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A review by tonstantweader
Death Has Deep Roots: A Second World War Mystery by Michael Gilbert
4.0
Death Has Deep Roots is a one-of-a-kind mystery, or perhaps more accurately, it is a one-of-many-kinds mystery. It is a legal thriller, a murder mystery, and war/espionage thriller. When Major Thoseby is murdered at a hotel where he was to meet Victoria Lamartine who had been seeking his help several times in the past. She is found standing over his body and indicted for murder. Both the prosecution and the defense seek the deep roots of this murder.
The prosecution alleges Thoseby fathered her child who had recently died while she insists that a soldier who came in to support the French Resistance was the father. She was a Resistance fighter herself and was captured by the Gestapo herself. Nap Rumbold heads to France to find evidence on her behalf while his partners and father wage a brilliant legal defense, hoping to keep the case alive so Rumbold had time to find answers. Another is tasked to investigage Wells, to see if they can find answers in England as well.
I loved how well the many investigative and defense narratives were woven together. The story was effective and I was engrossed throughout. I am not sure I would call it “fair” in terms of meeting the Detection Club clues in that we do not get the full story that Rumbold gets from the French detectives, but on the other hand, we have the critical details to make the leap to recognize who must be guilty. I also think Lamartine was a relatively flat character, more a plot device than a person. The people working on her behalf were far more compelling.
I liked Death Has Deep Roots and hope to read more books in this series of books that are not dedicated to one particular hero, but which has a collection of recurring characters who are sometimes in the lead and sometimes purely secondary. If they match this one, it will be a great series of books.
I received an e-galley of Death Has Deep Roots from the publisher through NetGalley.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2019/11/19/9781492699538/
The prosecution alleges Thoseby fathered her child who had recently died while she insists that a soldier who came in to support the French Resistance was the father. She was a Resistance fighter herself and was captured by the Gestapo herself. Nap Rumbold heads to France to find evidence on her behalf while his partners and father wage a brilliant legal defense, hoping to keep the case alive so Rumbold had time to find answers. Another is tasked to investigage Wells, to see if they can find answers in England as well.
I loved how well the many investigative and defense narratives were woven together. The story was effective and I was engrossed throughout. I am not sure I would call it “fair” in terms of meeting the Detection Club clues in that we do not get the full story that Rumbold gets from the French detectives, but on the other hand, we have the critical details to make the leap to recognize who must be guilty. I also think Lamartine was a relatively flat character, more a plot device than a person. The people working on her behalf were far more compelling.
I liked Death Has Deep Roots and hope to read more books in this series of books that are not dedicated to one particular hero, but which has a collection of recurring characters who are sometimes in the lead and sometimes purely secondary. If they match this one, it will be a great series of books.
I received an e-galley of Death Has Deep Roots from the publisher through NetGalley.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2019/11/19/9781492699538/