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State criminal investigator Stanislas Cassel performs investigations into the cases assigned to him at the French Palace of Justice. The latest, and most disturbing as it got him kidnapped and warned away from investigating, is the murder of a small, elderly man by one of the nation's most infamous collaborators from the Second World War. Paris is cloaked in a dark, thick fog that keeps the citizenry blinded and fearful while riots and bombings are on almost every street. The news of far right political organizations gaining popularity and making their charismatic leaders obvious contenders for the power in the country, brings the police into high-pitched battles between the French and the newest immigrants to their shores. Stanislas has his own skeletons in the closet to hide. Almost 60 years ago, his grandfather was a French propagandist for the Nazis, helping and urging them on in their quest to accomplish their 'Final Solution.' As Stanislas investigates the murder of the elderly Jewish man, France's role in working with the Nazis comes more clearly into light. But Stanislas, with his own family history to hide, ignores the risks of the temperature of the political madness going on around him. In his investigation he comes in contact with a beautiful woman whose family had been taken away and slaughtered during France's cooperative years with the Nazis. Though she warns Stanislas about the level of danger surrounding him, he doesn't listen until more murdered people turn up connected to his original case. Although any of the characters who were active in the Second World War have to be in their eighties or older, very little is mentioned of their advanced age. And the idea that the population of France in the 21st century would still hold that long a passionate memory for the happenings of the activities of two generations ago makes believing the book, for this American reader, even more difficult. Here, we forget things if it didn't happen today, much less 60 years ago. Filled with the ambiance of closed minds and dead ends, mixing historical fact with fiction, MURDER WITHOUT PITY is more a political thriller than a simple murder mystery. Writer Steve Haberman has invoked a claustrophobic City Of Lights for this story, and the oppressive fog flows over the book and makes this story anything but an easy read. With an ending that damply fizzles out as the politicians show their true colors, the time spent wandering through the fog of this book proves to be a journey that wasn't a pleasant one. Read it for the atmosphere and for the bits of history that Haberman inserts into the story. But be prepared for a flat ending.
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, May 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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