Some of the best contemporary crime fiction is being published by small presses. Soho Press is notable for its crime fiction with an international flavor. This week, Blogging for a Good Book looks at five Soho authors who set their stories in Slovakia, France, Laos, Shanghai, and England. All of these titles are in series, so they offer lots of opportunities for reading pleasure. Click here for a list of other Soho crime novels at WRL.
We’ll start with one of the most interesting writers I have encountered lately, Michael Genelin. Genelin’s series features police inspector Jana Matinova of the Slovaki police. The stories work on several levels. They are excellent police procedurals. Genelin has a good understanding of police operations at the local and national levels. The stories are also fascinating for their setting in post-Soviet Slovakia. Genelin uses the pervasive atmosphere of repression and corruption that still haunts the former Soviet nations to good effect. He also explores Matinova’s life outside the force, adding to the complexity of the narrative with a fascinating look at daily life in Slovakia. Finally, the mystery side of the story is also compelling.
In the series opener, Siren of the Waters, Inspector Matinova investigates the deaths of six young women in a van crash on an icy road. What looks like a fairly straightforward investigation becomes more chilling and complex as the deaths are linked to other killings that revolve around the sex trade and human trafficking. With this background, Matinova’s boss and his superior in the Slovak government send Matinova to be part of an international panel investigating human trafficking. The various pieces of the investigation coalesce here, as Matinova finds herself working with police officers from Ukraine and Russia, and gets caught up in a power struggle for control of the human trafficking market.
Genelin presents a chilling picture of international crime. The infighting between rival crime organizations that finally allows Matinova a measure of success in solving the crimes is violent and cruel, and Matinova is lucky to escape with her life. Genelin does not shy away from the compromises that Matinova and her colleagues must make in order to proceed in the investigation nor from the toll that these compromises take on the police.
Another fascinating part of the novel, and one that contributes to the depth of the characters, is Genelin’s telling of the breakup of Matinova’s marriage in the days before the fall of Communism. Her husband, a noted actor, becomes involved in political activism, putting himself, Matinova, and their daughter at risk. The sad tale of the dissolution of the marriage and its effect on the relationship between Matinova and her daughter plays a crucial role in the investigation into the deaths here.
If you enjoy the Scandinavian crime novels of Helene Tursten or Henning Mankell or the Venetian police procedurals of Donna Leon, Michael Genelin’s Inspector Matinova series will be sure to please.
Check the WRL catalog for Siren of the Waters
Barry,
I had received word that my second novel, Dark Dreams, the next novel in the Jana Matinova series, had been read and reviewed in Slovakia. I went to the web and checked, finding two reviews, which were quite good. As I was checking the net I found your review of the first book, Siren of the Waters. I had not seen it before. However, even though late, better late then never, so I wanted to thank you for the review of Siren. I was pleased that you liked the book. The review was well written, and perceptive (since you advised people to read it I’m absolutely convinced you are perceptive). If you have the opportunity to read Dark Dreams please feel free to share your observations with me. Again, many thanks.
Best wishes,
Michael Genelin
Thanks, Michael. I just came across Dark Dreams on our new book shelf here, and have it in hand. I am looking forward to it, and to future novels. These are well-told, carefully-plotted mysteries that I think are some of the best crime writing going on these days. Thanks, for your kind words about the review, and keep up the fine work.
Barry