Synopses & Reviews
An Intriguing Historical Thriller Set in the Barcelona of the Spanish Civil War On the eve of Hitlers Olympics, Chief Inspector Nikolai Hoffner, a half Jew, has been forced out of the Kriminalpolizei. Luckily, Hoffners focus is elsewhere. His son Georg is missing in Spain, swept up in the sudden outbreak of the civil war. He has already lost Sascha, his elder son, who is fully entrenched in the Nazi regime. But Georg is not what he appears to be, and when Hoffner discovers this, he is determined to save the one son he can. The Second Son is the eagerly awaited final installment in Jonathan Rabbs Berlin trilogy, set between the two world wars. In Harpers Magazine, John Leonard called the first, Rosa, “a ghostly noir that could have been conspired at by Raymond Chandler and André Malraux.” The second, Shadow and Light (2009), garnered rave reviews—in The Washington Post, Wendy Smith praised its “atmosphere” and “brilliantly plotted narrative.” Now, nearly ten years after the events of Shadow and Light, Hoffner finds himself tossed into the chaos that is Spain— where he quickly meets anarchists, Soviet and British secret agents, and a female doctor called Mila Pera—as he follows a trail of clues left by Georg. In the spirit of Joseph Kanon and Alan Furst—whose Foreign Correspondent also took place in the mountains of Spain—Rabb delivers another atmospheric work, rich with his storytelling talent and historical expertise.
Review
“The Second Son is an unusual blend of hard-boiled detective novel and love story . . . the narrative never flags. It proves that first-rate detectives are like good lovers and good novelists: keenly observant, intuitive and tough as nails.” Tara McKelvey, The New York Times Book Review
“The chaos of the war provides an evocative backdrop for this unlikely, noir-tinged story of a cynical father chasing after his idealistic son . . . This is Alan Furst territory, but it will also resonate for readers of European antiwar fiction, from All Quiet on the Western Front to The Good Soldier Schweik.” Bill Ott, Booklist (starred review)
“Gripping . . . Fans of Alan Furst and Philip Kerr will be rewarded.” Publishers Weekly
“An exhilarating bittersweet thriller that brings to life Spain during the violent civil war.” Harriet Klausner, Genre Go Round
“This intense tale of a father seeking his two lost sons but finding an uncommonly resilient woman takes place in the mounting violence of Europe in July–August 1936. Just offstage are events we thought we knew well: the Berlin Olympics and the revolt of the generals that is plunging Spain into civil war. With Jonathan Rabbs characters, we relive these events at street level, in gritty and authentic detail.” Robert O. Paxton, author of The Anatomy of Fascism and Vichy France
Synopsis
On the eve of Hitlers Olympics, Chief Inspector Nikolai Hoffner, a half-Jew, has been forced out of the Kriminalpolizei. Yet his career is the least of his worries. His son Georg is missing, swept up in the sudden outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Hoffner has already lost his elder son to the Nazis. But Georg is not what he appears to be, and Hoffner is determined to save the one son he can. In the spirit of Joseph Kanon and Alan Furst, Jonathan Rabb has delivered another darkly compelling and atmospheric work.
About the Author
Jonathan Rabb is the author of five novels: The Second Son, Shadow and Light, Rosa, The Overseer, and The Book of Q. He lives in Savannah, Georgia, with his wife and twin children.