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Robert Wilson, winner of the Gold Dagger for A SMALL DEATH IN LISBON and shortlisted for his THE BLIND MAN OF SEVILLE, is one of the best writers working in the genre. His ability to capture a certain European sensibility and combine it with the noir form is unique, and THE SILENT AND THE DAMNED is an impressive addition to his achievements. The book opens with an apparent murder-suicide in a wealthy suburb of Seville. A man lies dead on his kitchen floor, clutching a note that references 9/11, an empty bottle of drain cleaner nearby. His wife is upstairs in the bedroom, suffocated with a pillow, while their young son is conveniently spending the night across the street with neighbors. When Chief Investigator Javier Falcon and his team examine the crime scene, however, many details of the death seem suspicious. Murders or not, as the days go by, these deaths trigger a series of suicides among the rich and influential. A well-known artist whose son is at the center of a kidnapping case and a high-ranking policeman take their own lives. Falcon, having so recently experienced the despair chronicled in BLIND MAN, identifies with these tortured souls and relentlessly pursues the truth that binds these people. As the team digs deeper into the lives of the dead they uncover an ugly knot of interconnected crime and corruption that reaches into the power structures of Seville, Langley, and Moscow. The intricate plotting would be enough to place this book on my year's best list, but what sets Wilson's writing apart is his impressive yet understated sense of place. Here Seville sizzles in the summer heat, bleaching color from the landscape and infusing a languid torpor into the story. A forest fire burning in the hills above the city provides not just a counterpoint to the investigation; it proves pivotal to the case. THE SILENT AND THE DAMNED follows closely on the BLIND MAN OF SEVILLE. As this story begins, Javier Falcon is only beginning to find his way back after the events of BLIND MAN which left him depressed and tormented. Although SILENT stands on its own very well, knowledge of the backstory would enrich the experience of the book for most readers. It was a pleasure to meet several of the minor characters from the first book again and to watch Wilson add depth and texture to their characters. This is a beautifully written story with an enormously sympathetic hero. Wilson's intuitive and lyrical exploration of Falcon's psyche is as compassionate as it is riveting, ensuring that Javier Falcon and the characters of THE SILENT AND THE DAMNED will stay with you long after you finish reading.
Reviewed by Carroll Johnson, January 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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