder of a beautiful German woman.

Berg continues to look into her death, but he also fears for his family. A group of Hitler's brownshirts has been terrorizing his neighborhood, throwing rocks at the buildings, including the apartment building where Berg and his family live. He arrests one of the young hooligans, only to find out that the teenager was a nephew of his superior officer. The young man is allowed to go, all right, but not before his uncle hit him twice in the face, raising bruises on both cheeks. Berg is not convinced the young man will stop.

In the process of investigating the murder of Anna Gross, Berg is disturbed when another body is found. The victim here, also, was strangled by a necklace. Volcker, Berg's superior, wants the Gross murder solved by arresting the husband and charging him with the killing. Berg is totally unconvinced that Anton Gross is involved. After all, Anna Gross was pregnant, but not by her husband.

This is one of Kellerman's best efforts. It will have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. The end is totally unexpected, perhaps not from the point of who did it or why they did it. Pick up a copy and listen to Paul Michael's reading of Straight into Darkness.

The Book

Time-Warner Audio Books
August 1, 2005
Audio Book - Audio CD
1-59483-043-6
Historical mystery/Thriller [1920s Germany]
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Excerpt
NOTE: Contains violence, sex

The Reviewer

Jo Rogers
Reviewed 2005
NOTE:
© 2005 MyShelf.com