Reviews - A Visible Darkness

KIRKUS REVIEWS, 01.02.2009 (starred review) Michael Gregorio. Minotaur, $25.95 (464p) ISBN 978-0-312-54435-5

The casualties of war provide cover for a brutal serial killer.
Napoleon's occupation of Prussia in the early 19th century has left the landscape blanketed with noxious flies swarming over corpses, excrement and food. In the manner of his recently deceased mentor Immanuel Kant, narrator and sometime sleuth Hanno Stiffeniis is performing scientific tests on this detritus in hopes of convincing the French to clean up Prussia for the health of all. His mission is unexpectedly interrupted by a request from Colonel Antoine Claudet of the French army. The valuable amber abundant in the Prussian terrain has become a prized commodity, and the French are digging it up to take back to Napoleon when one of the Prussian women working with the amber is found murdered. At first it's assumed that Kati Rodendahl was bludgeoned in the face to obscure her identity, but after some probing, Stiffeniis suggests instead the killer's anger that the victim had been concealing amber. Teaming up with the compassionate Dr. Heinrich, Stiffeniis unearths plots within plots. As more victims follow, the case becomes emblematic of the raw and angry feelings of the populace and, as Stiffeniis faces bureaucratic obstruction, the volatile political atmosphere. It also becomes frighteningly personal for the detective. Gregorio's grim finale is leavened by a ray of hope.

The third dose of Stiffeniis (Days of Atonement, 2008, etc.) boasts the same strong evocation of history and, refreshingly, a looser and more confident narrative voice.

(Publication date: April 14, 2009).

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, 02.02.2009 Michael Gregorio. Minotaur, $25.95 (464p) ISBN 978-0-312-54435-5

Set in 1808, the superb third whodunit from the pseudonymous Gregorio (the husband-wife team of Michael G. Jacob and Daniela De Gregorio) to feature Prussian magistrate Hanno Stiffeniis (after 2008's Days of Atonement) subtly probes the heart of human darkness. When a woman who collects precious amber, a resource Napoleon hopes to use to generate funds, is horribly butchered, Stiffeniis must work for his French occupiers to solve the mystery. As more victims follow the first, Stiffeniis's hopes of a speedy resolution that would enable him to be present for his latest child's birth are dashed. Aided by Johannes Gurten, an odd apprentice who's adopted Buddhism, the sleuth attempts to get cooperation from those working at all levels of the amber trade to identify the killer's true motive. While some readers will anticipate the solution, the pitch-perfect evocation of the period and the compelling, gloomy atmosphere more than compensate for any lack of surprise. (Apr.)

LIFE UNDER A ROCK

Michael Gregorio, A Visible Darkness

The third installment of the adventures of Hanno Stiffeniis, a Prussian magistrate during the Napoleonic occupation of what is now Germany.

Can I just state, for the record, how fucking stupid these books all are? I read a couple of blurbs snarking about how they were “thinking people’s” mysteries, but my God. MY GOD, Y’ALL. No, they are not. The presence of obscure history and existential angst DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MAKE SOMETHING DEEP. Especially not when your main character is a moronic blank.

And now we will cut, because I cannot rant without spoilers, spoilers, SPOILERS!

Hokay, so: A Visible Darkness starts off the way most of Hanno’s adventures do—he’s puttering around in his little town with his eight million children when suddenly an official shows up and says, “There’s been a heinous murder. We heard you’re good at solving those, even though you have never actually solved one on your own, ever. Come along, the corpse isn’t getting any fresher.” In this case, a young amber-gatherer has been slaughtered: the murderer took her jaw. Later, Hanno finds another young woman half-eaten in a pig-sty; the killer cut out her larynx before letting the pigs have their share. Oh, and for extra ickiness, a piece of amber is found shoved up the first girl’s hoo-ha. And did I mention that there’s a woman with progeria running around, and that she looks about 10 but is actually 22 and MAKES HER LIVING AS A PROSTITUTE/AMBER SMUGGLER?

Yeah, this book was hella gross. And really stupid. When you finally find out why the killer was murdering all these women, it’s just like, “Huh what?” Mostly because instead of going, “This shit is fucked up, yo,” the authors try to make it mean something about the Prussian soul or whatnot, and really, guys, he’s making giant wax figure of the perfect woman and is fully convinced that doctors will be able to animate her. HE’S NUTS, OKAY. Also, that is just ridiculous. Come on.

Oh, and as for Hanno? He continues to never see anything coming, ever. I knew who the murderer was within about fifty pages of the ending (not good, authors), but Hanno was still stubbornly clinging to an earlier suspect, even though that suspect made no sense. The murderer was switching between two kill sites—first one city, then the other. Obviously, he had to be a highly mobile individual whose absence wouldn’t be much commented on, and yet Hanno suspected…the village doctor. Because that made SO MUCH SENSE.

Meanwhile, the random guy who showed up halfway through the book claiming to be an apprentice magistrate? The guy no one had ever heard of and who was very willing to not be seen by any officials? Yeah, Hanno thought that guy was perfectly safe. Hanno even sent him to go visit his PREGNANT WIFE AND THREE SMALL CHILDREN.

Oh, and Hanno’s not just wrong about the identity of the murderer: when he feels like being wrong, he feels like being REALLY wrong. He actually spends the last 20 pages of the book racing home to face a threat that doesn’t exist.

Guys, I like plenty of mysteries wherein the lead character is not exactly Sherlock Holmes. But I like them because no one ever claims that they’re particularly good at what they do. Hanno, on the other hand, is talked up by everyone, and really? He’s never solved a case on his own. Never. Also, he has no personality to speak of. The end.

Recommended for: Nobody. EVER.