The Abomination

Jonathan Holt

Average Rating 8/10 (1 Review)

THE VICTIM:
On the steps of Santa Maria della Salute lies the body of a woman, wearing the robes of a Catholic priest. In the eyes of the Church, she is an abomination.

THE INVESTIGATOR:
Captain Kat Tapo has matched the victim's tattoo to graffiti in an abandoned asylum. Now she's been ordered to close the case.

THE HACKER:
Carnivia.com is a virtual Venice that holds the city's secrets. Only its reclusive creator can help Kat unearth the shocking truth...

THE ABOMINATION has arrived.

About the Author:
Jonathan Holt read English at Oxford, and is now the creative director of an advertising agency. He has travelled widely in Italy, where he fell in love with its language, food and people. He lives in London.

Review by Chrissi (310513) Rating (8/10)

Review by Chrissi
Rating 8/10
This is an incredibly intelligent thriller set in Venice. A body is washed up on the steps of a Church wearing the vestments of a priest. The investigation of the death of the person in the robes is assigned to the Carabinieri, the military police force of Italy, with interested parties watching very closely. The subsequent investigation extends across the Adriatic, with the position of Venice on the Adriatic, less than 250km across the sea to Croatia, pivotal to the central theme of the book.

The novel ties together a complicated relationship between religion and politics, and between a recent war which had devastating repercussions for the region. I am ever so slightly in awe of the research which must have gone into the preparations for this book. It is a very thought provoking novel which for me was only spoilt by a slightly ambiguous ending, but I understand that as the first of a trilogy, it would not do to have everything all neatly wrapped up. I eagerly await the follow up.

As for the mark, I may have been a fraction tight in my awarding of an eight, as it is really very close to being a nine. My hesitation in awarding a nine is down to the book being the opening act of a trilogy. If the forthcoming books are as good as this, then it will deserve a nine, but I am with-holding that judgement until the final episode.
Chrissi (31st May 2013)