Testimony

March 20, 2017
Bestseller Turow (Identical) movingly evokes the horrors of the Balkan wars in this gripping thriller that nonetheless falls short of his best work. Bill Ten Boom, the former U.S. Attorney for Illinois’s Kindle County, leaves his white-collar defense practice to take a position with the International Criminal Court in The Hague investigating a 2004 war crime. Ferko Rincic has stated that he survived an attack on his Roma community in Barupra, Bosnia, which ended with 400 men, women, and children herded into a cave that subsequently collapsed due to an explosion. Ten Boom agrees to try to verify Rincic’s account and identify those responsible for the massacre. His work brings him into contact with a femme fatale barrister from the European Roma Alliance, who located the crucial witness to the case, and a disgraced American general who commanded NATO troops in Bosnia. Yet another Turow lead suffering a midlife crisis, Ten Boom comes across more as a variation on a theme than as an original character. Author tour. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman.

Bill ten Boom begins his mid-life career change as a prosecutor in the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague with an overwhelming case: the possible murder of 400 Roma in war-torn Bosnia more than a decade earlier. Wayne Pyle provides a crisp, clear narration of this detailed novel, but his voice lacks the maturity one expects for a middle-aged protagonist. Pyle's slight accent is alluring for the stunning Roma (gypsy) woman who charms ten Boom along the investigative path and eventually into bed. But he doesn't differentiate the other main characters sufficiently, particularly in complex conversations. The production also suffers slightly with inadequate pauses between sections and repeated phrases. A fascinating novel; a tolerable recording. N.M.C. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine