Michael Genelin

The 5th book in the Jana Matinova series (as best as can be gleaned from online lists which universally don’t seem to include it), FOR THE DIGNIFIED DEAD was so good the first book leapt straight into Mt TBR. It also extremely readable if you are new to them as well.

Part of the strength of the book was undoubtedly the central character of Jana Matinova who is strong, smart and unwilling to take any crap from anyone - crims and colleagues alike. She’s compassionate without being soppy and show more dedicated. She’s also very driven in this book as she’s well aware that the killer’s signature is that of one who got away. She’s not too proud to take assistance from unlikely quarters when it’s offered, and she’s definitely no super-hero.

The sense of place here is interesting, somehow there is a very Slovakian sensibility in the attitudes, the physical locations and, obviously, the impact of the weather. There’s a rapid pace, but it’s always supported by a sense of the places that Matinova encounters as she searches for a serial killer, a lot of money and some very unexpected connections.

Finally there’s a good plot, with internal consistency, enough twists to keep you paying close attention, and enough depth and complication to make the path that Matinova must tread believable. There’s also quite a bit of action and some tension and threat which works really well.

Thanks to Netgalley I happened upon this book and liked it so much that the it has became a series I’m making sure I catch up with from the start.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-dignified-dead-michael-genelin show less

Siren of the Waters is the first book in a series featuring Jana Matinova, a police detective in Slovakia. The story opens with a car accident in which several women and one man are killed. The emergency rescue team call in the police, and Jana and her somewhat incompetent assistant, Seges, determine the crash was not an accident. The dead man has two passports in different names from two countries and it seems that the women were prostitutes. Her boss, Colonel Trokan, theorizes the victims show more were probably being transported across borders in an international sex trafficking ring. Before long, the body of an older woman is found in the river, murdered, and also implicated in the sex trade. The investigation takes Jana all over Europe, from Kiev to Strasbourg to a costume ball in Nice during Carnival.

Jana's past is explored in flashbacks and we can see how she was made to suffer politically by her marriage to a dissident. We know she is estranged from her only child, her daughter Katka, and the details of how this happened are also revealed through the flashbacks interspersed with the current investigation. This is very interesting and I think it is well done. This is the first book in the series and we need to know and understand Jana and what makes her tick.

The author does a great job describing the vivid locations of the investigation. Some of the characters are extremely real and well-rounded, including Jana and her boss, Colonel Trokan. Some of the others are not that believable. This is the author's debut novel and I feel confident that the next books in the series will expand more on the characters and their relationships to one another. I found the ending to be a bit abrupt but that won't stop me from reading the next book in this series, titled Dark Dreams. show less

Siren of the Waters is the first book in a series featuring Jana Matinova, a police detective in Slovakia. The story opens with a car accident in which several women and one man are killed. The emergency rescue team call in the police, and Jana and her somewhat incompetent assistant, Seges, determine the crash was not an accident. The dead man has two passports in different names from two countries and it seems that the women were prostitutes. Her boss, Colonel Trokan, theorizes the victims show more were probably being transported across borders in an international sex trafficking ring. Before long, the body of an older woman is found in the river, murdered, and also implicated in the sex trade. The investigation takes Jana all over Europe, from Kiev to Strasbourg to a costume ball in Nice during Carnival.

Jana's past is explored in flashbacks and we can see how she was made to suffer politically by her marriage to a dissident. We know she is estranged from her only child, her daughter Katka, and the details of how this happened are also revealed through the flashbacks interspersed with the current investigation. This is very interesting and I think it is well done. This is the first book in the series and we need to know and understand Jana and what makes her tick.

The author does a great job describing the vivid locations of the investigation. Some of the characters are extremely real and well-rounded, including Jana and her boss, Colonel Trokan. Some of the others are not that believable. This is the author's debut novel and I feel confident that the next books in the series will expand more on the characters and their relationships to one another. I found the ending to be a bit abrupt but that won't stop me from reading the next book in this series, titled Dark Dreams. show less

Strong writing, characters, timing. Offers political perspective of living in a communist country; the evil effects on relationships, dreams, and lives.

Definitely recommend this book.