Australian Browne's second mystery to feature the worn-at-the-edges Italian Interpol agent maintains the high standard set in The Wooden Leg of Inspector Anders
(2001). When 16 business executives die in what should have been an impossible-to-achieve explosion, Anders, who thought his fieldwork days were over, is sent to investigate. The Judgment Day group claims responsibility, threatening more murders if corporate Europe continues to pursue the large-scale mergers that are costing thousands of jobs across the continent—a threat that the group follows through on with additional bizarre crimes. Even with such deadly danger looming over them, the viciously ambitious managing directors who are targeted refuse to delay their quest for profit. Anders is left to quickly sort through a trail of false clues, while at the same time fending off his own insecurities about his ability to cope with the rigors of his job. Using little more than his intuition, he follows "The Ship of Fools," an obscure 15th-century poem referenced in each of the Judgment Day's manifestos, to expose the mad ideologue responsible. This is not a high-action or even a particularly mysterious mystery (the reader will understand the clues long before the authorities ever do), but it is well worth getting to know the endearing, self-reflective Inspector Anders. Browne admirably conveys a feeling for all the characters, even the bit players. (July 15)
FYI:
The Wooden Leg of Inspector Anders won Australia's Ned Kelly Award for best first crime novel in 1999.
