Cornflower Blue: A Case for Milena Lukin

The discovery of the bodies of two elite guardsmen from the Topcider military camp, Nenad Jokic and Predrag Mrsa, propels Sch%C3%BCnemann and Volic's Kafkaesque tale set in present-day Serbia. In Belgrade, Milena Lukin, an academic, works for the Institute for Criminology, which is concerned with war crimes. She has to walk a fine line between the two organizations that fund the institute, the German Academic Association and the Serbian Ministry of Education. When Milena translates a German report that reveals that Jokic and Mrsa were murdered, she attempts to get answers from Col. Danilo Djordan, the guardsmen's commander, but he maintains that they committed suicide. Meanwhile, Milena discovers a potential link between the two deaths and a slaughter during the Bosnian War as a strangely warped stalker gets her in his sights. Milena's struggle to find answers and justice amid the chaos of an embattled Serbia is both grim and heartening. (Feb.)