Not for the faint-hearted (Blood Eagle - Craig Russell)

Member Name: dizzysummer03

Product:	Blood Eagle - Craig Russell
Date:	15/07/09 (18 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Unique and diverse plot

Disadvantages: Unsatisfactory ending

Blood Eagle is the first novel by Craig Russell, featuring the half Scottish Principal Chief Commissar Jan Fabel. It is set in Hamburg, which the book says is as English a city as you can find outside England.

The plot is engrossing, diverse and at times challenging. It gives an insight into something I had never really considered, the impact of Germany's history on the people of Germany, I suppose it's obvious if you think about it, but whereas our grandparents may have fought in the war, for their grandparents to have fought in the war would mean something completely different. It incorporates a wide swathe of ideas, from the mob and mafia infighting, to terrorism and police intelligence operations.

The story begins with an e-mail from a killer taunting Fabel that he will never catch him, we immediately read of the discovery of a horrifically mutilated body (this isn't a story for the faint-hearted) and we learn that it is the second such murder which has occurred in the same way. More deaths ensue as Fabel follows a path through the murky world of police intelligence and the mob as he discovers that the deaths are linked to Viking rituals. As the story develops we discover that a series of rapes have also been committed which seem to link again to Viking tradition and we follow the trail of a killer who determined that he will never be caught.

Although the plot itself was interesting and unique, I found the ending was unsatisfactory and for that reason I don't know if I would read another of his books.

Summary: I enjoyed reading it, but don't know if I would read another by this author