Liar Moon (Martin Bora Book 2)

This is the second in Ben Pastor’s Martin Bora series. It should be noted that while the action has jumped from Poland 1939 to Italy in late 1943 that Like Philip Kerr’s the books do not necessarily follow a chronological order of time with some of the later books (currently in Italian only) dealing with events for example during the Spanish Civil War.The Bora that emerges in this book is no longer the confident and somewhat innocent character of “Lumen”. He has lost much of his faith in the rightness of the German cause and is significantly more cynical. He has been through the hell of the Eastern front and has lost his brother to the fighting at Kursk. This book opens with him physically maimed following a partisan attack – he has lost his left hand and he spends much of the book in a physical agony that mirrors his growing mental anguish at the war and more especially at the German conduct of it. The descriptions of his wounds are not for the faint hearted.He is called to investigate the murder of an old wheelchair bound colleague of Mussolini’s. He is paired reluctantly (on both their parts) with the optimistic and slightly rumpled Italian detective Sandro Guido. Guido initially comes across as slightly stereotypical – single he lives with his adoring mother but he soon carves out a niche of his own. Despite all their differences and their ongoing disagreements they both share one vital thing in common – a single minded pursuit of the truth no matter what the consequences for them are. The relationship is beautifully sketched between the two men. While never reaching a friendship there is mutual respect between the two as they doggedly pursue the truth to its conclusion.The background detail again like Lumen is the best part of the book. Bora’s loyalty to the cause has wavered and he no longer bothers to hide his antipathy to the SS which leads to him becoming by the book’s end a very much marked man. There is a beautifully sketched little scene involving the transport of a party of Jews by the Italian authorities that I had to reread before I realized how subtle Bora’s first act of active disobedience to the SS was. The air of suspicion and mistrust that hung over “Lumen” is even denser here. The Italians are wavering and the allies have landed while the pall of defeat has settled over the Axis forces.Again like “Lumen” the major problem I have with the book is the plotting of the crime itself. There is an element of “deus ex machina” for the murderer and the slightly perfunctory murder plot simply doesn’t do justice to the fine atmosphere created and the two fascinating central characters. Notwithstanding that this is a fine book perhaps not for the hardcore crime buff but it you have an interest in the period and characters beyond the cardboard this is worth the investment.

Having really enjoyed the first in the Major Martin Bora series,  Lumen (Captain Martin Bora Mysteries) , I couldn't wait to read this. When we first met Bora in "Lumen", the Germans had just invaded Poland. Much has passed since then and our Major has spent time in Russia before being sent to Italy to fight the partisans. It is 1943 and Italy is divided - the North is controlled by the Fascists and the South has been liberated by the Allied forces. Having survived Stalingrad, Bora has just been injured in Italy and has lost his left hand, as well as suffering other injuries. Added to the doubts he is still having about his marriage and it is fair to say that he is a much more battle weary soldier this time around.Despite his injuries, he is asked to look into the murder of a local fascist, Vittorio Lisi. Unwilling and in pain, he is not keen to get involved, but eventually becomes involved in the investigation. Like "Lumen", Bora has a local confidante to aid him - in this novel it is Inspector Sandro Guidi. The problem is, that the chief suspect in Lisi's murder is his beautiful young wife, Clara, and Guidi is unable to be unbiased when he falls for her charms... There is a very chilling moment when the radio has an announcement that all Jews are to be "arrested and interned in concentration camps" and Guidi has a "glum lack of interest" while his mother does not react at all, suggesting that the actual reaction of apathy from the majority of people at that time was more damaging that those actually involved in the slaughter.This is another wonderful mystery, with an exciting historical setting and sympathetic characters. Lisi, presented as a fine, upstanding man, turns out to have quite a few enemies and Ben Pastor recreates the time and place quite wonderfully. Bora is still having his usual battles with the SS, as well as his personal demons to deal with. If you like this, you may well enjoy the following series as well:  Berlin Noir ('March Violets', 'The Pale Criminal' and 'A German Requiem') (Penguin Crime/Mystery)  and  Zoo Station (John Russell 1) .

It is winter 1943 in northern Italy not far from Verona and a local Fascist grandee has died in suspicious circumstances. The reluctant Major Martin Bora of the Wehrmacht is ordered to investigate the death.Martin Bora is a man with problems. He has lost his brother recently in battle, he has perhaps lost his wife's love, and as the novel opens he has just lost his left hand to a Partisan bomb. In addition, a nameless SS officer swears to him that he will make it his business to destroy Bora as a `Jew-lover'.This is not sunny Italy of the imagination, but a bleak wintry north blasted by snow, rain and frost, emphasising the darkness suffusing the novel. The author also throws in the pain experienced by Bora throughout the story, physical pain from his injuries, and moral pain from what he has already done in the war and what he is ordered to do now. Pastor has dared to do something original in her writing: she has placed her creation in an impossible situation and has given him a conscience.Liar Moon is a superb piece of writing. Pastor's rich and limpid prose and the stately pace of the narrative combine to produce a tale and tone which are bleak and sombre but also a delight to read. The wonderfully allusive and understated way in which the episode of the transportation of Jews is written presents the reader with Bora's quandary, how does a man of conscience and principle cope with evil?Read this wonderful book!