VICTORY SQUARE

Olen Steinhauer's novel once again features the methodical, honest-to-a-fault Inspector Emil Brod, who labors for justice in some Soviet Bloc country. He investigates crime in spite of the oppressive political structure of his unnamed nation, often to his own detriment. With the novel’s exotic locale and fascinating characters, listeners might expect narrator Don Leslie to inject a bit of a foreign accent into his characters. But he doesn't. The characters of VICTORY SQUARE might be New York private detectives if not for the intriguing story line—a confusing investigation into a decades-old murder on the eve of the fall of Communism in 1989. Fortunately, the novel is strong enough to overcome the narrator's shortcomings. M.S. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2009]