From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In Genelin's superb third novel featuring Slovakian police commander Jana Matinova (after 2009's Dark Dreams), a late-night call plunges Matinova into an unusual murder case. A professional hit man has gunned down university student Denis Macek, who sneaked into the dining room of a swanky Bratislava hotel to get free food. Matinova has barely begun to investigate before she learns that her lover, prosecutor Peter Saris, who'd been conducting a sensitive corruption inquiry, has been killed by a bomb set in his office phone. To prevent her from seeking revenge, her supervisor transfers Matinova to Europol headquarters in The Hague, where her predecessor as her country's representative has vanished. Macek's uncle, a retired magician, tracks the commander down, and the pair scheme to bring those responsible for their losses to justice. Genelin brilliantly blends action and detection, never allowing the plot twists to overshadow his characters' humanity.
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Product Description
Praise for Michael Genelin:
โThe resourceful and prodigiously insightful Jana seems to have no flaws. But it isn't her feats of superheroism that give the story its chilly sense of reality; itโs her casual acceptance of the almost universal corruption of everyone who lives in her world.โโ_The New York Times Book Review_
โGenelin effectively brings a relatively unknown country like modern Slovakia to life for American readers.โโ_Booklist_
โGenelin ratchets up the prose with smooth suspense, evocative locales, and distinctive characters who leap from the page.โโ_Publishers Weekly_
Devastated by her loverโs death in an explosionโon the same day an indigent student was shot and killed in sleepy BratislavaโJana is transferred to The Hague, headquarters of the international police force Europol. On the flight she encounters a retired magician, the dead studentโs uncle, who is determined to help Jana investigate his nephewโs death. And his help is indeed needed as Jana faces an international criminal conspiracy emanating from Europol itself.
Michael Genelin is a graduate of UCLA and UCLA Law School. He has served as a consultant for the US State Department and USAID in Central Europe, Africa, Asia, and Haiti. He lives with his wife in Paris.