This first-rate thriller, "The Last Good Man" by A.J. Kazinski, is set in Copanhagen and Venice, and is part "DaVinci Code" and part "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." It begins in Copenhagen as the city prepares for the World Climate Summate, when the police receive an alert from Interpol telling them to find the "good people" of Denmark and warn them. Across the globe, humanitarians are showing up dead, and the two common links are their goodness and a strange tattoo-like mark on their backs. The task falls to hostage negotiator, Niels Bentzon, who first must figure out what categorizes a person as "good." His investigation brings him into contact with Hannah Lund who helps him piece together the system which shows the pattern of the time and place of the previous 34 deaths. In Venice, Detective Tomasso Di Barbara is investigating the same deathsand it is he that tells Niels of the legend of the 36 Righteous People in every generation, which means that there are two more deaths to come. If Hannah is right, the deaths are to occur in Copenhagen and Venice, and very soon. The Last Good Man is a mystery/thriller about Neils and his new friend Hanna, who is a physicist, and Tommaso, an Italian policeman. Neils is an interesting character as he is afraid of flying and leaving his area of comfort and is somewhat burned out on police business and develops a relationship with Hanna when he cares about another very independent woman. The story line follows the Jewish belief that there are 36 good but not especially religious people who can save the world. As the book progresses, Neils investigates death after death while trying to stop the murders. He is trying to save the world by saving the 36 good people as they are the only ones standing in the way of evil taking control. It is a fast moving and enjoyable thriller. I give it a 3.5 star rating.
What do You think about Den Sidste Gode Mand (2010)?
Good enough to read through to finish, but not spectacular.
—shaun
