What do You think about Straight Into Darkness (2006)?
I just finished reading this this morning. Wow. I've read everything else Faye Kellerman and wasn't sure I was in the mood for something dark and heavy. But I wanted to know what happened to Rina's grandmother in Munich, and since she decided not to fully find out the answer... I had to go ahead and read! I'm do glad I did! What an amazing story of the times, the hatred political climate in pre-WWII Germany.. And insight into how people were feeling about Hitler before he was elected and caused so much terror and shame for the world. Kellerman did a fabulous job with the story... And I feel as though I learned so much also! great read.
—Cara St.Germain
Although the plot strains credulity, weighted as it is with Freudian baggage, the atmospherics and the characters are compelling. The events take place in Munich, 1929, and the city is in turmoil. Germany was recovering from the depression, goods were more readily available, the rich were - filthy, and Munich was a gem of a city. 1929 marked the end of Hitler's so-called "Wilderness Years;" the Nazi party had been rebuilt, membership had grown, and the elite, middle-class, and civil servants (including the police,) were buying in to the party philosophy, including the persecution of the "degenerate," Jews, Communists, Modern Artists, etc. Persecution was common, and paranoia was rampant. Faye Kellerman does a wonderful job of unveiling the nascent dystopia, and peopling it with characters struggling with the environment, and with their own moral frailties. There is no one to completely admire in this book, and whatever redemption is won is bitter at best. There is so much of value in this book's milieu I could only wish the plot didn't hinge on a set of fairly uninteresting, stock serial killings. There is a richness to the story, it's just not in the crimes, or even their solution. Two stars because the plot didn't work for me.
—Richard
I ended up not reading this. When I looked over the blurb, I realized it is a new series (?), or anyway new characters, set in 1920s Munich and incorporating Hitler's rise to national leadership. Not interested. At all. It's a time period that gives me nightmares with the realities; I don't want to read about fictional serial killers.Having said that, I'm sure it's well-written. That's one of the reasons I like Kellerman: she rarely over-writes, she keeps the suspense level appropriate without getting gory (mostly), and draws characters that you can't help getting involved in.
—Cat.
