Kindle Edition. 720 KB. 366 pages. Tadeusz Books (21 Nov 2011). ASIN: B006BG6HHW.
The action takes place amongst the Polish community in London. In 2008, while the city is preparing to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, a nineteen-year-old Polish waitress has gone missing and Janus Kiszka is hired by Father Pietruzki to find the girl. His search will take Kiszka on a trip to Gdansk, in his homeland, the cradle of Solidarność.
Meanwhile the body of a naked girl is found washed up on the Thames, the only clue to her identity a heart-shaped tattoo encircling two foreign names: Pawel and Ela. DC Natalie Kershaw, a rookie, is in charge of the investigation. The toxicology shows that the victim ingested a counterfeit version of ecstasy, called PMA, but more dangerous. The only known cases to date have happened in Poland, Gdansk. And the two stories, although they will intersect occasionally, will be developed in parallel until they finally merge in the last chapters.
The title of the book is taken from a Polish proverb: Gdzie diabel nie moze, tam babe posle (Where the devil can’t go, he’ll send a woman) and the author herself provides an excellent plot summary in an interview at Crime Fiction Lover.
This was a very satisfactory read for my taste. I found the plot compelling and the book very well written. The main characters are appealing and the background stories are quite meaningful to fully understand the events that take place in the present. And, last but not least, the ending is well resolved. Although Where the Devil Can’t Go will be published in Germany by Random House next year, it is a self-published e-book that certainly deserves a UK publisher.
My rating: 4/5.
For a short biography of Anya Lipska visit Amazon’s Anya Lipska Page
You can find more information at the book’s website Where the Devil Can’t Go. Anya writes an occasional blog on The Literary Platform and you can follow her on Twitter: @AnyaLipska.
A Crime is Afoot 